The 1980s was the ecade spanning from 1980 to 1989, also called "The Eighties". The decade saw social, economic and general upheaval as wealth, production and western culture migrated to new industrializing economies. The American led global war on drugs began, and US automakers continued market losses to Japan and other countries. Chasing cheap labor, a lot of global manufacturing relocated into Mexico, Korea, Taiwan, China and Eastern Europe, away from traditional manufacturing strongholds. New middle class economies were beginning to emerge in the old Soviet bloc countries and other parts of the world, and Islamic fundamentalism began to assert itself in the Middle East.