🌍CBSE Class 12 Political Science Chapter-1 The End of Bipolarity-Notes📝

Soviet System

• The Socialist Revolution in Russia in 1917 gave birth to USSR with inspiration of

socialism, based on following principles: –

• To ensure a minimum standard of living for all its citizens
• The government subsidised basic necessities
• Productive assets were owned and controlled by the state
• Russia was the only republic among fifteen republics that dominates everything and people in the region.
• After the Second World War, the East European countries that the Soviet army had

liberated from the fascist forces came under the control of the USSR.

• The Soviet economy became more developed than the rest of the world except the US.
• However, the Soviet system became very bureaucratic and authoritarian.
• In the arms race, the Soviet Union managed to match the US from time to time, but at great cost.

Gorbachev and the Disintegration of the USSR

• Mikhail Gorbachev, who had become General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1985, sought to reform the system.
•  He introduced economic and political reform policies of perestroika (restructuring) and glasnost (openness). But later his policies were criticised.
• A coup took place in 1991 that was encouraged by Communist Party hardliners.
• The people did not want the old-style rule of the Communist Party and wanted freedom.
• Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, the three major republics of the USSR, declared in December 1991 that the Soviet Union was disintegrated.
• Capitalism and democracy were adopted as the basis for the post-Soviet republics.

Reasons for the Soviet Union Disintegration

There are several reasons which led to the collapse of the Soviet Union.

• These were Internal weaknesses of Soviet political and economic institutions failed to meet the aspirations of the people.
• The economy of the Soviet Union became stagnant. The Soviet economy used much of its resources in maintaining a nuclear and military arsenal.
• The Soviet Union too became stagnant due to rampant corruption, the unwillingness to allow more openness in government, and the centralisation of authority in a vast land.
• A section of the society was not happy with the reforms of Gorbachev. It was believed that the reforms introduced by Gorbachev were at a very slow pace.
• Another reason for the collapse of USSR was the rise of nationalism and the desire for

sovereignty within various republics including Russia and the Baltic republics.

Consequences of Disintegration

There are many consequences of the disintegration of USSR. They are as follows:

• Russia was accepted as successor state of Soviet Union by inheriting a Soviet seat in UN Security Council, who accepted all international treaties and commitments of Soviet Union and carried out some nuclear disarmament measures with the US.
• It led to the end of Cold War confrontations. There was no dispute of Socialist ideology and Capitalist ideology.
• Power relations in world politics changed and thus it led to change in the relative influence of ideas and institutions.
• The US became the sole superpower which also backed the capitalist economy making it the dominant economic system internationally.
• The end of the Soviet bloc paved way for the emergence of many new countries.
• All these countries had their own independent aspirations and choices.
• The international system saw many new players emerge, each with its own identity, interests and economic and political difficulties.

Shock Therapy in Post-Communist Regimes

• The model of transition in Russia, Central Asia and East Europe from an authoritarian socialist system to a democratic capitalist system which was influenced by the World Bank and the IMF came to be known as ‘Shock Therapy’.
• This process of transition was due to the Collapse of Communism.
• There was a need to make a total shift to a capitalist economy which meant rooting out completely any structures evolved during the Soviet period.
• Shock therapy also involved a drastic change in the external orientation of these economics.
• It also involved a breakup of the existing, trade alliances among the countries of the Soviet bloc.

Consequences of Shock Therapy

• The shock therapy brought ruin to the economies and disaster upon the people of the entire region.
• The value of the Russian currency ‘Ruble’ declined dramatically. People lost all their savings due to high rate of inflation.
• The government withdrew subsidies which pushed large sections of the people into poverty. The middle classes were pushed to the periphery of society.
• The construction of democratic institutions was not given the same attention and priority as the demands of economic transformation.
• Most of these economies, especially Russia, started reviving in 2000, 10 years after their independence. The reason for the revival was the export of natural resources like oil, natural gas and minerals.
• Shock Therapy involved privatisation of property, private firms’ emergence, complete switch over to free trade and Foreign Direct Investment, Financial opening up, Currency convertibility as well as break up of existing trade alliances among the countries of Soviet Bloc to maintain relations directly with the West.

Tensions and Conflicts in Former Soviet Republics

• There were tensions and conflicts in most of the former Soviet republics and many have had civil wars and insurgencies.
• In Russia, two republics, Chechnya and Dagestan have had violent secessionist movements.
• Tajikistan witnessed a civil war for almost 10 years till 2001. The region had many sectarian conflicts.
• Central Asia too become a zone of competition between outside powers and oil companies.
• Czechoslovakia was divided into two, the Czechs and the Slovaks thus forming independent countries.
• Yugoslavia broke apart with several provinces like Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina declaring independence.

India and Post-Communist Countries

• India maintained a cordial relationship with all the post-communist countries. The strongest relation of India is still with Russia.
• Indo-Russian relation is an important aspect of India’s foreign policy. Both the countries share a vision of a multi-polar world order.
• India got benefits from Russia over issues like Kashmir, energy supplies, access to Central Asia, balancing its relations with China.
• Russia stands to benefit from this relationship because India is the second largest arms market for Russia.
• Both the countries have collaborated over many scientific projects.

Arab Spring

• The Arab Spring was a series of pro-democracy uprisings that enveloped several largely Muslim countries, including Tunisia, Morocco, Syria, Libya, Egypt and Bahrain.
• The name “Arab Spring” is a reference to the Revolutions of 1848—also known as the “People’s Spring”—when political upheavals swept Europe.
• Ever since, “spring” has been used to describe movements toward democracy like Czechoslovakia’s 1968 “Prague Spring.” Western media began popularizing the term “Arab Spring” in 2011.
• The Arab Spring took its roots where the struggle against corruption, unemployment and poverty was started by the public which turned into a political movement.
• The people considered the existing problems as outcome of autocratic dictatorship.
• The demand for democracy that started in Tunisia spread throughout the Muslim-dominated Arab countries in West Asia.
•  A major slogan of the demonstrators in the Arab world is ash-shaʻb yurīd isqāṭ an-niẓām (“the people want to bring down the regime”).
• The wave of initial revolutions and protests faded by mid-2012, as many Arab Spring demonstrations met with violent responses from authorities as well as from pro-government militias, counter-demonstrators and militaries.
• A power struggle continued after the immediate response to the Arab Spring.
• The influence of Arab Spring could also be seen in Yemen, Bahrain, Libya and Syria where similar protests by the people led to democratic awakening throughout the region.
• However, the political and social impact of these popular uprisings remains significant today, years after many of them ended.

WORDS THAT MATTER

• Soviet System: Soviet system was introduced after Russian Revolution in 1917 based on the principles of egalitarian society and planned economy controlled by the state.
• Socialist Bloc: The east European countries were known as Socialist Bloc because these countries were liberated from the fascist forces and their political and economic systems were based on this bloc only.
• Capitalist Economy: In this economy, land and productive assets are owned and controlled by the Capitalists.
• Uni-polar System: Affairs at international level are dominated by only one superpower.
• Multi-polar System: Affairs at international level cannot be dominated by one superpower only, instead group of countries play an important role.
• Egalitarian Society: It believes that all people are equally important and should have the same rights and opportunities in life.
• Largest Garage Sale: It was resulted due to Shock Therapy to undervalue the valuable industries of USSR to sell them at throwaway prices.
• Shock Therapy: The model of transition from authoritarian socialist system to a democratic capitalist system in Russia, Central Asia and East Europe under the influence of the World Bank and IMF.

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