...of key individuals? Command Word: Which Given Factor: impersonal economic and social forces or words and actions of key individuals? Given Event: downfall of the USSR Focus word: more responsible Introduction: * Background Information: The downfall of the USSR in the year 1991 was due to the convergence of many factors, mainly the impersonal economic forces and the words and actions of key individuals. * Definitions: * Downfall of USSR: the collapse of the Soviet union in the year 1991 * Impersonal economic and social forces: Economic and Social forces not in relation to any particular person at all * Words and actions of key individuals: The people in power creating a situation which allowed many bad repercussions to occur * More responsible: had more significance in resulting in the downfall of the USSR. * Argument outline: * 1: Impersonal economic and social forces had more responsibility in the downfall of USSR as they created unforeseen circumstances which could not be averted * 2: Words and Actions of Key individuals in the Soviet Union had more responsibility as they had full control of the economic circumstance in the Soviet Union. * 3: Words and actions of Key individuals in the USSR had more responsibility as they provoked the masses into a social revolution. * Stand: Impersonal economic and social forces were simply aggravations of the words and actions of key individuals. Thus words and actions...
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...Western countries, especially the United States, its NATO allies, and the communist nations, particularly the Soviet Union and other satellite states. The war began after World War II had got to an end. The Cold War was named so since it did not feature any form of military action. The countries in this war possessed nuclear weapons and any form of war would have led to serious destructions on both divides. The relative calm between these countries was sometimes followed by high tensions, which would have emanated into a war but did not (Gottfried & Reim, 2003). The following essay will look at what the U.S. did during that time, as well as summarize the situation that required U.S. diplomatic efforts during the president’s time in office. In addition, the essay will describe the effect of these diplomatic efforts for the U.S. and other countries as well as assess, in conclusion, the advantages and disadvantages of the particular doctrine that was followed. What the President Did During That Time During the cold war, the president was Ronald Reagan. He, together with members of his administration, came up with a strategy designed to oppose the influence that the Soviet Union had in the world. It came to be referred to as the Reagan Doctrine. This also came to be the showpiece of the United States foreign policy in the early 80s until the Cold war ended in 1991 (Gaddis, 2011). Under this Doctrine, the U.S. government provided what is widely known as “overt and covert...
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...Causes and Origins of the Collapse of the Former Soviet Union An Honors Research Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Graduation ―with Honors Research Distinction in Russian Economic Studies‖ in the Undergraduate Colleges of the Ohio State University by Erik Lauritzen The Ohio State University June 2011 Project Advisors: Professor Jason Blevins, Department of Economics Professor Jennifer Suchland, Department of Russian Table of Contents Abstract.................................................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 3 1. Macroeconomic Planning in the Soviet Union ................................................................. 5 1.1 The Early Policies of Period One ................................................................................................... 5 1.1.1 War Communism .......................................................................................................................... 5 1.1.2 The New Economic Policy (NEP) ............................................................................................... 9 1.1.3 Democratic Centralism ............................................................................................................... 11 1.2 The Significance of Economic...
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...Was the demise of the Soviet Union caused principally by American policies or growing domestic unrest across the Eastern bloc? Student Name: XIANG MA Student ID Number: 2112688 Module Code: V12153 Module Title: The Contemporary World since 1945 Module Convenor: Sarah Browne At the end of 1991, the Soviet Union, the world’s first socialist country with the largest territorial area suddenly disintegrated without any war and foreign invasion, which was one of the most important global events in the 20th century and it shocked the world to a huge extent[1].Since then, there have been heated debates and discussion about what caused the demise of the Soviet Union. Some scholars think that internal factors such as social crisis and growing domestic unrest led to the end of the Soviet Union while others believe external factors like the policies of the US and Western Europe resulted in the end of the Soviet Union. This essay strongly agrees that the demise of the Soviet Union was caused principally by growing domestic unrest across the Eastern bloc rather than American policies. The Soviet Union was a multi-ethnic country built on the ruins of the Czarist Russia characterized by its nation. The ethnic issue of the Soviet Union was longstanding. During the history of more than 370 years starting from Moscow Grand Duke Ivan IV declared him to be Czar and established the Czarist Russia in 1547 until the Czarist Russia was overthrown in 1917, the Czarist...
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...which led to the changing of the largest ruling power in the world to a new power benefiting everyone. II) The Former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics before Glasnost'. C) Different styles of Soviet government from the early 1900s up to 1985. 1) Leninism to Stalinism to Khrushchev to Brezhnev. D) Coups and the Great Purge III) What lead to Glasnost' and what it is. E) In 1986, Gorbachev dismayed at the slow process of reform being conducted in the country proposed to the citizens of the USSR and the entire world a two new ideas to help bring reform to the country in a much more radical direction. F) Gorbachev called for a glasnost’ (openness or candor) in the media and culture. IV) Changes within Russia and Foreign changes. G) Banned works and speaking out are no longer dangerous crimes against the state. 2) Criticizing the government led to the formation of a large number of independent nationalistic movements in the USSR. 3) Scholars and scientists are allowed to share their findings with others. H) Multiple treaties signed to end decades of heated arguments. 4) The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I). 5) Fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany. V) Glasnost' finally in the end lead to the complete non-unification of the Soviet Union. I) Glasnost' led to an openness in the media and cultural realms in Russia. Also led to...
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...Thousands of refugees crossed the border, escaping into camps in Pakistan and Iran with positively dismal conditions. The Mujahedeen were gaining popular support, but still lacked the training or weaponry to seriously challenge the Soviet presence. This rag-tag group of misfits’ main advantage was not any physical attribute, but the strength of their moral-based argument: that the Soviet-influenced socialist regime (and Soviet presence) challenged the traditions of Islam. This simple moral argument was all that was necessary to rally many youths to join the Mujahedeen, as well as convince much of the Afghani population to eventually support their cause. Anti-Communist countries around the world, particularly the US, began referring to the men as “freedom fighters.” The most notable example of this occurred in the White House in 1985, when Ronald Reagan is quoted as having said, “These gentlemen are the moral equivalent of America’s founding fathers.” However, the support they received from the United States was not a happy accident, nor was it simply a recognition...
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...Modern History Home > Modern History > International Studies in Peace and Conflict > The Cold War 1945-1991 > Overview of US-Soviet relations and the Cold War The Cold War 1945-1991 Overview of US-Soviet relations and the Cold War David Mclean Charles Sturt University Principal Focus: Students investigate key features and issues in the history of the Cold War 1945 - 1991 Outcomes Students: H1.1 describe the role of key features, issues, individuals, groups and events of select twentieth-century studies (Extract from Modern History Stage 6 Syllabus Board of Studies NSW 2004.) Key features and issues: • origins and development of the Cold War • influence of ideologies on the Cold War • impact of crises on changing superpower relations • the arms race • reasons for the end of the Cold War This is the transcript of a talk given at a seminar co-sponsored by the History Teachers’ Association of New South Wales and the US Information Service in Sydney on 2 September 1995. From this tutorial you will learn about: • influence of ideologies that led resulted in the division of the world into two opposed camps from 1945 • emerging differences between the superpowers Contents 1. US – Soviet relations were not synonymous with the Cold War 2. Chronology of the Cold War 3. Influence of ideologies of communism and capitalism on the Cold War 4. Soviet Objectives 5. American objectives 6. The Arms Race 7. The Third World was important for the Cold...
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...RESEARCH PROPOSAL Topic of the research paper: ‘Human Rights Protection in the Post-Communist Countries: the Disquieting Case of the Baltic States’ Why this topic? 1. The Baltic States, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, are ex-communistic countries that were reborn as self-determined nation-states 16 years ago, in 1991. Major economical, political and social changes that were caused by the ’Big Bang’, i.e. the collapse of USSR, have resulted in several legal and social issues in the societies that need to be researched and analysed. 2. The Baltic States are the member states of the United Nations and European Union and thus face serious obligations concerning human rights protection arising from several ratified international treaties. So far the feedback from the UN has pointed out various important shortcomings in the population policies and legislation, particularly concerning minorities’ issues. 3. Russia, as the official succession state of the former USSR is interested in keeping the constant pressure on the Baltic States by sending out signals to the international community about alleged on-going discrimination of Russian minority groups. 4. The topic has become the target of both, international and national interest, due to the recent events (e.g. April riots in Estonia) which requires Estonia, but also other Baltic States, to reconsider and revise the whole population policy and human rights legislation. These aforementioned reasons and the overall need to develop...
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...misunderstandings. Both the nations despite having convergence of interests on various bilateral, regional and international issues and immense potentials in cooperation have never availed opportunities. In fact both, Pakistan and Russia had viewed each other through the prism of other states and with wrong perceptions. The changing international environment and internal and regional political dynamics of both the states have now provided another chance their elites to revisit their bilateral relations and lay down a foundation for a prosperous future. SECTION-1 INTRODUCTION Background 1. On 26 December 1991 the world witnessed the collapse of the first and the largest communist country - the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR). This most historic event of the 21st century marked the end of Cold War and emergence of fifteen independent states. Ever since the Soviet flag lowered from Kremlin, the Russian with their tricolour flag are in search of their identity and new role in the world politics. The academia and policymaking machinery of the country has been indicating various...
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...Case study: India in the move Introduction With more than 1,5 billion citizens, India represent a huge market for national and international companies. However India is still facing some difficulties that are slowing it expansion and its economic growth. Trying to solve them is the main objective of the minister of finance Jaswant Singh that has to craft a budget to achieve the 10th five years plan, which constitutes an economic, and social growth project for 2002-2007. Among its main objectives is achieving, a growth rate of 8% (Exhibit 2), removing interstate barriers to trade and commerce, implementing a more efficient fiscal management, creating jobs, reducing poverty, illiteracy and solving the social, politic and religious conflicts within the country. What were the reforms that led to this new plan? Is this developing India attractive for foreign direct investment? To answer to this question, we will start by analyzing India’s Background and we will finish by studying its process towards globalization I. India’s Background India’s population in 2002 knew a continuous growth of 1,5% and is estimated to keep and on growing. Live expectancy had reached 62 in 2002 and the literacy rate was 65% in 2001. Having a very diversified population, the country has 18 official languages, Hindu being the most prevalent. Many religion try to cohabite, not always successfully, inside the territory. Hindu-Muslim frictions represent a major problem for the country; indeed...
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...Berend (2000) – From Plan to Market, From Regime Change to Sustained Growth in Central and Eastern Europe * After the state socalism collapsed in Central and Eastern Europe in the early 1990s, the Washington consensus of 1989 (a broadly accepted set of criteria for a reform program) was adopted as a blueprint for the process of transformation. * Central elements: * Macro-economic stabilization (for countries with significant inflation and indebtedness) * New institutions * Legislation * Price and trade liberalisation * Radical privatization * Most of the “transformatology“ literature is based on the assumption that the elimination of deformed non-market economies, a restoration of market, and private ownership, paired with a laissez-faire free market system would automatically solve all major economic/social problems of the transforming countries. * The economic crisis within the Central and Eastern Europe area started much earlier – in the mid-late 1970s when growth slowed significantly and the terms of trade for the state socialist countries began to deteriorate (1973 first oil shock 20% decline, for some even 26-32%) Schumpeter’s theory of “structural crisis”: advancements in technology lead to decline of the old leading sectors and export branches based on old technology, generating wide-ranging slow-down and decline and causing an economic crisis even in rich, advanced countries. However, although rising new technology...
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...2000 The Cuban missile crisis of October 1962 is generally regarded as the most serious military confrontation of the Cold War. American destroyers deployed along a picket line to intercept Soviet ships transporting missiles and nuclear warheads to Cuba while American air, ground and naval forces prepared for air strikes against Soviet missile sites under construction in Cuba and a follow-up invasion. The Strategic Air Command was put on an unprecedented state of alert – “DEFCON II,” only one step away from “war is imminent.” On Saturday morning,October 27, President Kennedy and his advisors were pessimistic about their ability to preserve the peace. Robert Kennedy, the President’s brother and Attorney General of the U.S., had “the feeling that the noose was tightening on all of us, on Americans, on mankind, and that the bridges to escape were crumbling.”1 In Moscow, the tension was “phenomenal.” On Sunday morning, General Secretary Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev and his advisors worried “that Kennedy intended to declare war, to launch an attack” against the Soviet Union.2 That same day, the two leaders reached an accommodation that, in retrospect, turned out to be one of the key turning points of the Cold War. 1 OVERVIEW The “Caribbean crisis,” as it was known in the former Soviet Union, was attributed to the Kennedy administration’s unwillingness to accept the status quo in Cuba. Unalterably opposed to Fidel Castro, the administration organized an ill-fated invasion of Cuba...
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...Transition The First Ten Years Analysis and Lessons for Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union Transition The First Ten Years Analysis and Lessons for Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union THE WORLD BANK Washington, D.C. © 2002 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, DC 20433 All rights reserved. 1 2 3 4 5 05 04 03 02 The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent. The World Bank cannot guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply on the part of the World Bank any judgment of the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Rights and Permissions The material in this work is copyrighted. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or inclusion in any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the World Bank. The World Bank encourages dissemination of its work and will normally grant permission promptly. For permission to photocopy or reprint, please send a request with complete information to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc, 222 Rosewood...
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...GLOBALIZATION BACKLASH AND THE RISE OF ANTI-HEGEMONIC PARTY STATES Diego Olstein Hebrew University of Jerusalem Contents Introduction: Globalization and Anti-Hegemonic Party State………………………………..5 Part I: Principle Chapter 1: Defining Anti-Hegemonic Party State………………………………………………….18 Chapter 2: Anti-Hegemonic Party State and Domestic Features of Political Regimes…………………………………………………………………………………………… 44 Chapter 3: Anti-Hegemonic Party State and Exogenous Perspective on Political Regimes……………………………………………………………………………………………75 Part II: History Chapter 4: The Global Rise of Anti-Hegemonic Party States and Globalization Backlash 1917-1945...…………………………………………………………….91 Chapter 5: The Big Leap of Anti-Hegemonic Party States: The Second Wave 1946-1975…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………111 Chapter 6: Globalization Anew and the Marginalization of Anti-Hegemonic Party States 1976-2010………………………………………………………142 Conclusions Introduction: Globalization and Anti-Hegemonic Party State In 1997 the European Commission defined Globalization “as the process by which markets and production in different countries are becoming increasingly interdependent due to the dynamics of trade in goods and services and flows of capital and technology. It is not a new phenomenon but the continuation...
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...Text and Context in Russian Legislation With Specific Reference To The Russian Constitution Nigel J. Jamieson* ABSTRACT Law and politics have a closer inter-textual relationship in Russian jurisprudence than would be understood generally of any European legal system. The closeness of this inter-textual relationship can be partly explained by history, culture, and language, as also by dialectics, ideologies, and literature. Concepts of law, government, and the state, together with concepts of federalism, democracy, and the rule of law, can vary so markedly from their apparently translatable equivalents that, even when recognising the formal concept of a codified Constitution, the inter-textual relationship between the enacted law and politics remains so dynamic as to be impossible to tell which it is, of law or of politics, that is the text, and which the context. This inter-textual relationship remains so strongly and continuously dynamic at the level of public and international law that the customary division by which lawyers, and common lawyers especially, assume law to be the text and politics to be the context carries a critical risk. This paper identifies that risk in terms of law, literature, and logic, as well as in terms of history, politics, and dialectics. To focus solely on law as a specialism without any more syncretic and synergic account of the other contributing disciplines, is to make the textual tail of the law wag the contextual dogsbody...
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