The 1980's: Europe

The Solidarity movement begins in Poland in 1980, involving workers demanding political liberalization and democracy in Poland. Attempts by the communist regime to crush the Solidarity movement fail and negotiations between the movement and the government take place. Solidarity would be instrumental in encouraging people in other communist states to demand political reform.

In 1981 there was a assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II in Saint Peter's Square.

In 1986, Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was assassinated.

Mikhail Gorbachev becomes leader of the Soviet Union in 1985, and intiates major reforms to the Soviet Union's government through increasing the rights of expressing political dissent, allowing some democratic elections (though maintaining Communist dominance). Gorbachev pursues negotiation with the United States to decrease tensions and eventually end the Cold War.

The Rome and Vienna airport attacks take place on December 27, 1985 against people going on the Israeli El Al airline. The attack was done by militants loyal to Abu Nidal, backed by the government of Libya.

The European Community's, enlargement continued with the accession of Greece in 1981 and Spain and Portugal in 1986.

Significant political reforms occurred in a number of communist countries in eastern Europe as the populations of these countries grew increasingly hostile and politically active in opposing the authoritarian communist regimes. These reforms included increasing individual liberties, market liberalization, and promises of democratic renewal. One exception was Romania where the communist regime violently fought against protestors until the regime was overthrown. By 1989, a number of former Warsaw Pact countries had abandoned communism and adopted multi-party democracies.

In Yugoslavia, following the death of communist dictator Joseph Broz Tito, the trend of political reform of the communist system occurred along with a trend towards ethnic nationalism and inter-ethnic hostility, especially in Serbia, beginning with the 1986 Memorandum of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts followed by the agenda of Serbian communist leader Slobodan Milošević who aggressively pushed for increased political influence of Serbs in the late 1980s, condemning non-Serb Yugoslav politicians who challenged his agenda as being enemies of Serbs.

At the end of the decade, the Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 would be followed in 1990 by the German reunification.