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Quick Revision Table
| Event / Concept | Year / Key Figure | Key Fact | Relevance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cold War ends | 1991 — USSR dissolves | 15 successor states; Russia inherits UNSC seat | Start of unipolar era |
| "Unipolar Moment" | 1990 — Charles Krauthammer | US as sole superpower | Post-Cold War IR theory |
| "End of History" | 1992 — Francis Fukuyama | Liberal democracy triumphs | Ideological marker |
| "Clash of Civilizations" | 1993 — Samuel Huntington | Future conflicts along civilisational lines | Counterpoint to Fukuyama |
| NATO expansion | 1999–2024 | From 12 (1949) to 32 members (2024) | US hegemony institutionalised |
| 9/11 attacks | 11 Sep 2001 | Al-Qaeda; 2,977 killed | Transformed global security |
| UNSC Resolution 1373 | 2001 | Mandatory counter-terrorism for all states | Global CT architecture |
| Afghanistan War | 2001–2021 | $2.3 trillion cost; Taliban returns 2021 | US strategic failure |
| Iraq War | 2003–2011 | False WMD claims; ~$2 trillion; 200,000+ deaths | US credibility damaged |
| China joins WTO | December 2001 | Enabled China's manufacturing boom | China's global rise |
| 2008 Financial Crisis | Sep 2008 — Lehman Brothers | Washington Consensus weakened | Shift from unipolarity |
| BRI launched | 2013 — Xi Jinping | 140+ countries; $1 trillion+ | China's global challenge |
| ISIS Caliphate | Jun 2014 – Mar 2019 | Iraq-Syria territory; al-Baghdadi | Jihadist peak |
| FATF Grey List (Pakistan) | 2018–2022 | Inadequate terror finance action | India-Pakistan IR |
| Russia-Ukraine War | Feb 2022 — Putin | First major European war since WWII | Multipolarity marker |
| BRICS expansion | 2024 | 10 members (added Saudi Arabia, UAE, Ethiopia, Iran, Egypt, Argentina — though Argentina withdrew) | Global South power |