1. Describe any six factors responsible for the disintegration of USSR.
Or
What is meant by New International Economic Order? Mention any four reforms of the global trading system proposed by UNCTAD in 1972.
Six factors responsible for the disintegration of USSR are—
(i) The internal weaknesses of Soviet political and economic institutions failed to meet the aspirations of the people.
(ii) Economic stagnation for many years led to severe consumer shortages and a large section of Soviet society began to doubt and question the system and to do so openly.
(iii) The Soviet Union had become stagnant in an administrative and political sense as well. The Communist Party that had ruled the Soviet Union for over 70 years was not accountable to the people. Ordinary people were alienated by slow and stifling administration, rampant corruption, the inability of the system to correct mistakes it had made, the unwillingness to allow more openness in government and the centralisation of authority in a-vast land.
(iv) The Soviet economy used much of its resources in maintaining a nuclear and military arsenal and the development of its satellite states in Eastern Europe and within the Soviet system. This led a huge economic burden that the system could not cope with.
(v) When Gorbachev became the President, he carried out reforms and loosened the system. He set in motion forces and expectations that few could have predicted and became virtually impossible to control. There were sections of Soviet society which felt that Gorbachev should have moved much faster and were disappointed and impatient with his methods. Others, especially members of the Communist Party and those who were served by the system, took exactly the opposite view. In this tug of war, Gorbachev lost support on all sides.
(vi) The rise of nationalism and the desire for sovereignty within various republics including Russia and the Baltic Republics, Ukraine, Georgia, and others proved to be the final and most immediate cause for the disintegration of the USSR.
Or
The non-aligned countries were more than merely mediators during the’ Cold War. The challenge for most of the non-aligned countries — a majority of them were categorised as the Least
Developed Countries (LDCs) — was to be more developed economically and to lift their people out of poverty. Economic development was also vital for the independence of the new countries. Without sustained development, a country could not be truly free. It would remain dependent on the richer countries including the colonial powers from which political freedom had been achieved. The idea of a New International Economic Order (NIEO) originated with this realisation.
The UNCTAD brought out a report in 1972 entitled Towards a New Trade Policy for Development. The report proposed a reform of the global trading system so as to:
(i) give the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) control over their natural resources exploited by the developed western countries.
(ii) obtain access to western markets so that LDCs would sell their products and, therefore, make trade more beneficial for the poorer countries.
(iii) reduce the cost of technology from the western countries, and
(iv) provide the LDCs with a greater role in international economic institutions.
Why did the superpowers have military alliances with smaller countries? Give three reasons.
What led to the emergence of bipolar world? What were the arenas of Cold War between the two power blocs?
What was India's foreign policy towards the USandUSSR during the Cold War era? Do you think that this policy helped India's interests?
Name any two foreign leaders alongwith the countries they belonged to, who are recognised as the founders of NAM.
1. Why was the Soviet Union worried about America invading Cuba?
2. In response to the action taken by America, what did Nikita Khrushchev do?
3. Why were the two superpowers reluctant to start nuclear war?
Name any two founders of Non-aligned Movement. The first NAM summit was the culmination of which three factors?
Sometimes it is said that the Cold War was a simple struggle for power and that ideology had nothing to do with it. Do you agree with this? Give one example to support your position.
1. Why is a war like situation called Cold War?
2. Identify one military pact each signed by each of the two super powers to balance the power rivalries.
3. Differentiate between the ideologies represented by the rival blocs.
NAM was considered a third option' by third world countries! How did this option benefit their growth during the peak of the Cold War?
On the political map of world locate and level the following by giving symbols to them:
Study the given map of the world in which six different countries have been marked 1,2,3,4,5,6. Identify these countries with their names and classify them as first, second, third world countries.
" Non-alignment does not imply neutrality or equidistance."What does this statement mean?
What do you th nk about the statement that NAM has bdcoPie irrelevant today? Give reasons to support your opinion.
Or
What is the relevance of non-aligned movement after the end of Cold War?
1. Describe any six factors responsible for the disintegration of USSR.
Or
What is meant by New International Economic Order? Mention any four reforms of the global trading system proposed by UNCTAD in 1972.
The Cold War produced an arms race as well as arms control. What were the reasons for both these development?
What was the difference in the ideology of Western Alliances and that of Eastern Alliances?
Why did India distance itself from the two camps led by the U.S. and the Soviet Union? Explain.
Why did India distance itself from the two camps led by the U.S. and the Soviet Union? Explain.
Here is a list of countries. Write against each of these blocs they belonged to during the Cold War.
Mark correct or wrong against each of the following statements that describe the features ol Tliitary alliances formed by the superpowers.
(a) Member countries of the alliance are to provide bases in their respective lands for superpowers.
(b) Member countries to support the superpower both in terms of ideology and military strategy.
(c) When a nation attacks any member country, it is considered as an attack on all the member countries.
(d) Superpowers assist all the member countries to develop their own nuclear weapons.