Paper-8-History-of-Contemporary-World-1945-CE-2000-CE-English-Version-munotes

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COLD WAR ( 1945-1985) MEANING,
CAUSES, SECURITY PACTS AND
CONFLICTS OF COLD WAR

Unit Structure :
1.0 Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Meaning and Origin of the Cold War:
1.3 Causes of the Cold War:
1.4 Security Pacts

1.5 Conflicts of Cold War
1.6 Summary
1.7 Questions
1.8 References
1.0 OBJECTIVES

1) To understand the meaning and origin of the Cold War.
2) To analyse the causes of Cold War
3) To examine various Security Pacts signed between the nations of Cold
War

1.1 INTRODUCTION
The Cold War was the post-Second World War phenomenon that led to
the formation of two major power blocs – the Capitalist bloc and the
Communist bloc. With the end of the Second World War in 1945, the
Fascist and Nazi dictatorship in Europe, and Japanese military
dictatorship in Asia came to an end. The Western democracies led by the
U.S.A. and the Communist regime of the U.S.S.R. joined to defeat the
Axis Powers - Germany, Italy and Japan. With the defeat of the fascist
forces, both the super powers tried to dom inate the world and tried to
spread their own brand of ideology. This led to an age of suspicion,
rivalry and conflict between these two superpowers. The strained
relations that developed between these two superpowers following the
Second World War came to be known as the ‘Cold War’. Thus, the
Cold War was post-1945 struggle between two blocs of nations led by munotes.in

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2 the United States and the Soviet Union. The Cold War was waged on
political, economic, and propaganda fronts and had only limited recourse
to weapons. Intense economic and diplomatic struggles erupted between
the two rival power blocs, including the extension of the contest across
the world through proxy conflicts in the Third World. Different interests
led to mutual suspicion and hostility in an escalating rivalry rooted in
ideology. Paradoxically, the Cold War secured military peace in Europe
for almost 50 years.
1.2 MEANING AND ORIGIN OF THE COLD WAR
The A merican financier and presidential adviser, Bernard Baruch has
been considered as the originator of the term ‘Cold War’. During a
congressional debate on 16 April 1947, Bernard Baruch first used the
term. He remarked: “Let us not be deceived today that we are in the
midst of a Cold War.” Walter Lippmann who through his book
entitled ‘Cold War’ popularized it picked up the term. Following this,
the term Cold War has been used to describe the relations between
the Western democratic capitalist bloc led by the United States and the
Eastern Communist bloc led by the Soviet Union since the end of the
Second World War.
Cold War was not a state of armed conflict but a state in which the
rivals, while maintaining their peaceful diplomatic relations,
continued their hostility. According to A Dictionary of Politics, the Cold
War was “a state of tension between two countries or group of
countries in which each side adopts policies designed to strengthen itself
and weaken the other, the line falling short of actual hot war.” The Cold
War had various facets. It comprised of the whole complex of
political, psychological, economic, subversive and indirectly military
measures used by one side to extend its influence in the world and to
weaken that of the other. The Cold War was an ideological war or
propaganda war or a diplomatic war. It was neither a condition of war nor
a condition of peace. It was a state of uneasy peace. Ideological conflict,
political distrust, diplomat ic manoeuvring, military compet ition and
armed race, espionage and psychological warfare were the symptoms
of the Cold War. Thus, the Cold War, though was not an actual war,
had all the p otentialities of a war. Some writers had described the Cold
War as ‘hot peace’. Kennedy described it as ‘hard and bitter pea ce’.
Different authors in various ways have defined the term ‘Cold
War’. However, these definitions point out the tension and conflict
between the two rival blocs in international relations. According to R.K.
Garthoff the Cold War is “the conflict between the Communist Powers
and the rest of the world waged by means short of o vert major
war.” Prof. Young Hum Kim maintains, “Though the te rm Cold
War defies precise definition, it may be described as the international
environment characterized by persistent tensions and conflicts between
the free world and the Communist camp in general and between the
United States and the Soviet Union in particular. This new war of
cold realities in international politics has been waged in every munotes.in

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3 conceivable field of international life, especially in national defense,
economic growth, diplomacy and ideology.”
1.3 CAUSES OF THE COLD WAR
1.3.1. Conflicting Ideology:
Though the Cold War manifested itself after the Second World War,
the differences between the Soviet Union and the Western powers could
be traced to the establishment of the Communist rule in Russia
following the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. The basic cause of
conflict lay in differences of principle between the communist states
and the liberal capitalist-democratic states. The communist system has
been based on organizing the state and society in line with the ideas of
Karl Marx. Marxism embod ied the principle that the wealth of a
country should be collectively owned and shared by everybody. The
economy should be centrally planned and the interests and well-being of
the working classes safeguarded by the state. The capitalist system
on the other hand, operates on the basis of private ownership and
the driving forces behind capitalism have been private enterprise and
laissez faire with a view of making profits.
Since the establishment of the world’s first communist government in
Russia in 1917, the governments of most capitalist states viewed it with
mistrust and were afraid of communism spreading to their countries. The
enmity of the Western powers with the S oviet Union was also
manifested from the refusal of the Western powers to recognize the
Bolshevik government in Russia. The USA did not recognize the Soviet
Union until 1933. The Soviet Union could get the membership of the
League of Nations only in 1934. Besides, Soviet Union did not get any
coope ration from the Western powers in her attempt at collective
security and disarmament programmes. She protested against the policy
of appea sement followed by Britain and France towards Nazi
Germany with a view to create a strong rival in Germany to check the
Russia power. During the Second World War in September 1939,
following the German invasion of Russia in 1941, the need for self-
preservation against Germany and Japan prompt ed the USSR, the USA
and Britain to forget their differences and work toget her. However,
once the common ene my was defeated, the victors fought over the
booty. And the Cold War became a reality. Thus, the Cold War was
rooted in ideological differences between the capitalist West and
communist Russia.
1.3.2. Dominanace of Soviet Russia Over Eastern Europe:
When the defeat of Nazi Germany was imminent Stalin decided to take
advantage of the situation to extend Soviet influence over large part of
Europe. With the collapse of the military machine Stalin tried to acquire
vast regions of Germany, Finland, Poland and Romania. The Soviet
occupation of Eastern and Central Europe by So viet forces was
viewed with great apprehension by the Western powers. Stalin failed to munotes.in

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4 honour the pledges included in the Yalta and Balkan Agreements. At
Yalta (1945) the Western powers had acknowledged Russia’s military
authority over Ea stern and Central Europe. However, it was agreed that in
all the liberated countries of Europe democratic institutions would be
created after holding free elections. In spite of these pledges, the So viet
Union established a communist regime in Poland. Similarly, Soviet
supported regimes were e stablished in other Central and Eastern
European countries. These included Finland, Bulgaria, Romania,
Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and East Germany. Communist
guerillas were dispatched by the Soviet Union to Greece for the same
purpose. Under these circumstances the Western powers took upon
themselves the task of checking further expansion of Soviet influence in
Europe.
1.3.3. The Truman Doctrine:
The Truman Doctrine, known after the US President, Harry S. Truman,
was the outcome of the events in Greece. Britain had liberated Greece
from the Nazis in 1944. Under a treaty the Soviet Union had
acknowledged Greece as a British sphere of influence. However, when
the elections in 1945 brought the Royalists into power, the
communists started a guerilla war against the Greek government,
which took the form of a civil war. The communist guerilla forces in
Greece received outside help from Bulgaria, Albania and Yugoslavia.
The Western powers were of the opinion that the So viet Union was
indirectly backing the communist insurgency in Greece.
Under these circumstances Britain decided to withdraw her troops from
Greece and Turkey. This decision of the British Government determined
the general direction to the American policy ever since. The journalists
referred the US response to the developments in Greece and Turkey
leading to the decision of the British Government to withdraw its troops
from these two countries as the Truman Doctrine. The Truman Doctrine
basically altered the role of the USA in world politics from that of
‘isolation’ after the First World War to that of ‘active involvement’
after the Second World War. The Truman Doctrine, though originated
in the situation in Greece and Turkey, was important not because of
those countries but as an announcement of American intentions towards
the world in general. The formal decision-makers in this matter
were President, Harry S. Truman, and the Secretary of State, General
George C. Marshall. But the true originator of the Truman Doctrine was
the under-secretary of state, Dean Acheson. He visualized a grim picture
of a world dominated by the Soviet Union.
The Truman Doctrine was formulated as a message to the Congress,
delivered by President Truman on 12 March 1947. The Truman Doctrine
was based on the following basic postulates: “At the present moment
nearly every nation must choose between alternative ways of life. The
choice is too o ften not a free one. One way of life is based on the will of
the majority and it is distinguished by free institutions, representat ive
government, free elections, guarantees of individual liberty, freedom of munotes.in

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5 speech and election and freedom from political oppression. The second
way of life is based upon the will of a minority forcibly imposed on the
majority. It relies upon terror and oppression, a controlled press and radio,
fixed elections and the suppression of personal freedoms. I believe that it
must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are
resisting subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures”.
It is important to note that the Truman Doctrine was in no way a
regional doctrine. It was not confined to Europe, much less confined to
Greece and Turkey. It became a general policy of containment of
communism through out the world. Besides, the notion of ‘suppo rting
free peop les’ contained the germs of a military commitment, as well as an
economic package. It was the precursor of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization. According to the critics of the Truman Doctrine, it was a
declaration of war: the Cold War. As to the defense of Greece and
Turkey, the US Congress was asked to provide 400 million dollars from
the period to June 1948. More funds were allocated later. The British
troops in Greece remained till 1950. The Russian threat to Turkey
retreated to its normal status of a reasonab le speculation. Thus, the
Truman Doctrine made it clear that the USA had no intent ion of
returning to isolation as she had after the First World War. Through
the Truman Doctrine the USA was committed to a policy of containing
communism, not just in Europe, but also throughout the world, including
Korea and V ietnam.
1.3.4. The Berlin Blockade:
At the end of the Second World War, as agreed among the big powers at
Yalta and Potsdam, Germany and Berlin were each divided into four
zones. While the three western powers, the USA, Britain and France did
their best to organize the economic and political recovery of their
zones, Stalin, determined to make Germany pay for all the damage
inflicted on Russia, treated the Soviet zone (East Germany) as a satellite,
draining its resources away to Russia.
Early in 1948 the three Western Zones of Germany were merged to form
a single economic unit. Its prosperity, thanks to Marshall Aid, was in
marked contrast to the poverty of the Russian zone. The Western Powers
wanted all four zones to be re-united and given self-government as
soon as possible. However, Stalin had decided that it would be safer for
Russia if he kept the Russian zone separate, with its own communist, pro-
Russian government. The prospect of the three Western Zones re-uniting
was alarming enou gh to Sta lin, because he felt that the reunited Germany
might become a part of the Western bloc. In June 1948 the West
introduced a new currency and ended price controls in their zone and
in West Berlin.
The Russian response was immediate. All road, rail and canal links
between West Berlin and West Germany were closed. The Soviet aim
was to force the West to withdraw from West Berlin by reducing it to
starvation point. The Western powers, convinced that a retreat would munotes.in

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6 encourage a Soviet attack on West Germany, were determined to hold on.
They decided to airlift supplies to the residents of West Berlin. Over
the next ten months two million tones of supplies were airlifted
to the blockaded city in a remarkable operation, which kept the 2.5
million West Berliners fed and warm right through the winter. In May
1949 the Russians admitted failure by lifting the Berlin blockade.
The Berlin blockade was one of the significant manifestation of the Cold
War. It was over Berlin that the Soviet Union and the United States came
to their decisive trial of strength. During the blockade the United States
moved its strategic bombers to Britain, and thus threatened Moscow with
nuclear bombardment for the first time. When the blockade was lifted, the
Soviet Union and the Western powers had come to a tacit
understanding about Germany, which set the pattern for the future. Since
there was no prospect of the Russians allowing a united Germany, the
Western powers went ahead in uniting the three zones under their
control and set up the German Federal Republic (FRG), also known
as West Germany in August 1949. The Russians retaliated by setting up
their zone as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), known as East
Germany in October 1949. Germany remained divided until the collapse
of communism in East Germany (November- December 1989)
made it possible early in 1990 to reunite the two states into a single
Germany.
1.4 SEC URITY PACTS
1.4.1 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) :
In the years after the Second World War, many Western leaders saw
the policies of the Soviet Union as threatening the stability and
peace of Europe. The forcible installation of Communist
governments through out Eastern Europe, territorial expansion by the
Soviets, and its suppo rt of guerrilla war in Greece and regional separatism
in Iran, appeared to many as the first steps in new aggression that
might lead to another world war. Subsequent events, including
deterioration of the situation in Greece and the near collapse of war-
devastated European economies during the winter of 1946-1947, led the
United States to two important initiatives: the European Economic
Recovery Programme or Marshall Plan, which the Eastern
Europea ns rejected under Soviet compulsion; and the declaration of
the Truman Doctrine. This, although directed at the situation in Greece
and Turkey, contained a gene ralized pledge to help any nation defending
its freedom and democracy.
Under these circumstances led by Britain and its foreign secretary, Ernest
Bevin, Western E uropean countries, especially France, Holland,
Belgium and Luxembourg formed the Western Union Defensive
Alliance by the Brussels Defense Treaty of 1948 promising military
collaboration in case of war. They were joined by the United States,
Canada, Portugal, Denmark, Iceland, Italy and Norway. This
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7 of Berlin, which began in Ma rch 1948, encouraged negotiations that
culminated in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in April
1949. Greece and Turkey accepted the Treaty in 195 2, and the new
Federal Republic of Germany became the member of the NATO in May
1955.
The NATO is embodied in fourteen short articles. The main part of the
treaty is contained in Articles 3 and 6. The parties to the treaty agreed to
maintain their individual and collective capacity to resist armed attack
against one or more of them in Europe and North America. An attack
against any one of them was to be considered as an attack against all of
them. The creation of NATO was an affirmation of the d issolution of the
wartime alliance. It was based on the fear of Russian aggression,
compound ed by a strong resentment against the nature of Russian
domination in Eastern Europe, frustration turning to hostility in
German affairs, the exposure of Western Europe as a result of war
damage and demobilization, and the failure to internationalize the
control of atomic energy.
1.4.2 Baghdad Pact or Central Treaty Organization (CENTO):
The policy of containing communism was extended to other parts of the
world as well. Thus, security pacts, similar to the NATO were established
in other strategic areas. After the European security, the defense of the
Middle East and its oil resources were considered to be vital from the
point of view of the Western democracies.
In any future war, it was felt that the Middle East could serve as a base
for striking at the lifeline of Russia’s communication. The United States,
thus, planned a new approach for the defense of the Middle East against
any possible future ad vances of the Soviet Union. In a new strategy of
security system for t he Middle East, the United Sta tes encouraged
Turkey, a member of the NATO and Pakistan, which had been
promised military and economic aid from the United States to sign a
pact of mutual defense in April 1954. Iraq, which was following a
pro-western policy at that time, was suited as the base of a Middle
Eastern defense and a link between Turkey and Pakistan. In February
1955 Turkey and Iraq signed the Baghdad Pact. Britain joined the
Baghdad Treaty Organization and Pakistan also acceded to it. However,
the United States did not join the B aghdad Pact. It was hoped that
Afghanistan and Iran would eventually join the Baghdad Pact and thus
complete the ‘northern tier’ strategy. Strained relations between Pakistan
and Afghanistan kept the latter out of the Pact, but Iran joined it in
September 1955.
The Baghdad Pact was viewed with suspicion by the Arab countries. As
Nasser of Egypt refused to join the Baghdad Pact and attempt was made
to his ouster. Thus, the Pact was seen as a threat to the Arab national
movement. The Soviet Union denounced it and India also disapproved
the U.S. aid to Pakistan. In 1958 following the fall of mona rchy in
Iraq and the establishment of a republican government under General munotes.in

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8 Qasim led to the withdrawal of Iraq from the Baghdad Pact. Under
these circumstances, the United States could no longer remain aloof
from the security arrangement of the Middle East. The Baghdad Pact
was replaced by the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO) and its
headqua rters were shifted from Baghdad to Turkey.
1.4.3 The Anzus Pact:
In an attempt to prevent the spread of communism in the Far East and
South East Asia, the United States continued to suppo rt the Nationalist
government of Chiang Kai-shek in Formosa (Taiwan) and signed
a security treaty with Japan in September 1951 recognizing that
Japan had the right to enter into collective security arrangement.
However, the possibility of a revival of Japan and the threat of
communist expansion alarmed Philippines, Australia and New
Zealand. Australia and New Zealand made it clear that their approval
of the treaty between the United States and Japan depended upon an
agreement for the defense of their territories by the United States.
Though both these countries were the members of the B ritish
Commonwealth of Nations, the relative weakness of Britain prompted
them to seek protection from the United State s. In August 1951, the
United States had signed a mutual defense pact with Philippines and it
was followed by a tripartite agreement with Australia and New Zealand
in September 1951.
This pact of security between the United States on the one side and
Australia and New Zealand on the other was known as the Anzus Pact.
The provisions of the treaty directed the parties to develop by self-
help and mutual aid their capacity to resist armed attack. They agreed to
consult each other in case of any such attack in the Pacific area.
1.4.4 South East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO):
The renewed threat of the expansion of the communist influence in South
East Asia engag ed the immediate attention of the Eisenhower
administration for the need of setting up of collective security
organization in that region. With this view a conference was convened at
manila which was atten ded by eight Western and Asian governments in
September 1954. Representatives of these eight governments signed the
South East Security Pact. The signatories were the United States, Britain,
France, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Pakistan and Philippines.
Neutral Asian countries including India refused to attend the
conference. By a separate declaration, the United States unde rtook upon
herself the task of defending the area not only from communist
aggression but also to mutual consultation in case of other aggression
or armed attack. The treaty also provided for co- operation in the
economic filed. The headquarters of the SEATO was established at
Bangkok, capital of Thailand.
1.4.5 Warsaw Pact: munotes.in

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9 The response of the Soviet Union to the Western attempt at security
pacts, as instruments of containing communism was the conclusion of
the Warsaw Pact in may 1955. The signatories to this pact were the Soviet
Union, Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, Rumania and
Czechoslovakia. The signato ries decided to set up a united command
of armed forces of the signatory states with Moscow as its
headquarters. The members of the Warsaw Pact agreed to resist
jointly the attacks of the imperialist and capitalist powers, to establish
peace and security by a united resistance to any foreign attack upon any
member state. They also agreed to participate in mutual economic and
cultural collaboration. Essentially, the Warsaw Pact was a counterpart
of the NATO. Its chief object was to meet any challenge from the
NATO powers.
1.5 CONFLICTS OF COLD WAR

1.5.1 The Korean Conflicts (1950-53):
At the end of the Second World War, the Allies agreed that Soviet forces
would accept the surrender of Japanese troops in Korea north of the
38th degree of parallel, while American troops would accept the Japanese
surrender south of that line. As far as the Americans were concerned, it
was not intended to be a permanent division. The United Nations
wanted free elections for the whole country. However, the prospects
of the unification of Korea, like that of Germany, soon became part of
Cold War rivalry.
No agreement could be reached between the Soviet Union and the United
States on the issue of the unification of Korea and the artificial division
of Korea continued. Elections were held in the south under the
supervision of the United Nations, and the independent Republic of
Korea or South Korea was set up with Seoul as the capital, in
August 1948. The following month, the Russians created the
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or North Korea under the
communist government of Kim Il Sung, with its capital at Pyongyang.
In 1949 Russian and American troops were withdrawn, leaving a
potentially dangerous situation. Most Koreans bitterly resented the
artificial division of their country by outsiders, but both leaders claimed
the right to rule the whole country.
In June 1950, the North Korean troops, without warning invaded South
Korea. The North Koreans might have had the tacit approval of the
Soviet Union, perhaps wanting to test Truman’s determination. The
Russians had supplied the North Koreans with tanks and other
equipments. A communist takeover of the south would strengthen
Russia’s position in the Pacific and might have made up the Soviet failure
in West Berlin. The communists claimed that South Korea had started
the war, when troops of the ‘bandit traitor’ Syngman Rhee crossed the
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10 Truman held Stalin responsible for the invasion of South Korea by
North Korea. He saw the invasion as part of a vast Russian p lan to
spread communism as widely as possible. The policy of the United
States therefore changed decisiv ely. Instead of just economic help and
promises of support, Truman decided it was essential for the West to take
a stand by supporting South Korea. American troops were ordered to
proceed from Japan to Korea even before the UN had decided what
action to take. The Un Security Council called on North Korea to
withdraw her troops, and when this was ignored, asked member states to
send help to South Korea. This decision was reached in the absence of the
Russian delegates, who were boycotting meetings in protest against the
UN refusal to allow Mao’s new Chinese regime to be represented, and
who would certainly have vetoed such a decision. Heeding the call of
the UN, the USA and fourteen other countries sent troops, though
the vast majority were Americans. All forces were under the command of
American General Macarthur.
The arrival of the Western troops was just in time to prevent the whole
of South Korea from being overrun by the communists. By September
1950 communist forces had captured the whole country except the
southeast, around the port of Pu san. UN reinforcements poured into
Pusan, which consequently led to the sudden collapse of the North
Korean forces. By the end of September UN troops had entered Seoul
and cleared the south of communists. Instead of calling for a cease-fire
now that the original UN objective had been achieved, Truman ordered an
invasion of North Korea, with the approval of the UN, aiming to
unite the country and hold free elections. Chou En-lai, the Chinese
foreign minister had warned that China would resist if UN troops entered
North Korea. However, the warning was ignored. By the end of
October 1950 UN troops had captured Pyongyang, occupied two- thirds
of North Korea and reached the Yalu River, the frontier between North
Korea and China.
These developments alarmed the Chinese government. There
seemed every possibility of the UN troops invading Manchuria,
the part of China bordering on North Korea. In order to pre-empt the
Western strategy, the Chinese launched a massive counter-offensive and
by mid-Janua ry 1951 the Chinese succeeded in driving the UN troops
out of North Korea, crossed the 38th parallel and captured Seoul
again.
Mean while, Macarthur was demand ing the authority to blockade China's
coastline and bomb its Manchurian bases. Truman refused, feeling
that such a course would bring the Soviet Union into the war and thus
lead to a global conflict. In response, Macarthur appealed over Truman's
head directly to the American public in an effort to enlist support for his
war aims. In Ap ril 1951, President Truman relieved Macarthur as UN
commander and as commander of American forces in the Far East. In
June UN troops cleared the communists out of South Korea again and
fortified the frontier. In July 1951, peace talks began while the North munotes.in

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11 Koreans and Chinese vainly tried to score further success on the
battlefield. The negot iations dragged on for months, until after the
U.S.
presidential elections in 1952 and the victory of Dwight D. Eisenhower,
who had criticized the unpopular war and announced his intention to
visit Korea if elected. After a brief renewal of hostilities in June
1953, an armistice was concluded in July 1953 with an ag reement that
the frontier between North and South Korea should be roughly along the
38th parallel line. The exchange and repatriation of prisoners soon
followed.
The Korean War brought a new dimension to the Cold War. American
relations were permanently strained with China as well as with Russia and
the familiar pattern of both sides trying to build up alliances appeared in
Asia as well as Europe. China supported the Indo-Chinese communists in
their struggle for independe nce from France. She also offered
friendship and aid to under-developed Third World countries in Asia,
Africa and Latin America. China also signed ‘peaceful co-existence’
agreements with India and Burma. Mean while the Americans tried to
encircle China with bases. In 1951 defensive agreements were signed
with Australia and New Zealand (ANZUS Pact), and in 1954 these
three states together with Britain and France set up the South East Asia
Treaty Organization (SEATO). However, the USA was d isappointed
when only three Asian states-Pakistan, Thailand and Philippines-joined
SEATO. It was clear that most of the states in Asia wanted to keep away
from the Cold War and remain uncommitted. Relations between the
USA and China were also poor because of the Taiwan question. The
communists still hoped to capture the island and destroy Chiang Kai-
shek and his Nationalist party (KMT). However, the Americans were
committed to defend Chiang and wanted to keep Taiwan as an
American military base.
1.5.2. German Conflicts and The U-2 Incident:
In 1956, the US president Eisenhower had put forward his ‘open skies’
plan under which powers would allow ‘spy planes’ from other countries
to over fly their territory in order to verify the size of opposing military
forces. The Soviet Union did not agree to the US proposal as she saw
this as an attempt by Western powers to intrude on Russian affairs.
Meanwhile, Khrushchev, who had succeeded Stalin in Russia in 1953,
in an opening speech at the 20th Party Congress had outlined his
‘revision’ of Russian foreign policy. War was not inevitable with the
capitalists; co-existence was desirable; in the age of the hydrogen
bomb there would be no winners. But Khrushchev spoke also of co-
existence ‘between states having different social systems’, which,
inevitably, would continue their struggle for supremacy.
In 1959 Khrushchev visited the USA, partly to address the UN
General Assembly, partly to meet Eisenho wer at Camp David. In spite
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12 and Dulles’s hesitations, it was agreed that a summit meeting should be
held in 1960. Apart from disarmament, the summit would, it was hoped,
lead to a settlement of the German question. The summit was arranged
for May 1960 in Paris.
As soon as the Conference opened at Paris, Khrushchev anno unced
that an American U-2 ‘spy plane’ had been shot down over Russia and
that he was no longer prepared to discuss the German problem with the
untrustworthy Americans. Eisenho wer refused to accept that such a p[lane
had been shot down. Khrushchev then produced the unfortunate Gary
Powers, the pilot of the ill-fated U-2, as evidence not only of US
spying activity but also of Eisenhower’s lying. Khrushchev called the
summit off and cancelled the invitation, which had been extended to
Eisenho wer to visit Moscow. Khrushchev could claim a ‘triumph’ for
having shown up the Americans, while his suppo rters could argue that
progress to co-existence had been halted only by US beha viour.
The Berlin Wall:
In the first weeks after the Paris fiasco there was a widespread
feeling that it marked a decisive turn for the worse in East-West relations.
In September 1960, Khrushchev gave an angry speech at the UN
General Assembly. Further confirmation of the apparent end of the
‘Thaw’ was provided in 1961 when he met President Kennedy at Vienna.
He threatened Kennedy that if the Western powers did not sign a peace
treaty with East Germany ‘in the next six months’, he would do so
unilaterally. Kennedy’s response was to accept the threat as serious one.
The communists were embarrassed at the large number of refugees
escaping from East Germany into West Berlin. When Kenne dy refused
the suggestion of Khrushchev that the West should withdraw from
Berlin, the Berlin Wall was erected. It was a twenty-eight mile long
barricade across the entire city, effectively blocking the escape route.
The building of the Berlin Wall in August 1961 set off an acute
phase in the East-West conflict over Germany.
1.5.3. The Cuban Conflict :
When Fidel Castro took over power from the discredited dictator Batista
at the beginning of 1959, he was far from admitting that he was a Marxist,
let alone a communist. He visited the USA in April 1959, and during his
visit gave assurances that foreign investments in Cuba, especially
American, would not be confiscated. However, Castro embarked on
a policy of increasing his econom ic links with the Soviet Union and with
the Soviet bloc in general. This put a severe strain on his relations with
the United State s.
Convinced that Cuba was now a communist state in all but name, the new
US President John F. Kennedy, approved a plan by a group of Batista
supporters to invade Cuba from American bases in Guatemala (Central
America). The American Central Intelligence Agen cy (CIA), a kind of
secret service, was deeply involved in this operation. The small invading
force of about 1400 men landed at the Bay of Pigs in April 1961. munotes.in

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Cold War ( 1945-1985)
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War
13 But the operation was so badly planned and carried out that Castro’s
forces and his two jet planes had no difficulty crushing it. Later the same
year Castro anno unced that he was now a Marxist and that Cuba was a
socialist country.
Khrushchev, the Soviet leader, decided to set up nuclear missile
launchers in Cuba aimed at the USA, whose nearest point was less than a
hundred miles from Cuba. He intended to install missiles with a range of
up to 2000 miles, which meant that all the major cities of central and
eastern USA such as New York, Washington, Chicago and Boston would
be under threat. This was a risky decision taken by Khrushchev.
The Cuban missile crisis, properly speaking, began on Tuesday, 16
October 1962, when President Kennedy received a report that Soviet
missile sites had been identified on the island. Once the original U2
pilots’ reports had been confirmed by further reconnaissance, Kennedy
convened a small group of advisers who were to meet in almost
permanent session during the thirteen-day crisis, and whose first task
was to decide on the American response.
President Kenne dy had three options before him – to remain inactive, to
carry out an immediate bombing raid to destroy the missiles, and to
establish a naval blockade to prevent further missiles being imported
into Cuba. In spite of the pressure from the military advisers to launch air
strikes against the missile bases in Cuba, Kennedy opted for the third
alternative, the course of action recommended by the Secretary of
Defense, Robert McNamara, and accepted by the majority of Kennedy’s
advisers. He alerted the American troops and began a blockade of
Cuba to keep out 25 Russian ships, which were bringing missiles to
Cuba. Further, Kenne dy demanded the dismantling of the m issile sites
and the removal of those missiles already in Cuba.
Castro and Khrushchev argued that the missiles were defensive in
character and cited the US-supported attack at the Bay of Pigs as
evidence of the threat to Cuba. Kennedy refused to accept the
argume nt. Khrushchev then claimed that the US was threatening Russia
with its missile based in Turkey and elsewhere in Europe. Kenne dy
insisted that these were part of the ‘containment package’ and
had no offensive purpose, unlike the Cuban-based missiles.
Leade rs of the two superpowers maintained contact by means of
letters and telephone messages. Neither wanted the world to be
plunged into was. Both were under a lot of pressure. Kenne dy consulted
Macmillan, the British prime minister and Charles de Gaulle, the
French president, who was, however, ange red by the President’s
appa rent willingness to consider a nuclear war without asking the
advice of European leaders.
Leftwing and liberal groups in Europe held demonstrations,
claiming that the US had brought the world to the brink of war. munotes.in

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History of Contemporary
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14 In the next few days, as a number of merchant ships carrying Soviet
missiles approached the ring of the United States warships, the world held
its breath and waited for what appeared to be an inevitable US-Soviet
clash, which might lead in a matter of hours to all-out thermo-nuclear
war. The Secretary general of the Un, U Thant, appealed to both
sides for restraint. President Kenne dy, at the same time as making his
firm military response to the situation, was however, was seeking means
to leave open a loophole in order to ma ke it as easy as possible for
Khrushchev to climb down without much loss of face. While ships
were stopped and searched, those, which had no missiles, were allowed to
enter Cuban waters. Khrushchev took advantage of the weeklong period
of tension to order Russian ships, carrying additional missiles, to turn
back on 27 October 1962. He also promised to remove the missiles a nd
dismantle the launching sites from Cuba. In return Kenne dy promised
that the USA would not invade Cuba again and unde rtook to disarm the
Jupiter missiles in Turkey.
The Cuban Missile Crisis had only lasted for a few days, but it was
extremely tense and it had important results. Both sides could claim
to have gained someth ing. However, the most important aspect of
the ent ire episode was that both sides realized how easily a nuclear war
could have started and how terrible the results would have been. It
seemed to bring them both to their senses and produced a marked
relaxation of tension. For the future of the relationship between the
superpowers, the missile crisis was important because it caused both
Khrushchev and Kennedy to take steps to improve contact between
Moscow and Washington. A new telephone link was established and
on this ‘hot line’ the leaders could be in more immediate contact.
The letters, which passed between them during the crisis, also indicated
a will, on both sides, to try to ensure that their future policies would be
more evidently defensive in character. There would be no more
‘brinkmanship on the one side or the other. For Europe, the crisis
had been the plainest evidence that there was now a bi-polar world,
in which decisions would be reached by the superpowers without
Europe being taken into account.
Although Kennedy’s handling of the crisis was highly praised at first,
later historians have been more critical. It has been suggested that he
ought to have called Khrushchev’s bluff, attacked Cuba and overthrown
Castro. On the other hand some historians have criticized Kennedy for
allowing the crisis to de velop in the first place. They argue that since
Soviet long-range missiles cold already reach the USA from Russia
itself, the missiles in Cuba did not exactly pose a new threat.

1.6 SUMMARY
After the Second World war over in the year 1945 , the nations of the
world including those who were affected and even some who were
unaffected thought to come for the International organization and on 14th munotes.in

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Cold War ( 1945-1985)
Meaning, Causes, Security
Pacts And Conflicts Of Cold
War
15 October, 1945, United Nations Organization -UNO was established. The
principal aim of the UNO was to maintain any international conflict by the
way of meetings and fruitful discussions instead of coming to waging of
war. But the countries like USA and USSR have been the super powers of
all the nations of the world and they invested their economic and s cientific
resources in the Science ant its application by they were able to boast of
the discoveries and inventions. They did not remain content amongst their
own nation with this progress and prosperity but they stated the shadowy
wars which is popularly known as -Cold War. So, they started teasing
each other and promoting their own ideologies like USA as a Capitalism
and USSR as Communism. Many countries which were dependent on
these countries for theirs needs fell prey to these tactics and started joini ng
their groups or Blocs of USA and USSR. This situation created the Silent
Conflicts among the world and created many international crises in the
world politics.
1.7 Q UESTIONS
1) Explain the meaning of the Cold War and trace its origin.
2) With examples examine how Cold War manifested between 1945
and 1962.
3) How far the Truman Doctrine became the instrument of Cold War
politics in Europe?
4) Examine the role of the Security Pacts in Cold War politics.
5) Comment on the following: (a) Korean War (1950-53) (b) Cuban
Missile Crisis (1962)
6) Write short notes on:
(a) Truman Doctrine
(b) Berlin Blockade
(c) NATO
(d) Korean War (1950-53)
(e) Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)



1.8 REFERENCES

1. Carr E.H., International Relations between the Two World Wars,
Macmillan -Palgrave, 1985 munotes.in

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History of Contemporary
World (1945 CE – 2000 CE)
16 2. Conwell R.D., World History in the Twentieth Century, Longman,
Gordon, 1969.
3. Davis H.A., An Outline of the World, OUP, New Delhi, 1968
4. Fay S.B., Origins of the World Wars, New York, 1991.
5. Gokhale B.K., History of the Modern World, Himalaya Pub lishing
House, Bombay,1982.
6. John Lewis, Gaddis, We Now Know, Rethinking the Cold War
History, OUP, 1997.
7. Lorenz Luthi, The Sino -Soviet Split, The Cold War in the
Communist World, Princeton University Press,2008
8. Odd Arne, Westad, The Global Cold War, The Th ird World
Interventions and the Making of our Times, CUP, 2007.
9. Palmer R.R. & Collon, Joel, History the Modern World, London,
1964.
10. Raymon Gorthoff, The Great Transition: American Soviet Relations
and the End of the Cold War, Brookings, Washington, 1994.
11. Smith Joseph, The Cold war: 1945 -1965, Blackwell Publishing
House, Cambridge,1989.
12. Tony Judt, Post War: A History of Europe since 1945, Penguin,
2006.
13. Weech W.N., History of the World (Third Edition), Asia Publishing
House, Bombay,1961.
14. Thompson David, The World History:1914 -1968, OUP, 1968
15. Taylor A.J.P., The Struggle for Mastery in Europe, OUP,
London,1977.



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17
2
ECONOMIC REVIVAL OF WESTERN
EUROPE
Unit Structure:
2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction:
2.2 Problems of European Recovery
2.3 The Marshall Plan
2.4 The Growth of European Unity
2.5 The European Community and European Union
2.6 The Machinery of the Euro pean Community
2.7 Summary
2.8 Questions
2.9 References

2.0 OBJECTIVES
1. To understand the economic recovery of Western Europe through
various programmes such as the Marshall Plan.
2. To trace the growth of European Unity through various stages.
2.1 INTRODUCTION
The recovery of Western Europe following the end of the Second World
War was quite impressive. Economic recovery, which required the
restoration of severely damaged but essentially sound and skilled
economies, was made possible through Ameri can financial aid. This was
prompted by American generosity towards the Western European
countries. Besides, the fear of the collapse of these countries and the
possibility of their going under the influence of the Soviet Union induced
the United States to involve itself in the economic recovery of Western
Europe. The American initiative in the economic reconstruction of
Western Europe was manifested through the Marshall Plan.
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18 2.2 PROBLEMS OF EUROPEAN RECOVERY
When the Second World War ended the countries of Western Europe were
in a state of physical and economic collapse. To this was added the fear of
Russian dominance by frontal attack or subversion. Large parts of the
European continent had been devastated by war. The imperial powers had
largely exhaus ted their overseas reserves in the struggle against the Fascist
powers. They lacked capital for rebuilding industry and converting to
peacetime production. Shortages were acute, particularly of food, fuel and
raw materials. The situation in Britain was ser ious. The special American
loan of $ 3,750 million in 1946 provided valuable short -term relief, but
did little to stabilize the long -term situation. During the war plans had
been made for the relief of immediate needs of Europe. The UN Relief and
Rehabil itation Agency (UNRRA) was created in 1943 and functioned until
1947. A European Central Inland Transport Organization, a European
Coal Organization and an Emergency Committee for Europe were
established and merged in 1947 in the UN’s Economic Commission f or
Europe (ECE). These organizations assumed that Europe’s post -war
economic problems could be solved on a continental basis. However, the
Cold War destroyed this assumption. Although the CEC continued to exist
and issued valuable Economic Surveys from 194 8 onwards, Europe
became divided for economic as well as political purposes.
2.3 THE MARSHALL PLAN
Descent of the Iron Curtain across Europe aggravated post -war problems.
The European economy was divided into two artificial units, symbolized
by divided Ge rmany. In both 1946 and 1947 industrial and agricultural
production fell below pre -war levels. This was inadequate for the needs of
a population that was greater than before in spite of severe losses during
the war years. Even nature seemed to be working a gainst the European
recovery. The terrible winter of 1946 -47 was followed first by floods and
then by drought. A major consequence of economic dislocation was
political instability. The circle was completed when political weakness
contributed to economic t ension. Insecure governments were unable to
take the stern measures, which were necessary to bring about economic
restoration and reconstruction.
At the time when the Truman Doctrine was taking shape the Council of
Foreign Ministers was meeting in Moscow i n March and April 1947. In
spite of high hopes of positive achievements the meeting ended in a
failure. The four great powers failed to agree on the future of Germany.
After private conversations with Stalin on 15 April 1947, the Secretary of
State, George Marshall, became convinced that the Soviet Union was
playing for time and awaiting a European economic collapse. Hence,
George Marshall came to the conclusion that the only solution was
immediate American action. Positive planning of an aid programme had
already begun in the Department of State under the direction of the under -
secretary, Dean Acheson. In a speech on 8 May 1947 Acheson publicly
advocates such a programme in the interests of American economy. munotes.in

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Economic Revival Of
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19 George Marshall’s speech at Harvard University on 5 June 1947 forcefully
expressed American interest in the rehabilitation of Europe, and is
generally regarded as the official launching of the Marshall Plan.
From the beginning it was assumed that positive initiatives must come
from Europe, and that parti cipation in the plan would be opened to all
countries in Europe, including the Soviet Union, although there was little
expectation that the Russians would join. The Plan envisaged economic
aid up to 1951 on the basis that the European governments would acc ept
responsibility for administering the programme and would themselves
contribute to European recovery by some degree of united effort. The
Marshall plan was a bridge back to normality, to be financed with $ 17
billion of American money to regenerate indu stry, modernize agriculture
and ensure financial stability. It required the creation of a European
organization. The Russian refusal of the offer turned the organization into
a Western European one. The leading Western European nations
established a Commit tee for European Economic Co -operation (CEEC),
and on 22 September 1947 CEEC presented to the United States
government a report advocating a four -year programme for economic
recovery embracing sixteen countries of Europe including West Germany.
Four object ives were outlined: an increase in industrial and agricultural
productivity at least up to pre -war levels, the establishment of financial
stability, economic co -operation between the participating countries, and a
solution of the problem of dollar deficits through expansion of exports.
Members pledged co -operation, reduction of tariffs, and ultimate
convertibility of currencies.
Within five months of Marshall’s Harvard speech the preparatory work on
Marshall Aid had been done, and on 19 December 1947 Presid ent Truman
sent a message to Congress on American support to European recovery.
Following a debate on the issue in Congress the recovery legislation was
introduced and was passed on 3 April 1948. The act envisaged a four -year
plan to implement the recover y programme and authorized an
appropriation of $4,300 million for the first year. To implement the
programme the Economic Co -operation Administration was established.
An administrator responsible to the President and of equal status to heads
of the executi ve departments headed it.
During the life of the Marshall Plan between 1948 and 1952 Congress
appropriated a total of $13,150 million for the European recovery
programme. Initial emphasis was placed upon the provision of food,
animal feedstuffs, and ferti lizers to relieve immediate shortages in Europe
and increase agricultural productivity. Later emphasis shifted to industrial
raw materials and semi -finished products, with machinery, vehicles, and
fuel also forming significant proportions of the total volu mes of supplies.
Britain received the largest share of the Marshall aid, followed by France
and West Germany.
The effects of the Marshall Plan were quickly felt in all recipient countries
and in all branches of industry and agriculture. It contributed to l and
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20 improvements in Germany. During the first two years of Marshall Aid
industrial production in Western Europe as a whole rose by more than
twenty -five per cent. The output of steel went up by seventy per cent, of
cement by eighty per cent, while the output of oil -based products as
trebled. By the end of 1951 European output was thirty -five per cent
above the 1939 level, exports were up by ninety -five per cent and Europe
could pay its way in the economic world.
One reason for the growth in exports was the devaluation of European
currencies against the dollar. This lowered the price of exports to the USA
and led to increased sales. On the other hand devaluation was inflationary
since i t put up the price of imports such as food and raw materials. This
led to demands for wage increases and to widespread strikes, often
instigated on Stalin’s orders by the European communist movement. The
inflationary spiral was given further twist by the o nset of the Korean War.
The USA and Britain increased their defense spending. Materials, which
might have gone to make peacetime goods, had to be used to make
weapons and munitions. The demand for and price of raw materials rose
sharply which led to an imm ediate increase in the cost of living.
By the time Marshall Aid had accomplished its primary objectives the
general environment of international politics had changed. This was to be
expected. The problem of the European recovery was a short term one.
Altho ugh the war had left the economies of Western Europe shattered, it
had not destroyed the capacities for self -help. These only needed
stimulation in order to achieve their own momentum. The new vitality,
which quickly appeared found expression in a European Payments Union
in 1950, and the European Coal and Steel Community, comprised of six
countries in 1952. After the ratification of the NATO treaty in 1949, there
was a change of emphasis away from economic recovery to military
security. The Marshall Plan ha d ensured that the countries of Western
Europe could now play their part in the defense of their own territory. It
could not return Europe to her former greatness. It did prevent the shadow
of communism darkening the entire continent.
2.4 THE GROWTH OF EUR OPEAN UNITY
One of the most revolutionary movements in post -war Europe was the
progress made in integrating the states of Western Europe. The ultimate
object of those in favour of this movement was a united European state.
There had been different ideas ab out exactly what sort of unity would be
best. Some simply wanted the nations to co -operate more closely; others,
known as federalists, wanted to have a federal system of government like
that of the United States. The reasoning behind this thinking was the
following:
1. The best way for Europe to recover from the ravages of war was for all
the states to work together and help each other by pooling their
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Economic Revival Of
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21 2. The individual states were too small and their economies too weak for
them to be economically and militarily viable separately in a world
dominated by superpowers, the USA and the Soviet Union.
3. The more the countries of Western Europe worked together, the less
chance there would be of war breaking out between them again. It was
the best way for a speed y reconciliation between France and Germany.
4. Joint action would enable Western Europe more effectively to resist
the spread of communism from the Soviet Union.
5. The Germans were especially keen on the idea because they thought it
would help them to gain acc eptance as responsible nation more
quickly than after the First World War.
6. The creation of a third force in the world would counter -balance the
strength of the United States and the Soviet Union
The first steps in economic, military and political co -operat ion were soon
taken, though the federalists were bitterly disappointed that a United
States of Europe had not materialized by 1950.
2.4.1 The Organization for European Economic Co -operation
(OEEC):
This was set up officially in 1948, and was first initiat ive towards
economic unity. It began as a response to the American offer of Marshall
Aid. Ernest Bevin, the British Foreign Secretary, took the lead in
organizing sixteen European nations to draw up a plan for the best use of
American aid. This was known a s the European Recovery Programme
(ERP). The committee of sixteen nations became the permanent OEEC. Its
first function, successfully achieved over the next four years was to
distribute the American aid among its members. It also encouraged trade
among its members by reducing restrictions. It was helped by the United
Nations General Agreement on Tariff and Trade (GATT) whose function
was to reduce tariffs and by the European Payments Union (EPU). This
encouraged trade by improving the system of payments bet ween member
states, so that each state could use its own currency. The OEEC was so
successful that trade between its members doubled during the first six
years. When the USA and Canada joined in 1961 it became the
Organization for Economic Co -operation and Development (OECD).
Later Australia and Japan joined.
2.4.2 The Council of Europe:
The Council of Europe, which was set up in 1949 was the first attempt at
some kind of political unity. Its founder members were Britain, Belgium,
Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Norway and
Sweden. By 1971 all the states of Western Europe, except Spain and
Portugal had joined. Turkey, Malta and Cyprus joined later making
eighteen members in all. The Council of Europe consisted of the Foreign
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22 chosen by the parliaments of the states. It had no powers, however, since
several states, including Britain, refused to join any organization, which
threatened their own sovereignty. It could deb ate pressing issues and make
recommendations. It did useful work such as sponsoring human rights
agreements.
2.5 THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY AND EUROPEAN
UNION
The European Community was known in its early years as the European
Economic Community (EEC) or the Common Market. The European
Community was officially set up under the terms of the Treaty of Rome
(1957), signed by the six founder -members – France, West Germany,
Italy, Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.
2.5.1. Evolution of the European Community :
a. Benelux: In 1944 the governments of Belgium, Netherlands and
Luxembourg, meeting in exile in London because their countries were
occupied by the Germans, began a plan for when the war was over. They
agreed to set up the Benelux Customs Union, in which ther e would be no
tariffs or other customs barriers, so that trade could flow freely. The
driving force behind the Benelux was Paul -Henri Spaak, the Belgian
socialist leader who was Prime Minister of Belgium from 1947 to 1949. It
was put into operation in 1947 .
b. The Treaty of Brussels (1948): By this treaty Britain and France
joined the three Benelux countries in pledging ‘military, economic, social
and cultural collaboration’. While the military collaboration eventually
resulted in NATO, the next step in eco nomic co -operation was the
European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC).
c. The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC): Since the
Europeans believed that the power of the Council of Europe was too
limited, they aimed at setting up European organizations for particular
functions. Their hope was that these functional organizations, while
beneficial in themselves, would help to create the essential feeling of
working together in a community, which was necessary for political unity.
In 1950 two such organizations were proposed: the European Defence
Community (EDC) and the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC).
Both of these were opposed by Britain, and in 1954 EDC was finally
rejected by France. However, despite British refusal to take part, ECSC
was founded in 1951.
The ECSC was the brainchild of Robert Schuman, who was the Foreign
Minister of France from 1948 to 1953. Like Spaak, he was strongly in
favour of international co -operation, and he hoped that involving West
Germany would improve relations between F rance and Germany and at
the same time make European industry more efficient. The six countries,
which had joined the ECSC, were: France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium,
Netherlands and Luxembourg. All duties and restrictions on trade in coal, munotes.in

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Economic Revival Of
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23 iron and steel between the six countries were removed, and a High
Authority was created to run the community and to organize a joint
programme of expansion. The British refused to join the ECSC because
they believed it would mean handing over control of their industries to an
outside authority. The ECSC was such an outstanding success, even
without Britain that the six ECSC countries decided to extend it to include
production of all goods.
d. The European Economic Community (EEC): Following the
unprecedented success of t he European Coal and Steel Community it was
felt desirable to expand it to include free competition in all industries in
order to achieve comprehensive economic integration. It was also felt that
further progress towards European unification should be made . In 1954
the Assembly of ECSC urged the Community to widen its activities, and
in June 1955 the foreign ministers of six member countries met at Messina
in Sicily. A committee under Spaak, Foreign Minister of Belgium, was set
up to plan further economic i ntegration. Following the submission of the
report by the Spaak Committee, the six countries that belonged to ECSC
signed the Treaty of Rome in March 1957 which established the European
Economic Community (EEC, or the Common Market). In addition the
Europ ean Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) was set up. Both treaties
were ratified by the member countries before the end of the year and came
into effect in January 1958.
The six countries agreed that trade barriers in the form of customs and
quotas should gra dually be removed so that there would be free
competition and a common market. Tariffs would be kept against non -
members, but even these were reduced. The treaty also mentioned
improving living and working conditions, expanding industry,
encouraging the de velopment of the world’s backward areas, safeguarding
peace and liberty, and working for a closer union of European peoples.
2.6 THE MACHINERY OF THE EUROPEAN
COMMUNITY
The European Commission was the body, which ran the day -to-day work
of the Community. B ased in Brussels (Belgium), it was staffed by civil
servants and expert economists who took the important policy decisions. It
had strong powers so that it would be able to stand up against possible
criticism and opposition from the governments of the six members, though
in theory its decisions had to be approved by the Council of Ministers.
The Council of Ministers consisted of government representatives from
each of the member states. Their job was to exchange information about
their governments’ economic policies and to try and co -ordinate them and
keep them running on similar lines.
The European Parliament, which met at Strasbourg, consisted of 198
representatives chosen by the parliaments of the member states. They
could discuss issues and make recommen dations, but had no control over
the Commission or the Council. In 1979 a new system of choosing the munotes.in

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24 representatives was introduced. Instead of being nominated by
parliaments, they were to be directly elected by the people of the
Community.
The European Co urt of Justice was set up to deal with any problems,
which might arise out of the interpretation and operation of the Treaty of
Rome. It soon became regarded as the body to which people could appeal
if their government was thought to be infringing the rule s of the
Community.
Also associated with the EEC was EURATOM, an organization in which
the six nations pooled their efforts towards the development of atomic
energy. In 1967 the EEC, the ESCS and EURTOM formally merged and,
dropping the word ‘economic’, b ecame simply the European Community
(EC).
2.6.1. Refusal of Britain to Join the EEC:
It was ironic that, although Churchill had been one of the strongest
supporters of the idea of a unified Europe, when he became Prime
Minister again in 1951, he seemed to have lost any enthusiasm he might
have had for Britain’s membership of it. Atlee’s Labour governments
(1945 -51) held back from joining the ECSC, and the Conservative
governments of Churchill (1951 -55) and Eden (1955 -57) viewed with
great suspicion the act ivities of people like Spaak and Monnet, a French
economist who was Chairman of the ECSC High Authority. Thus, Britain
decided not to sign the 1957 Treaty of Rome.
One of the chief reasons for the refusal of Britain to join the European
Community was that she was apprehensive that she would no longer be in
complete control of her economy. The European Commission in Brussels
would be able to make vital decisions affecting Britain’s internal
economic affairs. Although the governments of other six states were
prepared to make this sacrifice in the interests of greater overall efficiency,
the British government was not prepared to make that sacrifice.
Britain had a great deal of trade with Commonwealth countries, and there
were fears that her relationship with the Commonwealth would be ruined
if Britain was no longer able to give preference to Commonwealth goods
such as New Zealand lamb and butter. The Commonwealth, with its
population around 800 million, seemed a more promising market than the
EEC, which had on ly 165 million.
Britain had what was described as ‘a special relationship’ with the USA,
which was not shared by other states of Europe. If the British became
involved too deeply in economic integration with Europe, it might damage
their special relations hip with the Americans.
Most British politicians were deeply suspicious that economic unity would
lead to the political unity of Europe, and that was even less appealing to
the British, who were determined that British sovereignty must be
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Economic Revival Of
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25 On th e other hand Britain and some of the other European states outside
the EEC were worried about being excluded from selling their goods to
EEC members because of the high duties on imports from outside the
Community. Consequently in 1959 Britain took the lea d in organizing a
rival group, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). Britain,
Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria and Portugal agreed
gradually to abolish tariffs between themselves. Britain was prepared to
join an organization like EFTA be cause there was no question of common
economic policies and no Commission to interfere with the internal affairs
of states.
2.6.2. Britain Joins the EEC:
Within less than four years from the signing of the Treaty of Rome, the
British had changed their min ds, and in 1961 Conservative Prime Minister
Harold Macmillan announced that Britain wished to join the EEC. The
chief reasons as to why Britain decided to join the EEC were the
following:
1. By 1961 it was obvious that the EEC was an outstanding success even
without Britain. Since 1953 French production had risen by seventy -
five per cent while german production had increased by almost ninety
per cent.
2. Over the same period British production had risen only about thirty per
cent. The British economy seemed to be stagnating in comparison with
those of the six, and in 1960 there was a balance of payment deficit of
nearly 270 million pounds. This means that imports had cost Britain
270 million more than was earned from British exports. When this
happens, a country h as to spend some of its gold and foreign currency
reserves to make up the difference.
3. Although the EFTA had succeeded in increasing trade among its
members, it was nothing like as successful as the EEC.
4. The Commonwealth, in spite of its huge population, ha d nothing like
the same purchasing power as the EEC. Macmillan now thought that
there need not be a clash of interest between Britain’s membership of
the EEC and trade with the Commonwealth. There were signs that the
EEC was prepared to make special arrang ements to allow
Commonwealth countries and some other former European colonies to
become associate members. Britain’s EFTA partners might be able to
join as well.
5. Another argument in favour of Britain joining the EEC was that once
Britain was in, competiti on from other EEC members would stimulate
British industry to greater effort and efficiency. Macmillan also made
the point that Britain could not afford to be left out if the EEC
developed into a political union. He seems to have some idea that
Britain cou ld take over the leadership and build the Community up
into a strong defensive unit against the Soviet Union, and in
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26 2.6.3. French Opposition to Britain’s Joining EEC:
Macmillan assigned the task of negotiating Britain’s entry in to the EEC to
Edward Heath, who had been an enthusiastic supporter of European unity
since he first entered parliament in 1950. Talks opened in October 1961,
and although there were some difficulties, it came as a shock when the
French President, de Gaulle broke off negotiations and vetoed Britain’s
entry. De Gaulle claimed that Britain had too many economic problems
and would only weaken the EEC. He also objected to any concessions
being made for the Commonwealth, arguing that this would be a drain on
Euro pe’s resources. Yet the EEC had just agreed to provide economic and
technical aid to France’s former colonies in Africa. On the other hand the
British believed that de Gaulle’s real motive was his desire to continue
dominating the Community, and he saw a s erious rival in Britain. Besides,
de Gaulle was not happy with Britain’s ‘American connection’. He was
apprehensive that because of their close ties, Britain’s membership might
lead the USA to dominate European affairs.. He was probably annoyed
that Britai n, without consulting France, had just agreed to receive Polaris
missiles from America. He was annoyed that President Kennedy had not
made the same offer to France. He was determined to prove that France
was a great power and had no need of American help. It was this friction
between France and the USA, which eventually led de Gaulle to withdraw
France from NATO in 1966. Finally there was the problem of French
agriculture. The EEC protected its farmers which high tariffs so that prices
were much higher than in Britain. Britain’s agriculture was highly
efficient and subsidized to keep prices relatively low. If this continued
after Britain’s entry into the EEC, French farmers with their smaller and
less efficient farms would be exposed to competition from Brit ain and
perhaps from the Commonwealth.
Meanwhile the EEC success story continued, without Britain. The
Community’s exports grew steadily, and the value of its exports was
consistently higher than its imports. Britain on the other hand usually had
a balance of trade deficit, and Harold Wilson’s Labour government (1964 -
70) was forced to begin its term in office by borrowing heavily from the
IMF to replenish rapidly dwindling gold reserves. This convinced Wilson
that the only solution was for Britain to join t he EEC, although until then
the Labour party had opposed it. However, de Gaulle again vetoed the
British application.
Finally, on 1 January 1973, Britain along with Ireland and Denmark was
able to enter the EEC and the six became the nine. Britain’s entry into the
EEC was made possible by two chief factors: President de Gaulle had
resigned in 1969 and his successor Georges Pompidou was friendlier
towards Britain. Secondly, Britain’s Conservative Prime Minister, Edward
heath, was in a good position to press Britain’s claim strongly. He
negotiated with great skill and tenacity, and it was fitting that, having been
a committed European for so long, he was the Prime Minister who finally
took Britain into Europe. From this period onwards the EEC came to be
known as the European Community (EC). By 1986, three additional
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Economic Revival Of
Western Europe
27 Community. The economic integration of the members of the EC led to
co-operative efforts in international and political affairs as well.
Nevertheless, the EC was still primarily an economic union, not a political
one. By 1992, the EC comprised 344 million people and constituted the
world’s largest single trading entity, transacting almost one -fourth of the
world’s commerce. In 1980’s and 1990’s, the EC moved toward even
greater economic integration. A Treaty on European Union (also called the
Maastricht Treaty, after the city in the Netherlands where the agreement
was reached) represented an attempt to create a true economic and
moneta ry union of all EC members. The treaty did not go into effect until
all members agreed on 1 January 1994, when the European Community
became the European Union. One of its first goals was achieved in 1999
with the introduction of a common currency, called the ‘euro’.
2.7 SUMMARY
The recovery of Western Europe following the end of the Second World
War was quite impressive. Economic recovery, which required the
restoration of severely damaged but essentially sound and skilled
economies, was made possible thro ugh American financial aid. A major
consequence of economic dislocation was political instability. The circle
was completed when political weakness contributed to economic tension.
Insecure governments were unable to take the stern measures, which were
necessary to bring about economic restoration and reconstruction.
During the life of the Marshall Plan between 1948 and 1952 Congress
appropriated a total of $13,150 million for the European recovery
programme. The committee of sixteen nations became the perm anent
OEEC. Its first function, successfully achieved over the next four years
was to distribute the American aid among its members. It also encouraged
trade among its members by reducing restrictions. Finally, on 1 January
1973, Britain along with Ireland and Denmark was able to enter the EEC
and the six became the nine. Britain’s entry into the EEC was made
possible by two chief factors: President de Gaulle had resigned in 1969
and his successor Georges Pompidou was friendlier towards Britain.
Thus, the E conomic Revival of the Western Europe came to be
established.
2.8 QUESTIONS
1. Evaluate the role of the Marshall Plan in the reconstruction of Western
Europe.
2. Trace briefly the growth of the European Economic Community
(EEC).
3. Critically examine the role of Br itain and France in the European
Economic Community (EEC).
4. Write short notes on: munotes.in

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History of Contemporary
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28 (a) The Marshall Plan
(b) The Organization for European Economic Co -operation (OEEC)
(c) The European Economic Community (EEC)
(d) Role of Britain in the EEC
2.9 REFERENCES

1. Carr E.H., Inter national Relations between the Two World Wars,
Macmillan -Palgrave, 1985
2. Conwell R.D., World History in the Twentieth Century, Longman,
Gordon, 1969.
3. Davis H.A., An Outline of the World, OUP, New Delhi, 1968
4. Fay S.B., Origins of the World Wars, New York, 19 91.
5. Gokhale B.K., History of the Modern World, Himalaya Publishing
House, Bombay,1982.
6. John Lewis, Gaddis, We Now Know, Rethinking the Cold War
History, OUP, 1997.
7. Lorenz Luthi, The Sino -Soviet Split, The Cold War in the Communist
World, Princeton Universi ty Press,2008
8. Odd Arne, Westad, The Global Cold War, The Third World
Interventions and the Making of our Times, CUP, 2007.
9. Palmer R.R. & Collon, Joel, History the Modern World, London,
1964.
10. Raymon Gorthoff, The Great Transition: American Soviet Relations
and the End of the Cold War, Brookings, Washington, 1994.
11. Smith Joseph, The Cold war: 1945 -1965, Blackwell Publishing
House, Cambridge,1989.
12. Tony Judt, Post War: A History of Europe since 1945, Penguin,
2006.
13. Weech W.N., History of the World (Third Editio n), Asia Publishing
House, Bombay,1961.
14. Thompson David, The World History:1914 -1968, OUP, 1968
15. Taylor A.J.P., The Struggle for Mastery in Europe, OUP,
London,1977.




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29 3
SOVIET UNION’S RELATIONS WITH
EASTERN EUR OPE

Unit Structure :
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Suspicion of the Soviet Union against the West
3.3 Division of Europe
3.4 Establishment of ‘People’s Republics’
3.5 The US Attempt to Counter the Sov iet Move in Europe
3.6 Communist Unity in Eastern Europe
3.7 The Wars aw Pact
3.8 Differences Between Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union
3.9 Suppression of Anti-Stalinist Leaders
3.10 Khrushchev’s dictum of ‘Different Roads to Socialism’
3.11 Demand of ‘Bread and Freedom’ in Poland
3.12 Revolution in Hungary (1956)
3.13 Impact of the Crises in Poland and Hungary
3.14 Questions
3.15 Summary
3.16 References
3.0 O BJECTIVES
1. To understand as to why the Soviet Union established control over
Eastern Europe.
2. To study the various methods through which the Soviet Union tried
to maintain control over Eastern Europe and bring about political and
economic reconstruction Eastern Europe.
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30 3.1 I NTRODUCTION
During the Second World War the Soviet Union occupied a major part
of Eastern and Central Eu rope. The Soviet policy of establishing
control over Eastern Europe was both a cause and an effect of the Cold
War. Stalin wanted a ‘ring fence’ territory in Eastern Europe under
Russian control. The Allies in view of the fact that Germany had
attacked Russia twice in 1914 and 1941 accepted his claim to such as
buffer zone. While making this concession, the Western Allies put their
faith in the Declaration on Liberated Europe and in their hope that
Stalin would honour this and other similar ag reements. However,
these hopes dashed before the end of the war by Sta lin’s organization of
the Communist take over of Poland.
3.2 SUSPICION OF THE SOVIET UNION AGAINST
THE WESt
Soviet Union’s suspicion of the West was deep-rooted. During the
Russian Civil War (1918-21), Churchill had led the demands for an anti-
Bolshevik crusade. Besides, for many years, most Western governments
had refused to recognize the Soviet government after 1917. Again, the
Western powers had signed a series of treaties at Locarno in 1925.
The Soviet Union believed that these treaties were aimed at winning
Germany away from the Treaty of Rapallo, which she had signed, with
Russia in 1922, and bringing her into alliance with Britain, France and the
other Western powers. The Locarno Treaties guaranteed the bounda ry
arrangements made at Versailles only as regards the western boun daries
of Germany. While such a gua rantee satisfied France, Belgium and
Holland, it increased Russian fear that the Western powers were
encouraging Germany to look to the east for Leben sraum and raw
materials
3.2.1 Fear of German Invasion:
The Soviet Union lived with this fear of a Western invasion. When Hitler
came to power in January 1933, Stalin tried to co- operate with the
Western powers. Russia joined the League of Nations in 1934, the
year after Hitler withdrew Germany from the Leag ue. But Stalin saw
how the Western powers took no action when Hitler tore up the
Treaty of Versailles. Britain and France did not act when Hitler
remilitarized the Rhineland in 1936 in defiance of both the Versailles
and Locarno Treaties, nor when Mussolini attacked Abyssinia. The
Western powers passively accepted the Anschluss, when Hitler brought
Austria into the greater Reich in March 1938. But Russian suspicion
of the Western powers was finally confirmed by the dismemberment of
Czechoslovakia in 1938. Britain and France forced the Czechs to
hand over the Sudet enland, thus weakening Czechoslovakia both
economically and militarily.
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31 3.2.2. Non-Aggression Pact with Hitler:
Stalin’s suspicion of the West and his fear of a German attack
prompted him to sign a non-aggression pact with Hitler in Augu st 1939.
This left Hitler free, first to dismember Poland in September 1939,
allowing Russia to take her share of that unhappy country, and then to
turn his attention to the West again. Stalin may have hoped that there
would be a major conflict between Germany and the two major Western
powers, which would serve to weaken these powers and Germany, and
thus provide additional breathing space for Russia’s industrial and
military development.
3.2.3 German Attack on the Soviet Union:
Following Germany’s attack on Russia in June 1941, Stalin constantly
appealed for the opening of a second front in Western Europe. Allied
failure to open that second front, coupled with the high level of
Russian losses confirmed Stalin that the Western powers wanted to
watch Russia bleed to death. On the other hand the Western powers were
equally suspicious of the Soviet Union.
3.3 DIVISION OF EUROPE
It has been argued that the division of Europe and the resulting in Soviet
control over Eastern Europe were the consequence not of historical
accident but of agreement, notab ly agreement at Yalta by Roosevelt
and Churchill to give Sta lin a position of power, which otherwise he
could not have achieved. However, this argument cannot be sustained.
Roosevelt and Churchill conceded at Yalta nothing that it was in their
power to withhold. The Russian armies were already in occupation
of positions in Eu rope from which they could not be expelled. Thus,
Stalin’s post-war dominance in Eastern Europe derived from his
victories and not from any bargain with h is Allies. The most that
Roosevelt and Churchill could do was to try to get Stalin to accept
certain rules governing the e xercise of the power that was his. This they
succeeded in doing by persuading him to endorse a Declaration
on Liberated Countries, which promised free election and other
democratic practices and liberties. When, later, Stalin ignored the
engagements contained in this declaration, Western governments
could do no more than protest. They were in no position to take
action against the Soviet Union.
3.4 ESTABLISHMENT OF ‘PEOPLE’S REPUBLICS’
Because of the need to recoup their enormous industrial losses and
their fears of further invasions, the Soviets were determined to maintain
political, economic and military control of those countries in Eastern
Europe that they had liberated for the Nazi Control. They employed
diplomat ic pressure, political infiltration and military terrorism to
establish ‘people’s repub lics’ in Eastern Europe sympathet ic to the Soviet
regime. In country after country the process repeated itself: at first all-munotes.in

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32 party coalition governments from which only fascists were excluded; then
further coalitions in which communists predominated; and finally, one
party states. By 1948, governments that owed allegiance to Moscow
were established in Poland, Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia
and Albania. The nations of Eastern Europe did not all succumb without
a struggle. Greece, which the Soviets wished to include within their
sphere of influence, was torn by a civil war until 1949, when with
Western aid its mona rchy was restored. A direct challenge to the Yalta
guarantee of free, democratic election occurred in Czechoslovakia,
where in 1948, the Soviets crushed the coalition government of liberal
leaders Eduardo Benes and Jan Masaryk.
3.5 THE US ATTEMPT TO COUNTER THE SOVIET
MOVE IN EUROPE
The United States countered the moves of the Soviet Union in Ea stern
Europe with massive programme of economic and military aid to
Western Europe. In 1947, President Truman proclaimed the Truman
Doctrine, which provided assistance programmes to prevent further
communist infiltration into the governments of Greece and Turkey.
The following year the Marshall Plan provided funds for the
reconstruction of Western European industry. At the same time the
United States moved to build up the military defenses of the West. In
April 1949, a group of representatives of Western European states,
together with Canada and the United States, signed an agreement
providing for the establishment of the North At lantic Treaty
Organization (NATO). Subsequently Greece, Turkey, and West
Germany were included as members of the NATO.
3.6 COMMUN IST UNITY IN EASTERN EUROPE
The communist countries of Eastern Europe were joined in a kind of
unity under the leadership of the Soviet Union. The main difference
between the unity in Eastern Europe and that in the West was that the
countries of Eastern Europe were forced into it by the Soviet Union
where as the members of the European Community joined voluntarily. By
the end of 1948 there were nine states in the communist bloc: the S oviet
Union, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary,
Poland, Rumania and Yugoslavia.
Stalin set about making all the states into carbon copies of the Soviet
Union with the same political, economic and educational systems, and the
same five year plans. All had to carry out the bulk of their trade with the
Soviet Union and their foreign policies and armed forces were controlled
from Moscow.
3.6.1. The Molotov Plan:
This was the first Soviet sponsored step towards an economically united
Eastern bloc. The idea of the Soviet Foreign minister, Molotov, it was a
response to the American offer of Marshall Aid. Since the So viets munotes.in

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33 refused to allow any of their satellites to a ccept American aid,
Molotov felt they had to be offered an alternative. The plan was
basically a set of trade agreements between the So viet Union and its
satellites negot iated during the summer of 1947. It was designed to boost
the trade of Eastern Europe.
3.6.2 The Commun ist Information Bureau (Cominform):
This was set up by the Soviet Union at the same time as the Molotov
Plan. All the communist states had to become members and its aim
was political: to make sure that all the governments followed the same
line as t he government of the Soviet Union in Moscow. To be commu nist
was not enough, it had to be Russian- style communism.
3.6.3. The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance
(COMECON):
It was founded in 1949 as a counter to Marshall Plan. Its founding
members were the So viet Union, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary,
Rumania and Bulgaria, which were joined almost at once by Albania
and a year later by East Germany. The aim of COMECON was to
help plan the econom ies of the individual states. All industry was
nationalized, and agriculture was collectivized. Later, Khrushchev,
tried to use COMECON to organize the communist bloc into a single
integrated economy. He wanted east Germany and Czechoslovakia to
develop as the main industrial areas, and Hunga ry and Rumania to
concentrate on agriculture. However, this provoked hostile reactions in
many of the states and Khrushchev had to change his plans to allow more
variations within the e conomies of the different countries. The eastern
Bloc enjoyed same success economically, with steadily increasing
production. However, the average GDP and general efficiency were
below those of the European Community. Albania had the
doubtful distinction of being the most backward country in Europe.
3.7 THE WARS AW PACT
This was signed by the Soviet Union and all the satellite states
except Yugoslavia. They promised to defend each other against any attack
from outside. The armies of the member states came under overall Soviet
control from Moscow. Ironically, the only time Warsaw Pact took part in
joint action against one of their own members, Czechoslovakia, when the
Soviet Union disapproved of Czech internal policies.
Although there were some disagreements in the European Community
about problems like the Common Agricultural Policy and the
sovereignty of the individual state, these were not as serious as the
tension, which occurred between the Soviet Union and some of her
satellite states. In the ea rly years of the Cominform, Moscow felt that
it had to clamp down on any leader or movement, which seemed to
threaten the solidarity of the communist bloc. Sometimes the
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34 3.8 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN YUGOSLAVIA AND
THE SOVIET UNION
In Yugoslavia, the communist leader, Marshal Tito, owed much of
his popularity to his successful resistance against the Nazi forces
occupying Yugoslavia during the Second World War. In 1945 he was
legally elected as leader of the new Yugoslav republic and so he did
not owe his position to the Russians. By 1948 he had fallen out with
Stalin. He was determined to follow his own brand of communism. He
was against over centralization. He objected to Stalin's plan for the
Yugoslav economy and to the constant Russian attempts to interfere in
Yugoslavia's affairs. He wanted to be free to trade with the West as
well as with the Soviet Union. Stalin therefore expelled Yugoslavia
from the Cominform and cut off economic aid, expecting that the
country would soon be ruined economically and that Tito would be
forced to resign. However, Stalin had miscalculated: Tito was much
too popular to be toppled by outside pressures, and so Stalin decided it
would be too risky to invade Yugoslavia. Tito was able to remain in
power and he continued to operate communism in his own way. This
included full contact and trade with the West and acceptance of aid from
the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The Yugoslavs began to reverse the process of centralization:
industries were denationalized, and instead of being state-owned, they
became public property, managed by workers' representatives through
councils and assemblies. The same applied in agriculture: the
communes were the most important unit in the state. These were
groups of families each containing between 5000 and 100,000
people. The elected Commune Assembly organized matters
concerning the economy, education, health, culture and welfare. The
system was a remarkable example of ordinary people playing a part in
making the decisions, which closely affected their own lives, both at
work and in the community. t achieved much because workers had a
personal stake in the success of their firm and their commune. Many
Marxists thoug ht this was the way a gen uine communist state should be
run, rather than the over-centralization of the Soviet Union.
However, there were some weaknesses in the system developed in
Yugoslavia. One was workers' unwillingness to sack colleagues; another
was a tenden cy to pay themselves too much. These led to over
employment and high costs and prices. Nevertheless, with its capitalist
elements, like wage differentials and a free market, this was an
alternative Marxist system which many developing African states,
especially Tanzania, found att ractive.
Khrushchev decided that his wisest course of action was to improve
relations with Tito. In 1955 he visited Belgrade, the Yugoslav
capital, and apologized for Stalin's actions. The breach was fully
healed the following year when Khrushchev gave his formal approval
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35 3.9 SUPPRESSION OF ANTI-STALINIST LEADERS
As the rift with Yugoslavia widened, Stalin arranged for the arrest of any
communist leaders in the other East European states who attemp ted to
follow independent policies. He was able to do this because most of
these other leaders lacked Tito's popularity and owed their positions to
Russian support.
In Hungary the Foreign Minister Laszlo Rajk and Interior Minister Janos
Kadar, both anti-Stalin communists, were arrested. Rajk was hanged,
Kadar was put in prison and tortured, and about 200,000 people were
expelled from the party in 1949. In Bulgaria the Prime Minister,
Traichko Koslov, was arrested and executed in 1949. In
Czechoslovakia the Communist party gene ral secretary, Rudolph
Slansky, and ten other cabinet ministers were executed in 1952. In
Poland Communist party leader and Vice-President Wladislaw Gomulka
was imprisoned because he had spoken out in support of Tito. In Albania
communist premier Koze Xoxe was removed and executed because he
sympathized with Tito.
3.10 KHRUSHCHEV’S DICTUM OF ‘DIFFERENT
ROADS TO SOCIALI SM’
After Stalin's death in 1953 there were signs that the satellite states might
be given more freedom. In 1956 Khrushchev made a famous speech at
the Twentieth Communist Party Congress in which he criticized many
of Stalin's policies and seemed prepared to concede that there were
'different roads to socialism'. He soon healed the rift with Yugoslavia and
in April 1956 he abolished Cominform, which had been annoying
Russia's partners ever since it was set up in 1947. However, it was not
long before events in Poland and Hungary showed that there were
sharp limits to Khrushchev's new toleration.
3.11 DEMAND OF ‘BREAD AND FREEDOM’ IN
POLAND
There was a general strike and a massive anti-government and anti-soviet
demonstration in Posen in June 1956. The banners demanded 'bread and
freedom' and the workers were protesting against poor living standa rds,
wage reductions and high taxes. Although they were dispersed by P olish
troops, tension remained high throughout the summer. In October 1956,
Russian tanks surrounded Warsaw, the Polish capital, but they took no
action. In the end the Russians decided to compromise: Gomulka, who
had earlier been imprisoned on Stalin's orders, was allowed to be
reappointed as First Secretary of the Com munist Party. It was accepted
that Polish communism could develop in its own way provided that
the Poles went along with Russia in foreign affairs. The Russians
obviously felt that Gomulka could be trusted not to stray too far.
Relations between the two states continued reasonab ly smoothly,
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36 been acceptable to Stalin. For example they introduced the
collectivization of agriculture only very slowly, and probably only
about ten per cent of farmland was ever collectivized. Poland also traded
with countries outside the communist bloc. Gomulka remained in power
until he resigned in 1970.
3.12 REVOLUTION IN HUNGARY (1956)
The situation in Hungary ended very differently from the one in Poland.
After Stalin's death in 1953, a more moderate communist leader, Imry
Nagy, replaced the pro-Stalin leader, Rakosi. However, Rakosi
continued to interfere in the government affairs and overthrew
Nagy in 1955. From then on resentment steadily built up against the
government until it exploded in a full-scale rising in October 1956.
The student led popu lar riots broke out in the capital of Budapest and
soon spread to other towns and villages throughout the country.
The causes of the Hunga rian revolution were many: There was a strong
hatred of Rakosi's brutal and repressive regime under which at least 2000
people had been executed and 200,000 others had been put in prisons and
concentration camps; living standa rds of ordinary peop le were getting
worse while hated Communist party leaders were living comfortable
lives; there was an intense anti-Russian feeling among the Hungarians;
Khrushchev's speech at the Twentieth Congress and Gomulka's
return to power in Poland encouraged the Hungarians to resist
their government.
Rakosi was forced to resign and was replaced by Imry Nagy, a ‘National
Communist’. The popular Roman Catholic Cardinal Mindszenty, who
had been in prison for six years for anti- communist views, was
released. Until this point the Russians seemed prepared to
compromise, as they had done in Po land. But then Nagy went t oo far:
he anno unced plans for a government including members of other
political parties and talked of withdrawing Hungary from the
Warsaw Pact. This was too much for the Russians. They believed that
if Nagy had his way, Hungary might become a non-communist state
and would cease to be an ally of the Soviet Union. The Soviets were
also apprehensive that the Hungarian move might encourage people in
other Eastern bloc states to do the same. Khrushchev decided to act and
dispatched Russian tanks, which surrounded Budapest, the Hunga rian
capital, and opened fire in November 1956. The Hunga rians resisted
bravely and fighting lasted two weeks before the Russians brought the
country under control. About 20,000 peop le were killed and another
20,000 were imprisoned. Nagy was executed although he had been
promised a safe-conduct. As many as 200,000 Hungarians fled
the country and went to the West. The Russians installed Janos Kadar
as the new Hunga rian leader. Although he had once been imprisoned
on Stalin's orders, he was now a reliable ally of Moscow, and he stayed in
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37 3.13 IMPACT OF THE CRISES IN POLAND AND
HUNGARY
The dramatic events in Poland and Hungary graphically demonstrated the
vulnerability of the Soviet Satellite system in Eastern Europe, and many
observers througho ut the world anticipated that the United States would
intervene on behalf of the freedom fighters in Hungary. After all, the
Eisenhower administration had promised that it would ‘roll back’
communism, and radio broadcasts by the United States sponsored Radio
Liberty and Radio Free Europe had encouraged the peoples of Eastern
Europe to rise up against Soviet domination. In reality, the United States
was well aware that any intervention in Eastern Europe could lead to
nuclear war, and limited itself to protest against Soviet brutality in
crushing the uprising.
However, the year of discontent was not without consequences. Soviet
leaders now recognized that Moscow could maintain control over its
satellites in Ea stern Europe only by granting them some freedom to
adopt domestic policies appropriate to local conditions. Khrushchev had
already embarked on this path in 1955, when he assured Tito that there
were ‘different roads to socialism’. Eastern European communist leaders
now took Khrushchev at his word and adopted reform programmes to
make socialism more palatable to their subject populations. Even Janos
Kada r, de risively labeled the ‘butcher of Budape st’, managed to
preserve many of Nagy’s reforms to allow a measure of capitalist
incentive and freedom of expression in Hungary.
3.14 QUESTIONS
1) Trace the circumstances that led to the establishment of the
Soviet hegemony over Eastern Europe.
2) Examine the various ways through which the Soviet Union attempt ed
to bring about the political and economic reconstruction of Eastern
Europe.
3) Give an account of the differences between Yugoslavia and the
Soviet Union in their approach towards communism.
4) Write short notes on the following:
(a) Communist unity in Eastern Europe
(b) Marshall Tito
(c) Hungarian Revolution (1956)


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38 3.15 SUMMARY
The Soviet policy of establishing control over Eastern Europe was both a
cause and an effect of the Cold War. Stalin wanted a ‘ring fence’
territory in Eastern Europe under Russian control. The Allies i n view of
the fact that Germany had attacked Russia twice in 1914 and 1941
accepted his claim to such as buffer zone. While making this concession,
the Western Allies put their faith in the Declaration on Liberated Europe
and in their hope that St alin would honour this and other similar
agreements.
The Soviet Union believed that these treaties were aimed at winning
Germany away from the Treaty of Rapallo, which she had signed, with
Russia in 1922, and bringing her into alliance with Britain, France and the
other Western powers.
It has been argued that the division of Europe and the resulting in Soviet
control over Eastern Europe were the consequence not of historical
accident but of agreement, notably agreement at Yalta by Roosevelt and
Churc hill to give Stalin a position of power, which otherwise he could
not have achieved. By the end of 1948 there were nine states in the
communist bloc: the Soviet Union, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia,
East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Rumania and Yugoslavia. The situation
in Hungary ended very differently from the one in Poland. After Stalin's
death in 1953, a more moderate communist leader, Imry Nagy, replaced
the pro-Stalin leader, Rakosi. However, Rakosi continued to interfere
in the government affairs and overthrew Nagy in 1955. The dramatic
events in Poland and Hungary graphically demonstrated the vulnerability
of the Soviet Satellite system in Eastern Europe, and many observers
throughout the world anticipated that the United States wo uld intervene on
behalf of the freedom fighters in Hungary.
Thus, the Soviet Union of Socialist Republic maintained its relations with
Eastern Europe.
3.16 REFERENCES
1. Carr E.H., International Relations between the Two World Wars,
Macmillan -Palgrave, 1 985
2. Conwell R.D., World History in the Twentieth Century, Longman,
Gordon, 1969.
3. Davis H.A., An Outline of the World, OUP, New Delhi, 1968
4. Fay S.B., Origins of the World Wars, New York, 1991.
5. Gokhale B.K., History of the Modern World, Himalaya Publishing
House, Bombay,1982.
6. John Lewis, Gaddis, We Now Know, Rethinking the Cold War
History, OUP, 1997.
7. Lorenz Luthi, The Sino -Soviet Split, The Cold War in the Communist
World, Princeton University Press,2008
8. Odd Arne, Westad, The Global Cold War, The Third World
Interventions and the Making of our Times, CUP, 2007. munotes.in

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Soviet Union’s Relations
With Eastern Europe
39 9. Palmer R.R. & Collon, Joel, History the Modern World, London,
1964.
10. Raymon Gorthoff, The Great Transition: American Soviet Relations
and the End of the Cold War, Brookings, Washington, 1994.
11. Smith Jose ph, The Cold war: 1945 -1965, Blackwell Publishing
House, Cambridge,1989.
12. Tony Judt, Post War: A History of Europe since 1945, Penguin,
2006.
13. Weech W.N., History of the World (Third Edition), Asia Publishing
House, Bombay,1961.
14. Thompson David, The World Hi story:1914 -1968, OUP, 1968
15. Taylor A.J.P., The Struggle for Mastery in Europe, OUP,
London,1977.


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40 4
DISINTEGRATION OF U.S.S.R.
Unit Structure :
4.0 Objectives
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Circumstances That Led To The Collapse Of Commu nism In The
Soviet Union
4.3 Mikhail Gorbachev And The Collapse Of Communism
4.4 Opposition To Gorbachev’s Policies
4.5 Aftermath Of The Collapse Of Communism In The Soviet
Union
4.6 Questions
4.7 References
4.0 OBJECTIVES
1) To understand the circumstances that led to the collapse of
Communism in the Soviet Union.
2) To study the role of Gorbachev in the collapse of Communism.
3) To analyze the consequen ces of the collapse of Communism in the
Soviet Union.
4.1 I NTRODUCTION
The collapse of communism and disintegration of the Soviet Union
during the last quarter of the twentieth century is one of the great events
that had wider ramifications. The great communist experiment that was
set in motion following the Revolution of 1917 in Russia could not
sustain with the passage of time. The internal weakness of the system and
external pressure from the capitalist democratic West gradually led to the
shaking of communism in the Soviet Union. The autocratic rule of Stalin
leading to the elimination of thousands of people in Russia, gradual
economic stagnat ion due to the e xtreme centralization of the means of
production, denial of political rights to the people, overspending on
military and space race to compete with the United States due to Cold
War, revolts in the Central and Eastern European states against Soviet
hegemony and many other factors ultimately led to the collapse of
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Disintegration of U.S.S.R .
41 4.2 CIRCUMSTANCES THAT LED TO THE COLLAPSE
OF COMMU NISM IN THE SOVIET UNION
4.2.1. Political Background:
After Khrushchev’s dismissal in 1964, three men, Kosygin, Brezhnev and
Podgorny, seemed to be sharing power. At first Kosygin was the leading
figure and the chief spokesman on foreign affairs, while Brezhnev and
Podgorny looked after home affairs. In early 1970’s Brezhnev eclipsed
Kosygin after a disagreement over economic policies. Kosygin pressed
for more economic decentralization. However, this proposal was
unpopular with the other leaders, who claimed that it
encouraged too much independence of thought in the satellite
states, especially Czechoslovakia. Brezhnev established firm
personal control by 1977, and remained leader until his death in
November 1982. Broadly speaking, his policies were similar to
those of the Khrushchev period.
4.2.2. Stagnation of the Economy:
The economic policies during the Brezhnev years maintained wage
differentials and profit incentives, and some growth took place, but the
rate of growth was slow. The system remained strongly centralized, and
Brezhnev was reluctant to take any major initiative. By 1982 therefore,
much of the Russian industry was old fashioned and was in need of new
production and processing technology. There was concern about the
failure of coal and oil industries to increase output, and the building
industry was notorious for slowness and poor quality. Low agricultural
yield was still a major problem. Not once in the period 19 80-84 did
grain production come anywhere near the ta rgets set. The 1981 harvest
was disastrous and 1982 was only slightly better. The successive poor
harvests threw Russia into an uncomfortable dependen cy on American
wheat. It was calculated that in the United States in 1980 one agricultural
worker produced enough to feed seventy-five people, while his
counterpart in Russia could manage only enough to feed ten.
4.2.3. Brezhnev Doctrine:
The Eastern Bloc states were expected to obey Moscow’s wishes to
maintain their existing structure. When liberal trends developed in
Czechoslovakia, especially abolition of press censorship, Russian and
other Warsaw Pact troops invaded the country. The reforming
government of Dubcek was replaced by a strongly centralized, pro-
Moscow regime. Soon afterwards Brezhnev declared the so-called
Brezhnev Doctrine. According to the B rezhnev Doctrine intervention
in the internal affairs of any communist country was justified if
socialism in that country was considered to be threatened. This
caused some friction with Romania, which had always tried to maintain
some independence, refusing to send troops into Czechoslovakia and
keeping on good terms with China. The Russian invasion of Afghanistan
(1979) was the most blatant application of the doctrine, while more subtle munotes.in

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42 pressures were brought to bear on Poland (1981) to control the
independent trade union movement, Solidarity.
4.2.4. Poor Human Rights Record:
Brezhnev's record on hu man rights was not impressive. Though he
claimed to be in favour of the Helsinki Agreement signed in 1975,
which included an undertaking, by the signatories to protect human
rights, and appeared to make important concessions about human rights
in the Soviet Union, in fact little progress was made. Groups were
set up to check whether the terms of the agreement were being kept,
but the authorities put them under intense pressure. Their members were
arrested, imprisoned, exiled or depo rted, and finally the groups
were dissolved altogether in 1982.
The Russians worked towards detente, but after 1979 relations with
the West deteriorated sharply as a result of the invasion of
Afghanistan. Brezhnev continued to advocate disarmament but presided
over a rapid increase in Soviet armed forces, particularly the navy and the
new SS-20 missiles. He increased Soviet aid to Cuba and offered
aid to Ango la, Mozambique and Ethiopia.
4.2.5. Andropov and Chernenko:
After Brezhnev's death Russia was ruled for a short period by two
elderly and ailing politicians - Andropov (November 1982- February
1984) and then Chernenko (February 1984-March 1985 ). Andropov,
who was the head of the KGB until May 1982, immediately
launched a vigorous campaign to modernize and streamline the soviet
system. He began an anti-corruption drive and introduced a programme of
economic reform, hoping to increase production by e ncouraging
decentralization. Some of the older party officials were replaced with
younger, more progressive men. Unfortunately he was suffering from
ill health and died after little more than a year in office.
The 72-year-old Chernenko was a mo re conventional type of Soviet
politician. There was no relaxation in the treatment of human rights
activists. Dr And rei Sakharov, the famous nuclear physicist, was still kept
in exile in Siberia, where he had been since 1980, in spite of appeals by
Western leaders for his release. Members of an unofficial trade union,
supporters of a group 'for the establishment of trust between the Soviet
Union and the United States', and members of unoff icial religious groups
were all arrested.
4.3 MIKHAIL GORBACHEV AND THE COLLAPSE OF
COMMUNISM
4.3.1. Towards Reformation:
Mikhail Gorbachev, who came to power in March 1985, was, at
fifty-four, the most gifted and dynamic leader Russia had seen for many
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43 after the stagnant years following Khrushchev's fall. He intended to
achieve this by modernizing and streamlining the communist party with
new policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring - which
meant economic and social reform). The new thinking soon made an
impact on foreign affairs, with initiatives on det ente, relations with
China, a withdrawal from Afghanistan, and ultimate ly the en ding of the
Cold War in late 1990.
4.3.2. Desire to Replace Stalinist System with Socialist
System:
Gorbachev outlined what was wrong at home in a speech to the Party
Conference in 1988. He said that the system was too centralized, leaving
no room for local individual initiative. It was based almost
completely on state ownership and control, and weighted strongly
towards defense and heavy industry, leaving consumer goods for ordinary
people in short supply. Gorbachev did not want to end communism. His
aim was to replace the existing system, which was still basically Stalinist,
with a socialist system, which was hu mane and democratic. He did
not have the same success at home as ab road. His policies failed to
provide results quickly enou gh, and led to the collapse of communism,
the breakup of the Soviet Union, and the end of his own political career.
4.3.3. Glasnost:
Glasnost means intellectual open ness. Gorbachev adopt ed this policy to
relax the restrictive policies that prevented freedom of speech and
dissemination of ideas. It allowed public debate on political issues
and t herefore encouraged criticism of Soviet policies and society. The aim
of the policy was to create an internal debate among st Soviet citizens, to
encourage a positive attitude and enthusiasm for the reform of the
Soviet Union. The media was allowed greater freedom to express
opinions that would have been condemned previously. Failures of Soviet
government were allowed to be revealed, such as the 1986 nuclear
accident at Chernobyl. This was soon seen in areas such as human rights
and cultural affairs. Several well-known dissidents were released, and the
Sakharovs were allowed to return to Mo scow from internal exile in Gorky
in December 1986. Gorbachev also allowed the release of a number of
political prisoners, and the emigration of some dissidents. Leaders
like Bukharin who had been disgraced and executed during Stalin's
purges of the 193 0s were declared innocent of a ll crimes. Pravda
was allowed to print an article criticizing Brezhnev for overreacting
against dissidents, and a new law was introduced to prevent dissidents
from being sent to mental institutions (January 1988 ). Important political
events like the Ninetee nth Party Conference in 1988 and the first
session of the new Congress of Peop le's Deputies (May1989) were
televised.
In cultural matte rs and the media generally, there were some startling
developments. In M ay 1986 both the Union of Soviet Film- makers and
the Union of Writers were allowed to sack their reactionary heads and munotes.in

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44 elect more independent-minded leaders. Long -banned anti-Stalin films
and novels were shown and published, a nd preparations were
made to publish works by the great poet Osip Mandelstam, who died in
a labour camp in 1938.
There was a new freedom in news reporting. In April 1986, for
example, when a nuclear reactor at Chernobyl in the Ukraine exploded,
killing hundreds of people and releasing a massive radioactive cloud,
which drifted across most of Europe, the disaster was discussed with
unprecedented frankness. The aims of this new approach were to use the
media to publicize the inefficiency and corruption, which the
government was so anxious to stamp out; educate public opinion; and
mobilize support for the new policies. Glasnost was encouraged
provided nobody criticized the party itself. However, the policy
developed a momentum of its own as people became more confident in
speaking out while the failings of Soviet society became apparent and the
economic reform programme failed.
4.3.4. Peres troika:
In the Russian language Perestroika means ‘restructuring’. It was the
term used by Gorbachev for economic reform in the Soviet Union in
later 1980’s. The policy had been in the planning stages prior to his
election, but it was at the Plenary Meeting of the Communist party
Central Committee in April 1985 that it was decided that the
programme was crucial to rescuing the state from economic collapse and
was to be implemented forthwith.
Perestroika was intended to be a systematized programme and concrete
strategy for the country's further development. The programme reached
into all areas of the Soviet system: science and technology, structural
reorganization of the economy, and changes in investment policy. The
aim was to change the very centralized management system into a
more decentralized one, which would be based on a degree of local
autonomy and self- management. Small-scale private enterprise such as
family restaurants, family businesses making clothes or handicrafts or
providing services such as car or TV repairs, painting and
decorating and private tuition, was to be allowed, and so were workers'
co-operatives up to a ma ximum of fifty workers. One motive behind
this reform was to provide com. petition for the slow and inefficient
services provided by the state, in the hope of stimulating a rapid
improvement. Anot her was the need to provide alternative employment
as patte rns of employment chang ed over the following decade: as more
automation and computerization are introduced into factories and
offices, the need for manual and clerical workers declines. Other aims
within the p rogramme were to reduce alcoholism and absenteeism
amongst the workforce; to allow economic units to ma ke business
decisions without consulting the political authorities; and to en courage
private enterprise and the introduction of joint ventures with a limited
number of foreign companies. The most important part of the reforms was
the Law on State Enterprises enacted in June 1987. This removed the munotes.in

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45 central planners' total control over raw materials, production quotas and
trade, and made factories work to orders from customers.
4.3.5. Political changes:
Political changes in the Soviet system began in January 1987 when
Gorbachev annou nced moves towards democracy within the party.
Instead of members of local soviets being appointed by the local
communist party, they were to be elected by the people, and there was to
be a choice of candidates. There were to be secret elections for top
party positions, and elections in factories to choose manage rs.
During 1988 dramatic changes in central government were achieved. The
old parliament, the Supreme Soviet of about 1450 deputies only met for
about two weeks each year. Its function was to e lect two smaller
bodies - the Presidium comprising of 33 members and the Council of
Ministers comprising of 71 members. It was these two committees, which
took a ll-important decisions and saw that policies were carried out. Now
the Supreme Soviet was to be replaced by a Congress of People's
Deputies comprising of 2250 members whose main function was to elect
a new and much smaller Supreme Soviet consisting of 450
representatives, which would be a proper working parliament, sitting
for about eight months a year. The chairman of the Supreme Soviet
would be head of state.
Following the elections under the reformed system the first Congress of
People's Deputies met in May 1989. During the second session in
December 1989 it was decided that reserved seats for the communist
party should be abolished. Gorbachev was elected President of the Soviet
Union in March 1990, with two councils to advise and help him. One
contained his own personal advisers, the other contained representatives
from the fifteen republics. These new bodies completely sidelined the old
system, and it meant that the communist party was on the verge of losing
its privileged position.
4.4 OPPOSITION TO GORBACHEV’S POLICI ES
4.4.1. Opposition from the Radicals and Conservatives:
As the reforms got under way, Gorbachev ran into problems. Some party
members, such as Boris Yeltsin, the Moscow party leader, were more
radical than Gorbachev, and felt that the reforms were not drastic enough.
They wanted a change to a Western-style market economy as quickly
as possible, though they knew this would cause great short-term
hardship for the Russian people. On the ot her hand, the traditional
conservative communists like Yegor Ligachev, felt that the changes were
too drastic and that the party was in danger of losing control. This
caused a dangerous split in the party and made it difficult for
Gorbachev to satisfy either of the g roups.
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46 4.4.2. Protest Demonstrations in Moscow:
The conservatives were in a large majority, and when the Congress of
People's Deputies elected the new Supreme Soviet in May 1989, it was
packed with conservatives. Yeltsin and many other radicals were not
elected. This led to massive protest demonstrations in Moscow, where
Yeltsin was a popular figure since he had cleaned up the corrupt
Moscow communist party organization. Demonstrations would not have
been allowed before Gorbachev's time, but glasnost-encouraging people
to voice their criticisms, was now in full bloom, and was beginning to
turn against the communist party.
4.4.3. Economic Crisis:
The economic reforms as visualized through the policy of Perestroika did
not produce quick results. The rate of economic growth in 1988 and 1989
stayed exactly the same as it had been in previous years. In 1990 national
income actually fell and continued to fall by about fifteen per cent in
1991. Some economists think that the Soviet Union was going through
an economic crisis as serious as the one in the United States in the early
1930’s.
4.4.4. Short Supply of Consumer Goods:
A major cause of the crisis was the disastrous results of the Law on State
Enterprises. The problem was that wages were now depe ndent on output,
but since output was measured by its value in roubles, factories were
tempted not to increase overall output, but to concentrate on more
expensive goods and reduce output of cheaper goods. This led to higher
wages, forcing the government to print more money to pay the wages.
This resulted in the inflation government's budget deficit. Basic goods
such as soap, washing- powder, razor blades, cups and saucers, TV sets
and food were in very short supply, and the queues in the towns got
longer. Disillusion with Gorbachev and his reforms rapidly set in,
and, having had their expectations raised by his promises, people
became outraged at the shortages.
4.4.5. Strike of the Coal-miners:
In July 1989 some coalminers in Siberia found there was no soap to wash
themselves with at the end of their shift. After staging a sit-in, they
decided to go on strike. They were quickly joined by other miners in
Siberia, in Kazakhstan and in the Donbass (Ukraine), the biggest
coalmining area in the Soviet Union, until half a million miners were on
strike. It was the first major strike since 1917. The miners were well
disciplined and organized, holding mass meetings outside party
headquarters in the main towns. They put forward detailed demands,
which made up forty-two in all.
These included better living and working conditions, better supplies of
food, a share in the profits, and more local control over the mines.
Later, influenced by what was happening in Poland, where a non-munotes.in

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Disintegration of U.S.S.R .
47 communist prime minister had just been elected, they called for
independent trade unions like Poland's Solidarity, and in some areas
they demanded an end to the privileged position of the communist party.
The government soon gave way and granted many of the demand s,
promising a complete reorganization of the industry and full local control.
By the end of July the strike was over, but the general economic situation
did not improve. Early in 1990 it was calculated that about a quarter of
the population was living below the poverty line; worst affected were
those with large families, the unemployed and pensioners. Gorbachev was
fast losing control of the reform movement, which he had started, and
the success of the miners was bound to encourage the radicals to press
for even more far- reaching changes.
4.4.6. Press ure from Nationalities:
Nationalist pressures also contributed towards Gorbachev's failure and led
to the breakup of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was a federal state
consisting of fifteen separate repub lics each with its own parliament.
The Russian republic was just one of the fifteen, with its parliament in
Moscow. The repub lics had been kept under strict control since Stalin's
time, but glasnost and perestroika encouraged them to hope for more
powers for their parliaments and more independence from Moscow.
Gorbachev himself seemed sympathetic, provided that the Communist
Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) remained in overall control.
However, things went out of control.
4.4.7. Gradual Break-up of the Soviet Union:
Trouble began in Nagorno-Karabakh, a small Christian autonomous
repub lic within the Soviet repub lic of Azerbaijan, which was M uslim.
The parliament of Nagorno-Karabakh reque sted to become part of
neighbou ring Christian Armenia in February 1988, but Gorbachev
refused to concede the demand. He was apprehensive that if he agreed,
this would upset the conservatives who opposed internal frontier changes,
and turn them against his entire reform programme. Fighting broke out
between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and Moscow had clearly lost control.
Worse was to follow in the three Baltic Soviet republics of Lithuania,
Latvia and E stonia, which had b een taken over against their will by the
Russians in 1940. Independence movements deno unced by Gorbachev as
'national excesses' had been growing in strength. In March 1990,
encouraged by what was happening in the satellite states of Eastern
Europe, Lithuan ia took the lead by declaring itself independent. The
other two soon followed, though they voted to proceed more
gradually. Moscow refused to recognize their indep endence.
4.4.8. Rise of Boris Yeltsin:
Boris Yeltsin, who had been excluded from the new Supreme
Soviet by the conservatives, made a dramat ic comeback when he was munotes.in

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48 elected president of the parliament of the Russian republic (Russian
Federation) in May 1990.
Wide differences in their perception and goals made Gorbachev and
Yeltsin bitter rivals. They disagreed on many fundamental issues.
Yeltsin believed that the union should be voluntary. Each repub lic should
be independent but also have joint responsibilities to the Soviet Union as
well. If any republic wanted to opt out, as Lithuan ia did, it should be
allowed to do so. However, Gorbachev thoug ht that a purely voluntary
union would lead to disintegration.
By this time Yeltsin was completely disillusioned with the
communist party and the way the traditionalists had treated him. He
thought the party no longer deserved its privileged position in the state.
Gorbachev was still a convinced communist and thought the only way
forward was through a humane and democratic communist party.
On the economic front Yeltsin was keen on a rapid changeover
to a market economy, though he knew that this would be pa inful for the
Russian people. Gorbachev was much more cautious, realizing that
Yeltsin's plans would cause massive unemp loyment and even higher
prices. Gorbachev was fully aware of how unpopu lar he was already. He
was afraid that if things got even worse, he might well be overthrown.
4.4.9. The coup of August 1991:
As the crisis deepened, Gorbachev and Yeltsin tried to work toget her, and
Gorbachev found himself being pushed towards free multi-party elections.
This brought bitter attacks from Ligachev and the conservatives, and
Yeltsin resigned from the communist party in July 1990. Gorbachev was
now losing control. Many of the republics were demanding independe nce,
and when Soviet troops were used against nationalists in Lithuania and
Latvia, the people organized massive demonstrations. In A pril 1991
Georgia declared independence. It seemed that the Soviet Union was
falling apart. However, the following month Gorbachev held a
conference with the leaders of the fifteen republics and persuaded them
to form a new voluntary union in which they would be largely
indep endent of Moscow. The agreement was to be formally signed on
20 August 1991.
At this point a group of hard-line communists, including Gorbachev's
vice-president, Gennady Yanayev, decided they had had enou gh, and
launched a coup to remove Gorbachev and reverse his reforms. On 18
August 1991, Gorbachev, who was on holiday in the Crimea, was arrested
and told to hand over power to Yanayev. When he refused, he was kept
under house arrest while the coup went ahead in Moscow. The
public was told that Gorbachev was ill and that an eight-member
comm ittee was now in charge. They declared a state of emergency,
banned demonstrations, and brought in tanks and troops to surround
public buildings in Moscow, including the White House, the parliament
of the Russian Federation, which they intended to seize. Gorbachev's new munotes.in

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Disintegration of U.S.S.R .
49 union treaty, which was due to be signed the following day, was
cancelled.
However, the coup was poorly organized and the leaders failed to
have Yeltsin arrested. He rushed to the White House, and, standing on a
tank outside, he condemned the coup and called on the people of
Moscow to rally round in support. The troops were confused, not
knowing which side to support, but none of them would make a
move against the popular Yeltsin. It soon became clear that some
sections of the army were sympathetic to the reformers. By the evening of
20 August 1991 thousands of people were on the streets, barricades
were built against the tanks, and the army hesitated to cause heavy
casualties by attacking the White House. On 21 August the coup leaders
admitted defeat and were eventually arrested. Yeltsin had triumphed
and Gorbachev was able to return to Moscow. But things could never be
the same again, and the failed coup had important consequen ces.
4.4.10. Resignation of Gorbachev:
The communist party was disgraced and discredited by the actions of the
hardliners. Gorbachev soon resigned as party gene ral secretary and the
party was banned in the Russian Federation. Yeltsin was seen as the hero
and Gorbachev was increasingly sidelined. Yeltsin ruled the Russian
Federation as a separate repub lic, introducing a drastic programme to
move to a free-market economy. When the Ukraine, the second largest
soviet republic, voted to become independent in December 1991, it was
clear that the old So viet Union was finished. Yeltsin was already
negotiating for a new union of the republics. This was joined first by the
Russian Federation, the Ukraine, and Belarus, and eight other republics
joined later. The new union was known as the Commonwealth of
Independent States (CIS). Although the member states were fully
independ ent, they agreed to work together on economic matters and
defense. These developments meant that Gorbachev's role as president
of the Soviet Union had ceased to exist, and he resigned on Christmas
Day 1991.
There can be no question that Gorbachev, in spite of his failures,
was one of the outstanding leaders of the twentieth century. His
achievement, especially in foreign affairs, was enormous. His policies
of glasnost and perestroika restored freedom to the people of the
Soviet Union. His policies of reducing military expenditure, detente, and
withdrawal from Afghanistan and Eastern Europe made a vital
contribution to the ending of the Cold War. It has been suggested that
Gorbachev was the real successor of Lenin, and that he was trying to
get communism back on the track intended for it by Lenin before it was
hi-jacked by Stalin, who twisted and perverted it.
Much has already been written about the q uestion whether Gorbachev
would have succeeded and preserved a modernized, humane
communism, if he had tackled the problems differently. Compa risons
also have been made with communist China. Why did communism munotes.in

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50 survive there but not in the Soviet Union? One explanation goes as
follows: Both the Soviet Union and China need ed reform in two areas,
the communist party and government and the economy. Gorbachev
believed these could only be achieved one at a time, and chose to
introduce the political reforms first, without any really fundamental
economic innovations. The Chinese did it the other way round,
introducing economic reform first and leaving the power of the
communist party unchanged. This meant that although the people suffered
economic hardship, the government retained tight control over them, and
in the last resort was prepared to use force against them, unlike
Gorbachev.
It is important to note that 1991 did not witness the complete collapse of
communism, in Russia or Eastern Europe. Reformed communist parties
re-emerged, some times under different names, in a multi-party setting,
in Lithuania, Bulgaria, Poland and Russia. What really ended in 1991 was
not communism but Stalinism.
4.5 AFTERMATH OF THE COLLA PSE OF
COMMUNISM IN THE SOVIET UNION
4.5.1. Yeltsin as the President of the Russian Federation:
Yeltsin’s power base was not the Soviet Union but Russia. He had
acted with courage during the anti-Gorbachev coup, risking his life in
confronting the plotters and increasing his popu larity in Russia, which
had been growing since 1990. In that year the Congress of People’s
Deputies elected under Gorbachev’s reforms of 1988 was replaced by a
Russian parliament, which chose Yeltsin as its president. A few weeks
before the coup of 1991 he was elected president of the Russian
Republic by direct popu lar vote. This victory turned out to be the high
point of his career. However, he failed thereafter to display any mastery
over either of the two major problems: economic policy and nationalities.
4.5.2. Economic Collapse:
Yeltsin was given special powers to formulate and implement
economic reforms. These reforms propounded by Yegor Gaidar,
Anatoly Chuba is and other adventurous advisers, comprised
severe cuts in government spending, the privatization of state enterprises
of all kinds, the d ismantling of much of the central bureaucracy. But this
programme proved not only painful but also far more protracted than
anticipated. Inflation soared into four figures, production collapsed and
the reformers appeared to be benefiting nobody except the han dful of
enterprising adventurers. Yeltsin was criticized by his former allies as
trying to do in five years what should be spread to twenty. Through
1992 and 1993 the economy continued to decline as output fell even more
steeply than under Gorbachev. Living standards declined and many
people were worse off than be fore glasnost and perestroika. Economic
failings resulted in crime, extortion and corruption. Wages in public
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51 4.5.3. Formation of the Civic Union:
Yeltsin’s critics formed the Civic Union, which became a principal group
in the Congress and joined forces with the ex- communists, who were
more hostile to Yeltsin than they had been to Gorbachev. Yeltsin was
forced to withdraw his nomination of Gaidar as prime minister and
appointed instead Victor Chernomyrdin, who was expected to be an
amenable mediator between Yeltsin and the Congress chairman Ruslan
Khasbulatov, another former ally of Yeltsin turned adversary.
4.5.4. Ethnic and Religious Conflict:
Meanwhile, ethnic and religious conflict plagued the republics. In
the first years following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, warfare
flared up in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The most serious conflict
arose in the predominately M uslim area of Chechnya, bordering
Georgia in the Caucasus, which had declared its independence in late
1991. Three years later the Russian government, weary of this continuing
challenge to its authority, launched a concerted effort to suppress
resistance. The attempt failed, exposing Russia’s military weakness to
the world, in a conflict that saw t he comm ission of atrocities on
both sides. Although TV viewers worldwide saw pictures of the
Chechen capital, Grozny, reduced to rubble, the Russian army
seemed unable to defeat the rebels. A truce signed in July 1995 was
short- lived. As the elections for the Duma, the lower house of the
Russian Federation parliament, approached in December 1995, Yeltsin's
popularity was waning and support for the reformed communist party
under their leader, Gennady Zyuganov, was reviving. The communists
scored something of a triumph in the elections, winning 23 per cent
of the votes and becoming the largest party in the Duma.
4.5.5. Re-election of Yeltsin as the President:
During the first half of 1996 the economy began to show signs of
recovery. The budget deficit and inflation were both coming down
steadily, and production was increasing. Elections for a new president
were due in June, and Western governments, worried about the
prospect of a Zyuganov victory, were clearly hoping that Yeltsin would
be re-elected. The International Monetary Fund was persuaded to give
Russia a $10.2 billion loan. The leaders of the former Soviet republics,
members of the Commonwealth of Indep endent States, also backed
Yeltsin, because they were afraid that a communist president might try to
end their indepen dence. Yeltsin's chances received a boost when
he succeeded in negotiating a ceasefire in Chechnya in May 1995.
Yeltsin eventually won a comfortable victory, taking almost 35 per cent
of the votes against 32 per cent for Zyuganov.
Yeltsin saw his victory in the 1996 presidential elections as a clear
mandate for the continuation of the reform programme. He reorganized
his Cabinet, bringing in new reformers as well as retaining loyalists such
as Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin and Chief of Staff Anatoly
Chuba is in key positions. Lebed, however, who had gained munotes.in

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52 widespread popularity as a ‘man of the peop le’ rather than a party
politician, continued to criticize government actions, especially aspects of
the reform programme. In October he was sacked as national security
advisor, and went on in December to launch a new political party, the
Russian Popular Republican Pa rty Mean while, Yeltsin suffering from
heart aliment unde rwent a quintuple heart bypass operation in November
1996. His return to full-time duties was delayed by a bout of pneumonia,
which heightened doubts concerning his future. A bid in early
February 1997 by the Communist bloc in the State Duma to oust him
from office on health grounds failed through lack of support and
procedural errors. Yeltsin finally returned to full-time duties at the end
of February.
However, failing health, economic crisis and the opposition from the
traditional communists raised serious questions about the future of the
country. On 31 December 1999, Yeltsin suddenly resigned his office and
was replaced by Vladimir Putin, an ex- member of the K GB. Putin vowed
to bring the breakaway state of Chechnya back under Russian authority,
while adopting a more assertive role in international affairs.
4.6 Q UESTIONS
1) Describe briefly the circumstances that led to the collapse of
communism in the Soviet Union.
2) Examine critically the role of Mikhail Gorbachev in the collapse of
communism in the Soviet Union.
3) Give an account of the failure of Mikhail Gorbachev in bringing
about political and econom ic reforms in the Soviet Union.
4) Discuss the political developments in Russia following the
collapse of communism.
5) Write short notes on the following:
(a) Glasnost
(b) Perestroika
(c) Mikhail Gorbachev
(d) Boris Yeltsin




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53 4.7 REFERENCES

1. Carr E.H., International Relations between the Two World Wars,
Macmillan -Palgrave, 1985
2. Conwell R.D., World History in the Twentiet h Century, Longman,
Gordon, 1969.
3. Davis H.A., An Outline of the World, OUP, New Delhi, 1968
4. Fay S.B., Origins of the World Wars, New York, 1991.
5. Gokhale B.K., History of the Modern World, Himalaya Publishing
House, Bombay,1982.
6. John Lewis, Gaddis, We Now K now, Rethinking the Cold War
History, OUP, 1997.
7. Lorenz Luthi, The Sino -Soviet Split, The Cold War in the Communist
World, Princeton University Press,2008
8. Odd Arne, Westad, The Global Cold War, The Third World
Interventions and the Making of our Times, CUP , 2007.
9. Palmer R.R. & Collon, Joel, History the Modern World, London,
1964.
10. Raymon Gorthoff, The Great Transition: American Soviet Relations
and the End of the Cold War, Brookings, Washington, 1994.
11. Smith Joseph, The Cold war: 1945 -1965, Blackwell Publishi ng
House, Cambridge,1989.
12. Tony Judt, Post War: A History of Europe since 1945, Penguin,
2006.
13. Weech W.N., History of the World (Third Edition), Asia Publishing
House, Bombay,1961.
14. Thompson David, The World History:1914 -1968, OUP, 1968
15. Taylor A.J.P., The S truggle for Mastery in Europe, OUP,
London,1977.



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54 5
RE-DRAWING OF POLITICAL BORDERS
OF GERMANY, YOGOSLAVIA AND
CZECHOSLAVIA
Unit Structure :
5.0 Objectives
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Causes of the Collapse of Communism in Central and Eastern
Europe
5.3 Collapse of Communism in Individual Countries
5.4 Hungary and Causes of Communism
5.5 East Germany and Communism
5.6 Czechoslovakia and Communism
5.7 Romania and Communism
5.8 Bulgaria and Communism
5.9 Yugoslavia and Communism
5.10 Summary
5.11 Questions
5.12 References
5.0 OBJECTIVES
1) To analyze the f actors that led to the collapse o Communism in Central
and Eastern Europe.
2) To study the impact of the policies of Gorbachev on Central and
Eastern Europe.
3) To understand the political developments in the countries of Central
and Eastern Europe following the collapse of Communism.



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55 5.1 INTRODUCTION
Stalin’s post -war order had imposed communist regimes throughout
Central and Eastern Europe. The process of Sovietization seemed so
complete that few people believed that the new order could be undone.
But disc ontent with their Soviet style regimes always simmered beneath
the surface of these satellite states, and after Mikhail Gorbachev made it
clear that his government would not intervene militarily, their communist
regimes fell quickly in revolutions of 1989. In the short period from
August 1988 to December 1991 communism in Eastern Europe was swept
away. Poland was the first to reject communism, closely followed by
Hungary and East Germany and the rest. The chief reasons, which
ultimately led to the collapse of communism in Central and Eastern
Europe, were the economic failure and the policies of Gorbachev.
5.2 CAUSES OF THE COLLAPSE OF COMMUNISM IN
CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
5.2.1. Economic Failure:
Communism miserably failed to improve the economic conditio n in
Eastern Europe. It could not produce the standard of living, which should
have been possible, as vast resources available in Eastern European
countries. The economic systems were inefficient, over -centralized and
subject to too many restrictions. All the states, for example, were expected
to do most of their trading within the communist bloc. By the mid -1980’s
there were problems every where. According to Misha Glenny, a BBC
correspondent in Eastern Europe, the communist party leaderships refused
to admit that the working class lived in more miserable conditions,
breathing in more polluted air and drinking more toxic water, than western
working classes. The communist record on health, education, housing, and
a range of other social services had been ve ry poor. Increasing contact
with the West in the 1980’s showed people how backward the East was in
comparison with the West, and suggested that their living standards were
falling even further. It also showed that it must be their own leaders and
the commu nist system, which were the cause of all their problems.
5.2.2. Policies of Gorbachev:
Gorbachev, who became leader of the Soviet Union in March 1985,
started the process, which led to the collapse of communism not only in
the Soviet Union but also in Cen tral and Eastern Europe. He recognized
the failings of the system and he admitted that it was 'an absurd situation'
that the Soviet Union, the world's biggest producer of steel, fuel and
energy, should be suffering shortages because of waste and ineffi ciency.
He hoped to save communism by revitalizing and modernizing it. He
introduced new policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (economic
and social reform). Criticism of the system was encouraged in the drive
for improvement, provided nobody critici zed the communist party. He
also helped to engineer the overthrow of the old -fashioned, hard -line
communist leaders in Czechoslovakia, and he was probably involved in munotes.in

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56 plotting the overthrow of the East German, Romanian and Bulgarian
leaders. His hope was t hat more progressive leaders would increase the
chances of saving communism in Russia's satellite states.
Unfortunately for Gorbachev, once the process of reform began, it proved
impossi ble to control it. The most dangerous time for any repressive
regime is when it begins to try to reform itself by making concessions. The
radicals went on demanding additional reforms. In the Soviet Union,
criticism inevitably turned against the communist party itself and
demanded more radical reforms. Public opinion even t urned against
Gorbachev because many people felt he was not moving fast enough.
5.2.3. Demand for Reforms:
Taking example of the reforms that were sweeping across the Soviet
Union, the people of the Central and Eastern Europe demanded similar
reforms in t heir own countries. The communist leaderships found it diffi -
cult to adapt to the new situation of having a leader in Moscow who was
more progres sive than they were. The critics of the communist system
became more daring as they realized that Gorbachev wo uld not send
soviet troops in to suppress their movement for reform as had been done
earlier in Hungary in 1956 and in Czechoslovakia in 1968. With no help to
be expected from Moscow, when it came to the crisis, none of the
communist governments was prepar ed to use sufficient force against the
demonstrators, except in Romania. When they came, the rebellions were
too widespread, and it would have needed a huge commit ment of tanks
and troops to hold down the whole of Central and Eastern Europe
simultaneously . Having only just succeeded in withdrawing from
Afghanistan, Gorbachev had no desire for an even greater involvement. In
the end it was a triumph of 'people power': demonstrators deliberately
defied the threat of violence in such huge numbers that troops would have
had to shoot a large proportion of the population in the big cities to keep
control.
5.3 COLLAPSE OF COMMUNISM IN INDIVIDUAL
COUNTRIES
5.3.1. Poland
a. Lech Walesa and the Solidarity Movement:
The challenge to the communist regime came first fr om Poland. Under
Wladyslaw Gomulka, Poland had achieved certain stability in the 1960’s.
However, economic problems led to his ouster in 1971. His successor,
Edward Gierek attempted to solve Poland’s economic problems by
borrowing heavily from the West. In 1980, Gierek announced huge
increases in food prices in an effort to pay off part of the Western debt.
Living standards deteriorated, and hundreds of thousands of Polish
workers responded to a large food price rise by going on strike in the
summer of 1980 . In August the country was paralyzed when workers in
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57 for three weeks and started making political demands. At the end of the
month, the Communist authorities were forced into making unprecedented
concessions. These included the right to strike, wage increases, the release
of political prisoners, and the curtailment of censorship. The recognition
of the right to organize independent trade unions led to the formation in
mid-September o f the Solidarity federation. Solidarity represented ten
million of Poland’s thirty -five million people. Almost instantly, Solidarity
became a tremendous force for change and a threat to the government’s
monopoly of power. Under the leadership of an electri cian, Lech Walesa,
and with the full support of the Polish Catholic Church, workers and many
intellectuals, Solidarity quickly became a political force sufficiently
powerful to win a series of concessions. The sick and discredited Gierek
stepped down as Co mmunist Party leader in favour of Stanislaw Kania.
b. Tussle Between Solidarity and the Communist Party:
The standoff between Solidarity and the Communist Party took place in a
period of increased economic decline and social discontent, causing a
growing number of dangerous confrontations. Partly because of Soviet
pressure, the government was unable or unwilling to carry out the
necessary reforms. In February 1981, General Wojciech Jaruzelski was
made Premier, and in October was made Party Chief. To contro l the
situation, he used the radical demands of the Solidarity movement as a
pretext for imposing martial law in mid -December. He banned Solidarity,
arrested thousands of activists and imprisoned nearly all its leaders,
including Walesa.
c. Crackdown on S olidarity:
This Moscow -supported crackdown effectively quelled the Solidarity
movement for the time being. All industrial and political opposition was
banned and suppressed. Communist Party reformers were also disciplined.
The authorities retained many of the expanded emergency powers even
after the lifting of martial law in 1983. Solidarity lost its mass base but
survived as an underground opposition movement with sufficient popular
support to force gradual concessions from the regime. It was backed by
the ever more powerful Roman Catholic Church, which had been
strengthened by papal visits in 1983 and 1987. The Jaruzelski regime
gradually loosened its grip on power and attempted to introduce economic
reforms. These failed to gain sufficient social support and were never
completed. The political and economic stalemate in 1980’s Poland was
broken by the glasnost and perestroika of Mikhail Gorbachev. The
changed atmosphere in the Soviet Union made reforms possible in Poland.
d. Recognition of Solidarity as Po litical Party:
In 1988 when Jaruzelski tried to economize by cutting government
subsidies, protest strikes broke out because the changes led to an increase
in food prices. This time Jaruzelski decided not to risk using force. He was
aware that there would be no backing from Moscow, and realized that he
needed oppo sition support to deal with the economic crisis. Talks opened
in February 1989 between the communist government, and Solidarity and munotes.in

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58 other opposition groups. By April 1989 drastic changes were intr oduced in
the Polish constitution. Accordingly, Solidarity was recognized as a
political party; there were to be two houses of parliament, a lower house
(Sejm) and a senate; in the lower house, 65 per cent of the seats had to be
reserved to the communists; the senate was to be freely elected; the two
houses voting together would elect a President, who would then choose a
Prime Minister.
e. Poland After the Collapse of Communism:
In the elections of June 1989 Solidarity won 92 out of the 100 seats in the
senate and 160 out of the 161 seats which they could fight in the lower
house (Sejm). A compromise deal was worked out when it came to
forming a government. Jaruzelski was elected as the President. He chose a
Tadeusz Mazowiecki, a leading member of Solidarit y, as prime minister.
He became the first non -Communist prime minister since the Second
World War. Mazowiecki chose a mixed govern ment of communists and
Solidarity supporters. The communist monopoly of power in Poland had
come to an end after forty -five years. The new government began to end
Communist controls. Also in 1989, the Polish government began a
programme to sell government -owned industries to private owners. This
programme progressed through the 1990's.
In 1990, Poland's Communist Party was d issolved. In June 1990,
Solidarity split into two opposing groups. One group supported
Mazowiecki; the other supported Walesa. In the presidential elections
held in November 1990, Walesa won the election and became Poland's
new president. After the ele ction, Walesa resigned as head of Solidarity.
The new government had to bear the burden of huge debts incurred in the
1970’s and 1980’s to the Paris Club of Western lenders and private
bankers. The United States followed by Britain and France, wrote off two-
thirds of its debts as a contribution to, and reward for, democracy. The
European Council concluded a helpful association agreement, and the IMF
provided funds in return for drastic reductions in government expenditure.
In 1990’s economy grew at about six per cent a year, unemployment fell,
foreign investment was encouraging, hyperinflation was reduced.
However, these improvements came too late and too little to save Walesa.
He and the parliament were at odds over remedies and over distribution of
power . Walesa, having played the central role in getting rid of communist
rule in Poland, found it difficult to adapt to parliamentary democracy.
Political parties proliferated manifesting pluralism in Polish polity. In the
parliamentary elections that were hel d in October 1991 the Democratic
Union, formed out of Mazowiecki's branch of Solidarity, won most seats
in the lower house and the Senate, and the ex -communist Democratic Left
Alliance (SLD) was in second position. Walesa failed to get himself made
prime m inister as well as president.
Presidential elections in 1995 were narrowed down to a contest between
Walesa and the SLD’s Alexander Kwasniewski, young, intelligent but a
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59 government. During t he campaign Walesa recovered much of his lost
popularity. However, in spite of aggressive support from the Roman
Catholic hierarchy, which focused on past ideological battles than current
economic problems, he was narrowly defeated by his former prime
ministerial nominee, Aleksander Kwasniewski, who was better organized
and more forward -looking.
It was announced in June that the Gdansk shipyard, cradle of the pro -
democracy movement Solidarity, would not be saved from bankruptcy,
which prompted angry reacti on from shipyard workers. In early March
1997 the announcement of the closure of the Gdansk shipyard resulted in
demonstrations in Warsaw and Gdansk, which prompted the government
to propose a rescue plan. Pope John Paul II made an 11 -day visit to Poland
in late May, during which he spoke on NATO and EU membership, and
the controversial law on abortion.
In December 1997, a protocol was signed scheduling Poland’s accession
to NATO. A concordat with the Vatican was approved by the parliament
in January 1998 and included provision for the legalization of Church
marriages. In September 1998, the Polish parliament enacted a
Legislation, which abolished the death penalty, and introduced life
imprisonment.
The biggest expansion in the 50 -year history of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) took place in March 1999, when Poland with two
other former Warsaw pact countries, the Czech Republic and Hungary,
joined the Western defense alliance. In November 1999 a United Nations
report praised Poland's economic g rowth since the fall of communism, but
warned that a lack of investment in the countryside could lead to social
instability. The report by the International Labour Organization
maintained that most of the growth had been concentrated in urban areas
leaving the countryside with high unemployment and predicted that
further investment would be hampered if the government enacted its
controversial plans to reform the tax system. Despite such promising
economic indicators, the latter half of the year had seen muc h industrial
unrest over the government's implementation of health, education, and
pension reform, and widespread protests by farmers against government’s
agriculture policy of grain procurement and low prices.
The growing unrest among farmers and other wo rkers in the agricultural
sector was reflected, in January 2000, in the formation of a radical
National Peasant bloc, an alliance of three political groupings strongly
opposed to EU -influenced reforms and policies. Agricultural protests, as
well as strikes in health care and education sectors, continued throughout
2000.


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60 5.4 HUNGARY AND CAUSES OF COMMUNISM
5.4.1 Economic Reforms:
Once the Poles had thrown off communism without interference from the
Soviet Union, it was only a matter of time before the re st of Eastern
Europe tried to follow the example of Poland. The process of liberation
from communist rule had begun before 1989. Remaining in power for
more than thirty years, the government of Janos Kadar tried to keep up
with the changing mood by enactin g the most far -reaching economic
reforms in Eastern Europe. In the early 1980’s, he legalized small private
enterprises, such as shops, restaurants, and artisan shops. His economic
reforms were called ‘Communism with a capitalist facelift’. Hungary
moved s lowly away from its strict adherence to Soviet dominance and
even established fairly friendly relations with the West. Multi -candidate
elections with at least two candidates per seat were held for the first time
in June 1985.
An economic downturn in the m id-1980’s led to the imposition of an
austerity programme, a mass demonstration for freedom of speech, and
civil reforms. By 1987 there was conflict in the communist party between
those who wanted more reforms and those who wanted a return to strict
centra l control. In May 1988 Kadar was ousted from power and the
progressives took control of the government.
5.4.2 End of Communism in Hungary:
The new general secretary, Károly Grósz, had been prime minister since
June 1987. In that post he had initiated a to ugh economic programme that
included levying new taxes, cutting subsidies, and encouraging the small
private sector. As further signs of liberalization, the government relaxed
censorship laws, allowed the formation of independent political groups,
and lega lized the right to strike and to demonstrate. In 1989 the leadership
provided a hero’s burial for Imre Nagy, eased restrictions on emigration,
revised the constitution to provide for a democratic multi -party system,
and changed the country’s name from the People’s Republic of Hungary
to the Republic of Hungary. In March and April 1990 a coalition of center -
right parties won a parliamentary majority in the nation’s first free
legislative elections in forty -five years. After a referendum providing for
direct presidential elections failed because of a low turnout, the National
Assembly chose a writer, Árpád Göncz, as head of state.
5.4.3 Post -Communist Hungary:
In 1990 Hungary became the first Central European nation in the Eastern
bloc to join the Council of Europe, and in 1991 and 1992 the government
signed declarations of cooperation with Poland, the Czech and Slovak
republics, Russia, and Ukraine. A Treaty of Friendship and Co -operation
with Slovakia was ratified in June. In parliamentary elections in May, the
Hungarian Socialist Party regained a majority of 72 per cent of
parliamentary seats. The new government introduced stringent budget cuts
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61 introduced in March 1995, and a law aime d at revitalizing the stalled
privatization programme was introduced in May. A bill was passed in
November to abolish exchange control regulations, which had been in
place for over 60 years, and thus make the forint fully convertible. In the
largest privat ization programme seen thus far in a former Communist
state, foreign consortia took majority holdings in the telecommunications
and gas distribution companies, and minority holdings in the electricity,
and the oil - and gas -producing industries.
In July 199 6 Hungary became the first country in Eastern Europe to
acknowledge its role in the Holocaust, when the establishment of a fund to
administer confiscated property and compensate survivors was announced.
When the proposal of Hungary joining the NATO was pl aced before the
national referendum, more than 85 per cent of the people voted in favour
of the proposition. In March 1999, Hungary joined the NATO in the
biggest expansion of the organization's 50 -year history. Hungary's
participation in NATO was almost i mmediate: within a month of joining
NATO its airspace was being used by alliance planes taking part in air
strikes against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In March 1998
Hungary was one of the ten applicant nations to the EU to benefit from the
£1.8 bil lion-per-annum pool of grants made available to help them prepare
for entry early next century.
5.5 EAST GERMANY AND COMMUNISM
In East Germany, Erich Honecker, who had been communist leader since
1971, refused all reform and intended to stand firm, along with
Czechoslovakia, Romania and the rest, to continue the communist regime.
However, certain events shook the power of Honecker.
5.5.1 Gorbachev’s Visit to West Germany:
In a desperate attempt to get financial help for the Soviet Union,
Gorbachev paid a v isit to West Germany in June 1989 and met Chancellor
Kohl in Bonn. He promised to help bring an end to the divided Europe, in
return for German economic aid. In effect he was secretly promising
freedom for East Germany.
5.5.2 Flight of the East Germans to the West:
During August and September 1989 thousands of East Germans began to
escape to the west via Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary, when
Hungary opened its frontier with Austria. East Germans on holiday in
Hungary found that they had an open road thr ough Austria to West
Germany, where they had automatic rights of access and citizenship. As
many as 5,000 East Germans a day escaped from East Germany. This
exodus went on increasing.

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62 5.5.3 Anti -Government Movement:
There were huge anti -government movem ents in various parts of East
Germany. The Protestant Church in East Germany became the focus of an
opposition party called New Forum, which campaigned to bring an end to
the repressive and atheistic communist regime. In October 1989 there was
a wave of de monstrations all over East Germany demanding freedom and
an end to communism.
At the beginning of the year Honecker’s inclination had been to hold on to
power, if necessary by force. He wanted to order the army to open fire on
the demonstrators, but other leading communists were not prepared to
cause widespread bloodshed. As the political crisis mounted in 1989,
Honecker was forced out of the presidency in October 1989 and Egon
Krenz became President and leader of the Socialist Unity Party. The
Berlin Wall , which separated the city into communist controlled East
Berlin and non -communist West Berlin was demolished on 9 November
1989. The dismantling of the Berlin Wall by its people precipitated the
reunification of Germany. Kohl and Gorbachev controlled the
consequences.
5.5.4 Attempts towards the Unification of Germany:
When the great powers began to drop hints that they would not stand in
the way of a reunited Germany, the West German political parties moved
into the East. Chancellor Kohl staged an electi on tour, and the East
German version of his party (CDU) won an overwhelming victory in
March 1990 to the Peoples Chamber. This transitional body was given the
responsibility for working out the constitutional arrangements under which
the GDR (East Germany) would merge with the FRG (West Germany).
The Soviet Union and the United States agreed that reunification of
Germany could take place. Gorbachev promised that all Russian troops
would be withdrawn from East Germany by 1994. France and Britain,
who were no t quite happy about German reunification could not oppose
the same and felt bound to go along with the flow. Germany was formally
reunited at midnight on 3 October 1990.
5.5.5 The Unified Germany:
While reunification brought together long -separated famil ies and friends,
it also brought numerous economic and social problems to Germany,
including housing shortages, strikes and demonstrations, unemployment,
and increases in crime and right -wing violence against foreigners. Budget
deficits caused by unificati on and worsened by a recession led to increased
taxes, reduced government subsidies and increased privatization, and cuts
in social services. While increasing the market for consumer products,
reunification significantly affected the strength and competiti veness of the
German economy. There was huge gap between the two Germanys in
standards of living, industrial performance, and infrastructure. Many East
Germans felt patronized and overwhelmed by the west, and complained of
second -class treatment. Many West Germans believed they were
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63 One of the greatest problems that Germany faced after reunification was
that of xenophobia and attacks on foreigners. Since the end of the Second
World War, West Germ any tried to meet the problem of shortage of
labour by permitting immigrants known as ‘guest workers’. These ‘guest
workers’, many from Turkey, worked full -time and brought or raised
families in West Germany. However, they were not allowed to become
citize ns. By the 1990s, Germany had nearly 2 million guest workers. To
this number was added asylum seekers from a number of countries,
especially form the former Yugoslavia. The right -wing Germans who felt
that the foreigners took their jobs away began to organ ize attacks on them.
In 1992, about 2,300 attacks on foreigners were reported; in 1993, the
figure was about 1,300. In that year eight died from right -wing extremist
violence. Attacks on Jews declined, but attacks on homeless and disabled
people more than doubled, from 145 to 324. Mass demonstrations
protested against the violence, and the government increased its activities
against neo -Nazi groups. In May 1993, the German parliament approved
limitations on asylum for foreigners in Germany.
In September 19 93, Germany renewed its bid for a permanent seat on the
Security Council of the United Nations (UN). In the same year German
voters ratified the country’s membership of the European Union (EU). The
Federal Constitutional Court ruled in July that German arm ed forces could
serve with the UN or other international missions outside the NATO area,
subject to parliamentary approval. This ruling of the Federal
Constitutional Court freed Germany to send its forces outside Western
Europe for the first time since 194 5. As part of Germany’s new policy of
undertaking external peacekeeping commitments, the Bundestag voted in
December to send a 4,000 -strong peacekeeping force to Bosnia and
Herzegovina. In August 1994 the last Russian troops left Berlin, followed
in Septem ber by the last British, French, and American troops.
In the October 1994 general elections, Helmut Kohl’s ruling coalition was
returned to office for a fourth time with a reduced majority. Despite
recovery from recession, continuing economic problems were highlighted
in January 1996 when unemployment reached a post -war high of 10.8 per
cent. The government responded with new industrial initiatives, talks with
trade unions, and some trimming of the social security system.
In the September 1998 general elec tions, Helmut Kohl lost power to
Gerhard Schröder and the SPD, marking the end of sixteen years of
conservative government under Kohl. In October Schröder agreed a
coalition with the Green Party and introduced a legislative programme
including reform of Ge rman citizenship laws and measures against
unemployment. In March 1999 Oskar Lafontaine, finance minister in the
new government and SPD leader, stepped down suddenly over policy
disagreements with Schröder. This was seen as strengthening the
Chancellor and moving his government away from Lafontaine's traditional
left-wing loyalties. In March, Germany joined the rest of NATO in
military action against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia over the
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64 5.6 CZECHOSLOVAKIA AND COMMUNISM
5.6.1 Charter 77:
Communist regimes in Poland and Hungary had attempted to make some
political and economic reforms in the 1970’s and 1980’s. However, this
was not the case in Czechoslovakia. After Soviet troops crushed the
reform movement in 1968, hard -line Czech communists under Gustav
Husak purged the party and followed a policy of massive repression to
maintain their power. Only writers and other intellectuals provided any
real opposition to the government. In January 1977, these dissident
intellectuals formed Charter 77 as a vehicle for protest against violations
of human rights. By the 1980’s, Charter 77 members were also presenting
their views on the country’s economic and political problems. In spite of
the government’s harsh response to their movement.
Czechoslovakia had one of the most successful economies of Eastern
Europe. She traded extensively with the west and her industry and
commerce remained buoyant throughout the 1970’s. But during the early
1980’s the economy ran into trouble, mainly because there had been very
little attempt to modernize industry. Husak, who had been in power since
1968, resigned as the general secretary of the communist party in 1987,
but continued as the president. Milos Jakes, who did not have reputation as
a reformer, succeeded him in the party post.
5.6.2 The Velvet Revolution:
Regardless of the atmosphere of repression, dissident movements
continued to grow in the late 1980’s. Government attempts to suppress
mass demonstrations in Prague and other Czec hoslovakian cities in 1988
and 1989 only led to more and larger demonstrations. In what became
known as the Velvet Revolution in November 1989 there was a huge
demonstration in Prague at which many people were injured by police
brutality. Charter 77, now l ed by the famous playwright, Vaclav Havel,
organized further opposi tion, and after Alexander Dubcek had spoken at a
public rally for the first time since 1968, a national strike was declared. As
the pace of political change quickened in the Soviet Union a nd elsewhere
in Eastern Europe, Jakeš was unable to hold back the tide of reform.
5.6.3 End of Communism:
As the situation was out of control, the Czechoslovakia Federal Assembly
voted to delete the constitutional articles giving the communists the
leadin g role in politics. In December 1989, as demonstrations continued,
the communist government, lacking any real support, collapsed. In
November 1989 Jakes and other communist party leaders stepped down,
and the government began negotiating with an opposition group, Civic
Forum, led by Václav Havel. President Husak resigned at the end of
December 1989 and a new government took office with a Slovak, Marian
Calfa, as prime minister. Dubcek was elected chairman of the Federal
Assembly, which then chose Havel as p resident of Czechoslovakia. In the
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65 Forum and its allies large majorities in both houses of parliament. Havel
was then re -elected to a two -year term, and he asked Calfa, a former
commu nist, to head a coalition government.
In January 1990, Havel declared amnesty for nearly 30,000 political
prisoners. He also set out on a goodwill tour to various Western countries
in which he proved to be an eloquent spokesperson for Czech democracy
and a new order in Europe.
The shift to non -communist rule, however, was complicated by old
problems, especially ethnic issues. Czechs and Slovaks disagreed over the
making of the new state but were able to agree on a peaceful division of
the country. On 1 Janu ary 1993, Czechoslovakia was split into the Czech
Republic and Slovakia.
5.7 ROMANIA AND COMMUNISM
5.7.1 Repressive Regime of Ceausescu:
In Romania the communist regime of Nicolae Ceausescu, who was the
leader since 1965, was one of the most brutal and r epressive anywhere in
the world. Ceausescu had used the Romanian Communist Party as a base
for establishing a family tyranny of intense malignity, supported by a
private army, a ruthless secret police, the Securitate , and driving
megalomania. Like Stalin, whom he admired, Ceausescu was obsessed
with getting things done at great human cost. He aimed to modernize and
aggrandize Romania by the force. It was not based on communist doctrine,
but on his own authority and personality. Both at home and abroad he wo n
for a time a measure of approval through anti -Russian policies and
gestures, including his refusal to co -operate in the Warsaw Pact or allow
foreign troops on Romanian soil. He was rewarded with lavish praise
from, among others, George Bush, the US Presi dent and with a British
knighthood.
5.7.2 Revolution against Ceausescu:
During the rapid collapse of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989,
Ceausescu brutally suppressed anti -government demonstration. Serious
riots were first recorded from Brasov in 1987.T he revolution against
Ceausescu’s regime began in Timisoara, a town in Transylvania at the end
of 1989, with a demonstration in to protest the persecution of a fearlessly
outspoken Protestant cleric, Laszlo Tokes. This spark lit a fire, which
Ceausescu, r eturning from a visit to Tehran, was unable to quench. The
demonstration was brutally put down by the Securitate and many people
were killed on 17 December 1989. This caused outrage throughout the
country, and when, four days later Ceausescu and his wife, Elena appeared
on the balcony of Communist Party Headquarters in Bucharest to address
a massed rally, they were greeted with boos and shout of 'murderers of
Timisoara'. TV coverage was abruptly halted and Ceausescu abandoned
his speech. It seemed as though the entire population of Bucharest now
streamed out on to the streets. At first the army fired on the crowds and
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66 again. However, the army refused to continue the killing, and the
Ceausesc us had lost control. They were arrested, tried by a military
tribunal and shot dead on 25 December 1989.
5.7.3 The National Salvation Front:
The hated Ceausescus had gone, but many elements of communism
remained in Romania. The country had never had democ ratic government
and opposition had been so ruthlessly crushed that there was no equivalent
of the Polish Solidarity and Czech Charter 77. An interim ruling body, the
Council of National Salvation, led by Ion Iliescu, revoked a number of
Ceausescu’s repres sive policies and imprisoned some of the leaders of his
regime. In May 1990 the National Salvation Front, consisting mostly of
former communists, won multi -party elections for parliament and the
presidency, and Iliescu became Romania’s president. In June t housands of
miners were brought to Bucharest to suppress anti -government
demonstrations with a brutality that shocked the world. An economic
austerity programme was introduced in October and a new constitution
took effect at the end of 1991.
5.7.4 Demonst rations in Bucharest:
President Iliescu won re -election in October 1992, and in November a new
government was formed by independents and members of the Democratic
National Salvation Front (DNSF), one of two parties formed by the split of
the NSF. In Febru ary 1993 thousands of people demonstrated in Bucharest
against inflation, unemployment, and low wages. Labour unrest continued
throughout the spring after the government -removed subsidies for goods
and services, and public sector and steel workers demanded higher wages.
In February 1994 as many as two million workers staged a general strike
protesting at the lack of economic reform. A motion of impeachment of
President Iliescu was rejected in July 1994.
5.7.5 Ethnic Cleansing of the Gypsies:
Romania experi enced significant ethnic turmoil in the early 1990’s.
Violent attacks in 1991 on the indigenous Gypsy population resulted in an
exodus of the latter to Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. Most
were returned by the host countries to Romania, but the p roblem of illegal
Romanian immigrants, many of them young and unskilled, continues to
cause friction and hostility with Romania’s neighbours. Relations with
Hungary continue to be strained because of clashes in Transylvania
between ethnic Hungarians and Ro manian nationalists. Under pressure
from Western aid -giving organizations, Romania began to grant some
educational, political, and linguistic rights to the ethnic Germans and
Hungarians within its borders.
In foreign affairs, Romania signed a treaty of coo peration with Germany
in 1992; strengthened relations with France, Israel, Greece, Turkey,
Moldova, and the Vatican; signed a cooperative defense agreement with
Bulgaria; and signed an association agreement with the European
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67 membership and began candidacy negotiations.
5.7.6 Membership of the NATO:
Romania emerged as a strong candidate for inclusion in expansion of the
NATO after Russia gave its official approval to expansion in May 1997.
In April 1999 the Romanian parliament overwhelmingly voted to give
NATO unlimited use of the country's airspace to pursue its campaign
against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo crisis.
President Constantinescu made an appeal to the deput ies that they must
grant the request if Romania were to join NATO and the EU in the near
future.
5.7.7 Deterioration of Economy:
The summer of 1999 saw continuing industrial unrest and strikes against
government austerity measures and the worsening econom ic situation. By
December 1999 the economic crisis had put a million people out of work
and caused widespread poverty. There was growing support for the former
communists. On the final day of the EU summit in Helsinki, Finland, in
December, Romania was amo ng seven countries invited to become a
candidate for membership, although the EU made it clear that Romania
had to increase its rate of reform. However, continuing low incomes and
high inflation led to series of strikes in the new year, most notably by
railway workers in December 1999 and January 2000.
5.8 BULGARIA AND COMMUNISM
5.8.1 Transformation of the Bulgarian Communist Party:
In Bulgaria the communist leader Todor Zhivkov had risen through the
ranks from first secretary in 1954, to prime minister in 1962, and president
in 1971. He had stubbornly refused all reforms, even when pressurized by
Gorbachev. Zhivkov tried to strengthen his position by dismissing his
deputy in 1983, and embarked on an ill -calculated campaign against
Bulgaria’s Turkish and Po mak minorities, who numbered about one
million. The final blow to the Zhivkov regime was delivered by a
conference of environmentalists in Sofia, which was turned into demands
for glasnost . These were met by police brutality.
The progres sive communists d ecided to get rid of Zhivkov. The Politburo
voted to remove him in December 1989. Under his successor, Peter
Mladenov, the Bulgarian Communist Party changed its name to Bulgarian
Socialist Party. It renounced its political monopoly and began negotiations
with other parties, the Agrarian People’s Party and the Union of
Democratic Forces, the latter as an assemblage of anti -communist groups,
to form a transitional government. In the elections held in June 1990 the
Bulgarian Socialist Party, won a comfortable victory over the main
opposition party, the Union of Democratic Forces, probably because their
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68 5.8.2 Restructuring of the Economy:
Bulgaria began to restruct ure its economy and enacted a plan to return
land seized by the Communist Party to the original owners. The
parliament also passed laws allowing foreign investment. However, with
the collapse of COMECON, the trade association of the former Soviet
Union, Bu lgaria lost many of its traditional markets and its economy
suffered. Since then, Bulgaria has lagged behind the rest of Eastern
Europe in economic reform because of a series of weak governments. The
old Communist elite often ran private businesses. In 199 5 unemployment
stood at 20 per cent, and inflation topped 120 per cent. A general election
held in December 1994 gave the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) an
outright parliamentary majority, under the leadership of 35 -year-old Zhan
Videnov.
5.8.3 NATO Memb ership:
In November 1999 Bulgaria announced the closure of four Soviet -built
nuclear reactors in return for talks on European Union (EU) membership.
In the same month, US president Bill Clinton, on a trip to Sofia to mark
the tenth anniversary of the end of Communism, encouraged Bulgaria’s
bid for NATO membership in return for the country’s support for NATO's
1999 air attacks against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the
Kosovo crisis.
On the final day of the EU summit in Helsinki, Finland, in Dece mber,
Bulgaria was among seven countries invited to become a candidate for
membership. The President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi,
told Bulgaria that the EU would support the country's bid to join the
organization by offering increased financia l aid to the value of nearly
US$2 billion over six years.
5.8.4 Albania
Albania had been communist since 1945 when the communist resistance
movement seized power and set up a republic. Thus, as with Yugoslavia,
the Russians were not responsible for the in troduction of communism in
Albania. Since 1946 until his death in 1985 the leader had been Enver
Hoxha, who was a great admirer of Stalin and copied his system faithfully.
Following Hoxha’s death in April 1985, Alia assumed leadership of the
Communist Part y.
Albania responded to the wave of democratization that swept across
Eastern Europe at the end of the 1980’s by cautiously easing restrictions
on religion and foreign travel, legalizing opposition political parties, and
broadening contacts with the West. Diplomatic relations with the United
States were resumed in March 1991 after a 51 -year break. After winning
Albania’s first free multi -party parliamentary elections, the Communists
enacted a new interim charter creating the post of President of the
Republ ic, to which the People’s Assembly then elected Alia. The
Communist Party, which in June changed its name to the Albanian
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69 parliamentary elections in March 1992. In April Alia resigned, and
parliament elected Sali Berisha as Albania’s first non -Communist
president since the Second World War. In May 1992 Albania signed a ten -
year cooperation agreement with the European Community. In June
agreed to establish a Black Sea economic zone with Arme nia, Azerbaijan,
Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and
Ukraine. The Albanian Communist Party was outlawed. Albania
continued to be affected by instability in the former Yugoslavia, in 1993,
when ethnic Albanians experienced diffi culties in Kosovo, Macedonia,
and Greece. Albania joined NATO’s Partnership for Peace programme in
April 1994.
5.9 YUGOSLAVIA AND COMMUNISM
5.9.1 Yugoslavia - a Mixture of Many Nationalities:
Yugoslavia was formed after the First World War, and consisted of pre -
First World War state of Serbia, in addition to the territory gained by
Serbia from Turkey in 1913, containing many Muslims, and territory taken
from the defeated Habsburg Empire. It included people of many different
nationalities, and the state wa s organized on federal lines. It consisted of
six republics – Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Bosnia -
Herzegovina and Macedonia. There were also autonomous provinces,
Vojvodina and Kosovo, which were associated with Serbia.
5.9.2 Tito’s Attempt to Keep Yugoslavia Integrated:
Under communism and the leadership of Tito, the nationalist feelings of
different peoples were kept strictly under control, and people were
encouraged to think of themselves primarily as Yugoslavs rather than as
Serbs or Croats . Tito, half Croat and half Slovene, was determined to
preserve the Yugoslav state which had emerged from the destruction of
the Habsburg and Ottoman empires in the First World War. The different
nationalities lived peacefully together, and had apparently succeeded in
putting behind them memories of the atrocities committed during the
Second World War. Tito had served as a cohesive force for the Yugoslav
federation. In the 1970’s, Tito had become concerned that decentralization
had gone too far in creating too much power at the local level and
encouraging regionalism. As a result, he purged thousands of local
Communist leaders who seemed more involved with local affairs than
national concerns.
Tito, who died in 1980, had left careful plans for the country to be ruled
by a collective presidency after his death. This would consist of one
representative from each of the six republics and one from each of the two
autonomous provinces. A different president of this council would be
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70 5.9.3 Eth nic Conflict:
Although the collective leadership seemed to work well at first, in the
mid-1980’s things began to go out of control. The economy was in trouble
with rising inflation and mounting unemployment. At the end of the
1980’s, Yugoslavia was caught up in the reform movements sweeping
through East Europe. The weakness of the economy and of government
leadership stimulated the growth of ethnic conflict, as separatist
movements in the individual republics and provinces threatened the
viability of the nation. In the 1980’s, tensions ran high in the southern
Serbian province of Kosovo, which had become autonomous in 1968 after
rioting to protest Serbian control. Seeking more independence and calling
for a separate republic, the majority population of eth nic Albanians
clashed with Serbians and Montenegrins throughout the decade; efforts by
the Serbian government to impose its authority over Kosovo contributed to
strain relations between Yugoslavia and Albania. Towards the end of the
1980’s, Serbia reassert ed its control over Kosovo and the autonomous
province of Vojvodina, ending their autonomy.
5.9.4 Demand for the Creation of Pluralistic Political System:
In January 1990, the League of Commu nists of Yugoslavia (LCY) called
for an end to authoritarian socialism and proposed the creation of a
pluralistic political system with freedom of speech and other civil liberties,
free elections, independent judiciary, and a mixed economy with equal
status for private property. But division between Slovenes, who wa nted a
loose federation, and Serbians, who wanted to retain the centralized
system, caused the collapse of party congress, and hence the Communist
Party. New parties quickly emerged. In multiparty elections held in the
republics of Slovenia and Croatia in April and May of 1990, the first
multiparty elections in Yugoslavia in fifty -one years, the Communists
fared poorly.
5.9.5 Separatist Movements:
The Yugoslav political scene was complicated by the development of
separatist movements that brought the disint egration of Yugoslavia in the
1990’s. When new non -communist parties won elections in the republics
of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia -Herzegovina, and Macedonia in 1990, they
began to lobby for a new federal structure of Yugoslavia that would fulfill
their sepa ratist desires. Slo bodan Milosevic, who had become the leader of
the Ser bian Communist Party in 1987 and had managed to stay in power
by emphasizing his Serbian nationalism, rejected these efforts. He
maintained that these republics could only be indepen dent if new border
arrangements were made to accommodate the Serb minorities in those
republics who did not want to live outside the bound aries of a greater
Serbian state. Serbs constituted 11.6 percent of Croatia's population and
32 percent of Bosnia -Herzegovina's population in 1981.

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71 5.9.6 Break -up of Yugoslavia:
After negotiations among the six republics failed, Slovenia and Croatia
declared their independence in June 1991. Milosevic's government sent
the Yugoslavian army, which it controlled, into Sl ovenia, but without
much suc cess. In September 1991, it began a full assault against Croatia.
Increasingly, the Yugoslavian army was the Ser bian army, and Serbian
irregular forces played an impor tant role in military operations. Before a
cease -fire was arranged, the Serbian forces had captured one -third of
Croatia's territory in brutal and destructive fighting.
5.9.8 Ethnic Cleansing in Bosnia -Herzegovina:
The recognition of Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia -Herzegovina by many
European states and the Unit ed States early in 1992 did not stop the Serbs
from turning their guns on Bosnia -Herzegovina. By mid -1993, Serbian
forces had acquired seventy per cent of Bosnian territory. The Serbian
policy of ‘ethnic cleansing’, killing or forcibly removing Bosnian
Muslims from their lands, revived memories of Nazi atrocities in the
Second World War. Neverthe less, despite worldwide outrage, European
governments failed to take a decisive and forceful stand against these
Serbian activities, and by the spring of 1993, th e Muslim population of
Bosnia - Herzegovina was in desperate situation. As the fighting spread,
European nations and the United States began to intervene to stop the
bloodshed, and in the fall of 1995, a fragile cease -fire agreement was
reached at a confere nce held in Dayton, Ohio. An international
peacekeeping force was stationed in the area to maintain tranquility and
monitor the accords. Implementation has been difficult, however, as ethnic
antagonisms continued to flare, notably in Kosovo, a part of Serb ia
inhabited primarily by Albanians.
5.9.9 Massacre of Kosovo Albanians:
The reported massacres of Kosovo Albanians in January 1999 intensified
international pressure for peace talks between the Yugoslav government
and the separatists. The failure of neg otiations held in Rambouillet,
France, during February 1999 caused the Western powers to carry out
their threat of air strikes against Yugoslavia. This led to a NATO -led
operation that lasted for seventy -two days. Miloševic responded by
intensifying the et hnic cleansing of Kosovo, causing a huge refugee crisis
as 800,000 Kosovo Albanians fled their homes. As a result, the
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague
indicted in May accusing Miloševic of war crimes and crimes agains t
humanity.
The sustained build -up of troops on the Yugoslav border throughout the
duration of the air campaign ultimately prompted Miloševic to sign up to a
peace plan in June brokered by Viktor Chernomyrdin. Terms of the
agreement included the withdrawa l of all Yugoslav military forces from
Kosovo and the deployment of a 50,000 -strong UN -led peacekeeping
force to ensure the safe return of the Albanian refugees. Opposition
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72 failure to dislodge Miloševic resulted in increasing splits between
opposition parties. In February 2000 it was announced that NATO troops
would remain in Bosnia and Kosovo as long as Miloševic held on to
power and UN economic sanctions were extended to increase t he pressure
on the regime.
In July 2000, Miloševic, with a year of his term to run, changed the
method of election for president from a vote in parliament to a nationwide
ballot, and called an election for September. He was of the opinion that the
much -divided opposition would not be able to mount an effective
challenge. However, eighteen of the different opposition parties forged an
alliance, the Democratic Opposition of Serbia, to nominate Vojislav
Koštunica, a law professor and firm nationalist, as thei r candidate.
Following the election Koštunica claimed victory, despite the official
results claiming that he had failed to get the fifty per cent of the vote
necessary to avoid a second ballot. Miloševic refused to relinquish power,
leading to a series of protests that culminated on 5 October 2000 with an
uprising in Belgrade that finally forced him to admit defeat.
5.10 SUMMAR Y
Stalin’s post -war order had imposed communist regimes throughout
Central and Eastern Europe. The process of Sovietization seemed so
complete that few people believed that the new order could be undone.
But discontent with their Soviet style regimes always simmered beneath
the surface of these satellite states, and after Mikhail Gorbachev made it
clear that his government would not i ntervene militarily, their communist
regimes fell quickly in revolutions of 1989. In the short period from
August 1988 to December 1991 communism in Eastern Europe was swept
away. Poland was the first to reject communism, closely followed by
Hungary and Ea st Germany and the rest. The chief reasons, which
ultimately led to the collapse of communism in Central and Eastern
Europe, were the economic failure and the policies of Gorbachev.
Communism miserably failed to improve the economic condition in
Eastern Eu rope. It could not produce the standard of living, which should
have been possible, as vast resources available in Eastern European
countries. The economic systems were inefficient, over -centralized and
subject to too many restrictions. All the states, fo r example, were expected
to do most of their trading within the communist bloc. The growing unrest
among farmers and other workers in the agricultural sector was reflected,
in January 2000, in the formation of a radical National Peasant bloc, an
alliance o f three political groupings strongly opposed to EU -influenced
reforms and policies. Agricultural protests, as well as strikes in health care
and education sectors, continued throughout 2000.
In East Germany, Erich Honecker, who had been communist leader si nce
1971, refused all reform and intended to stand firm, along with
Czechoslovakia, Romania and the rest, to continue the communist regime.
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73 . In February 2000 it was announced that NATO troops would rema in in
Bosnia and Kosovo as long as Miloševic held on to power and UN
economic sanctions were extended to increase the pressure on the regime.
Thus, the collapse of Communism led by Soviet Russia was mostly came
to exist.
5.11 QUESTIONS
1. Give an account of the collapse of Communism in Poland and East
Germany.
2. Trace the circumstances that led to the collapse of Communism in
Hungary and Czechoslovakia.
3. Examine the political developments that led to the end of the
Communist regimes in Rumania and Bulgaria.
4. Acco unt for the disintegration of Yugoslavia.
5.12 REFERENCES
1. Carr E.H., International Relations between the Two World Wars,
Macmillan -Palgrave, 1985
2. Conwell R.D., World History in the Twentieth Century, Longman,
Gordon, 1969.
3. Davis H.A., An Outline of the Wor ld, OUP, New Delhi, 1968
4. Fay S.B., Origins of the World Wars, New York, 1991.
5. Gokhale B.K., History of the Modern World, Himalaya Publishing
House, Bombay,1982.
6. John Lewis, Gaddis, We Now Know, Rethinking the Cold War
History, OUP, 1997.
7. Lorenz Luthi, The Sino-Soviet Split, The Cold War in the
Communist World, Princeton University Press,2008
8. Odd Arne, Westad, The Global Cold War, The Third World
Interventions and the Making of our Times, CUP, 2007.
9. Palmer R.R. & Collon, Joel, History the Modern World, Londo n,
1964.
10. Raymon Gorthoff, The Great Transition: American Soviet Relations
and the End of the Cold War, Brookings, Washington, 1994.
11. Smith Joseph, The Cold war: 1945 -1965, Blackwell Publishing
House, Cambridge,1989.
12. Tony Judt, Post War: A History of Europe since 1945, Penguin,
2006.
13. Weech W.N., History of the World (Third Edition), Asia Publishing
House, Bombay,1961.
14. Thompson David, The World History:1914 -1968, OUP, 1968
15. Taylor A.J.P., The Struggle for Mastery in Europe, OUP,
London,1977.
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74 6
Unit Structure:
6.0 Objectives
6.1 Introduction
6.2. End of the Cold War
6.3. The New World Order
6.4. War Against Iraq
6.5. United States in the Lead
6.6 Summ ary
6.7 Questions
6.8 References
6.0 OBJECT IVES
6.1 INTRODUCTION
The emergence of the United States as a uni -polar power can be traced to
the end of the Cold War. The dissolution of the Soviet satellite system in
Eastern Europe, combined with the disintegration of the Soviet Union
itself, brought a dramatic end to the Cold War at the end of the 1980’s. In
fact, however, the thaw in relations between the two power b locs had
begun with Gorbachev’s accession to power in 1985. Gorbachev was
willing to rethink many of the fundamental assumptions underlying Soviet
foreign policy, and his ‘new thinking’ as it was called, opened the door to
a series of stunning changes. For one, Gorbachev initiated a plan for arms
limitation that led in 1987 to an agreement with the United States to
eliminate intermediate -range nuclear weapons (the INF Treaty). Both
sides had incentives to dampen the expensive arms race. Gorbachev hoped
to make extensive eco nomic and internal reforms, while the United States
had serious deficit problems. During the Reagan years, the United States
had moved from being a creditor nation to being the world's biggest debtor
nation. By 199O, both countries were b ecoming aware that their large
military budgets were making it difficult for them to solve their serious
social problems.
U.S.A. AS A DOMINANT WORLD
POWER
1) To understand the post-Cold War developments in the world with
special Reference to the emergence of the U .S.A. as a dominant
world power.
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75 6.2 END OF THE COLD WAR
During 1989 and 1990, much of the reason for Cold War had disappeared
as the mostly peaceful revolutionary up heaval swept through Eastern
Europe. Gorbachev's policy of allowing greater autonomy for the
Communist regimes of Eastern Europe meant that the Soviet Union would
no longer militarily support Communist governments faced with internal
revolt. The unwillingn ess of the Soviet regime to use force to maintain the
status quo, as it had in Hungary in 1956 and in Czechoslovakia in 1968,
opened the door to the overthrow of the Communist regimes. The
reunification of Germany in October 1990 also destroyed one of the most
promi nent symbols of the Cold War era. The disintegration of the Soviet
Union in 1991 brought an end to the global rivalry between two competing
superpowers.
6.3 THE NEW WORLD ORDER
With the end of the Cold War, world leaders began to turn their atte ntion
to the construction of what the President of the United States, George
Bush called the New World Order. The revolution in the Soviet Union
effected by Gorbachev changed this situation by smothering the Cold War,
inducing the superpowers to co -operate in international affairs instead of
opposing one another as a matter of principle. Both Moscow and
Washington hoped to initiate a new era of peace and mutual cooperation.
During the first administration of President Bill Clinton, the United States
sought to engage Russia as well as its own NATO allies in an effort to
resolve the numerous con flicts that began to arise in various parts of the
world m the early 1990’s.
6.4 WAR AGAINST IRAQ
The first test came with Iraq’s invasion and annexation of Kuwait in 1990.
This was a blatant act of aggression. It raised the question like on earlier
occasions, including Argentina’s occupation of the Falkland Islands and
Iraq’s attack on Iran ten years earlier. The question was whether counter -
action would be taken throu gh or outside the UN. President Bush decided
to do both. He dispatched large armed forces to Saudi Arabia and he
resorted to the UN to impose economic sanctions against Iraq. Both these
undertakings were international. A number of states participated in bo th,
but only the latter was action by the UN. The former was action initiated
and led by the United States independently.
In a series of resolutions adopted during August 1990, the Security
Council, unanimously, demanded Iraq’s immediate withdrawal from
Kuwait. It also imposed a commercial, financial and military embargo;
declared unanimously, that the annexation of Kuwait was null and void,
and authorized the use of force to make the embargo effective. These first
resolutions established sanctions against Iraq and the use of force to
monitor them, but not the use of force for any other purpose.
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76 The governments of the United States and Britain maintained that, they
were entitled under Article 51 of the UN Charter to use military force
against Iraq. The Uni ted States established in Saudi Arabia a powerful
force, which, while enforcing the economic sanctions, was capable of
attacking Iraq, overthrowing the Iraqi regime and liberating Kuwait. This
show of American strength and power was a unilateral act, which was
given international support by securing the participation of a number of
countries in and beyond the Middle East. It was also an expression of lack
of confidence in the efficacy of the mechanisms and procedures of the
UN.
Saddam Hussein proclaimed rep eatedly that he would not budge from
Kuwait, although he expressed willingness to participate in a conference
on Middle Eastern affairs with an agenda from which Kuwait would not
be excluded. The United States and some of its associates refused to
consider any matter before a total and unconditional Iraqi withdrawal. It
was appropriate that the United States should play the leading part in the
UN’s undertakings. Bush conducted simultaneously an American
operation, which overshadowed the UN undertaking. In t he American
operation he relied on force and the threat of force to the exclusion of
diplomacy. The US President took the position in which he demanded
unconditional observance of UN resolutions. The Kuwait crisis, the first
serious crisis after the end of the Cold War projected the United States as a
uni-polar power. Increasingly, the United States bypassed the UN in the
use of military force.
In January 1991, the United States opened hostilities against Iraq without
informing the secretary -general of the UN. As the war continued Iraq
suffered heavy losses, and Baghdad was subjected to destruction greater
than anything, which it had suffered for 700 years. Iraq countered with
largely ineffective missiles aimed at Saudi Arabian and Israeli cities and
devast ating Kuwait City. Facing defeat Saddam Hussein attempted
negotiations. However, Bush insisted on unconditional compliance with
all pertinent UN resolutions, by inviting Iraqis to revolt against their
government and by adding conditions of his own in order to maintain
pressure for unconditional surrender. Attempts by the Soviet Union to
broker an Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait on acceptable conditions were
rejected by the United States. The US led war against Iraq, known as
‘Desert Storm’ succeeded in liberat ing Kuwait from Iraq and its ruling
dynast was restored. Saddam Hussein was humiliated.
Though Iraq was attacked and defeated because it had invaded Kuwait and
had an intention of invading Saudi Arabia, the chief reason for the action
of the United States in the Middle East was oil resources. The United
States was unable to secure it by occupying or dominating the relevant
areas in the manner of the Ottoman Empire or Anglo -French mandates
system. The Kuwait war was fought to assert the rule of law forbiddin g
one state to appropriate the territory or resources of another. The
alternative to this outmoded imperialism was to secure national interests
through international peace and stability and the operation of the market
forces. When that order broke down, as it did upon Iraq’s annexation of munotes.in

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77 Kuwait, force had to be used. By its war against Iraq the United States
showed that it could and would fight for its interests. The display of
American will and the display of immense technical competence was a
major event in international affairs.
6.5 UNITED STATES IN THE LEAD
In December 1992, President Bush, who was still in office, dispatched
over 20,000 US military personnel to Somalia under UN auspices to
maintain peace and aid in the distribution of famine relief. Pr esident -elect
Clinton supported this move. However, when US soldiers came under
attack from the various factions in the civil war, the US involvement
became unpopular among Americans. The troops were withdrawn by
March 1994, and the UN took control of the peacekeeping operation.
Both in the Middle East and the former Yugoslavia, the United States was
instrumental in helping negotiate peace agreements. At the White House
in September 1993, Clinton hosted the signing of a historic peace
agreement between Isra el and the Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO), with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman
Yasir Arafat in attendance. He also oversaw the signing of an agreement
between Israel and Jordan at the White House in July 1994. In addition, i n
November 1995 the United States led peace talks between the Bosnian
Muslims, Serbs, and Croats in Dayton, Ohio, in hopes of resolving the
Bosnian -Croatian -Serbian War. The talks led to a peace agreement signed
by all parties. As part of the agreement, Cl inton pledged to send American
soldiers to Bosnia and Herzegovina to help the NATO in providing
humanitarian aid and policing a zone between the factions.
In Asia, the United States renewed favoured trading status for the People’s
Republic of China in 1994 , despite controversy over that country’s human
rights record. The same year, Clinton announced the end of a 19 -year trade
embargo against Vietnam; and in July 1995, more than 20 years after the
end of the Vietnam War, the United States extended full diplo matic
recognition to Vietnam.
In the Americas, the United States took initiative to provide assistance to
both Haiti and Mexico. In September 1994 the United States was prepared
to launch a military invasion of Haiti to restore to power Haiti’s elected
president, Jean -Bertrand Aristide, who had been ousted in a military coup
in 1991. Military confrontation was averted at the last minute, largely due
to the diplomatic efforts of former president Jimmy Carter, who negotiated
Aristide’s peaceful return. The Un ited States also came to the support of
Mexico when its currency (the peso) began to drop in value in early 1995,
providing a $20 billion loan package to help restore the Mexican
economy.
In August 1998, terrorists bombed US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania
and over 250 people were killed. The United States retaliated with
simultaneous missile attacks on a terrorist base in Afghanistan and a
chemical -weapons factory in Sudan, both of which were suspected of munotes.in

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78 being involved in the bombings. Following notificat ion in December
1998, that the Iraqis had ceased to cooperate with the UN Special
Commission arms inspection team, forces from the United States and
Britain began a three -day campaign of air strikes on Iraq.
In July 1999, Clinton imposed sanctions against the Taliban in
Afghanistan. Clinton said the sanctions were intended to encourage the
Taliban to end its relationship with Osama Bin Laden, a wealthy Saudi
Arabian who allegedly commands a terrorist organization blamed for the
1998 bombings against the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
The above instances manifest the predominant position assumed by the
United States in world affairs following the collapse of communism in the
Soviet Union and Eastern Europe and the end of the Cold War. As the
Soviet Unio n broke up into independent republics, Russia took the
backstage in world affairs when the United States got itself involved in
various hotspots. The United States as a uni -polar power began to act as a
‘policeman’ of the world. Advanced economy, a sound d emocratic
tradition, and military might have given the United States an edge to play
a predominant role in world politics. Since recent years the adversary of
the United States has not been any other nation, communist or otherwise,
but the threat of Islami c terrorism manifested by the Al -qaida led by Osma
bin Laden. The American might has been challenged by the terrorist
activities, which in turn has led to American action in Afghanistan and
Iraq in recent times.
6.6 SUMMARY
The emergence of the United Sta tes as a uni -polar power can be traced to
the end of the Cold War. The dissolution of the Soviet satellite system in
Eastern Europe, combined with the disintegration of the Soviet Union
itself, brought a dramatic end to the Cold War at the end of the 1980’ s.
The reunification of Germany in October 1990 also destroyed one of the
most promi nent symbols of the Cold War era. The disintegration of the
Soviet Union in 1991 brought an end to the global rivalry between two
competing superpowers.
In December 1992, President Bush, who was still in office, dispatched
over 20,000 US military personnel to Somalia under UN auspices to
maintain peace and aid in the distribution of famine relief. President -elect
Clinton supported this move. However, when US soldiers came u nder
attack from the various factions in the civil war, the US involvement
became unpopular among Americans. The troops were withdrawn by
March 1994, and the UN took control of the peacekeeping operation.
In this way, USA became the dominant world power.


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79 6.7 QUESTIONS
1. How far the end of the Cold War enabled the USA to play a leading role
in the world politics?
2. Trace the circumstances that led to the emergence of the USA as a uni -
polar power in the world.
3. Examine the role of the USA in the Gulf War and th e War Against
Terrorism.
6.8 REFERENCES

1. Carr E.H., International Relations between the Two World Wars,
Macmillan -Palgrave, 1985
2. Conwell R.D., World History in the Twentieth Century, Longman,
Gordon, 1969.
3. Davis H.A., An Outline of the World, OUP, New Delh i, 1968
4. Fay S.B., Origins of the World Wars, New York, 1991.
5. Gokhale B.K., History of the Modern World, Himalaya Publishing
House, Bombay,1982.
6. John Lewis, Gaddis, We Now Know, Rethinking the Cold War
History, OUP, 1997.
7. Lorenz Luthi, The Sino -Soviet Split , The Cold War in the Communist
World, Princeton University Press,2008
8. Odd Arne, Westad, The Global Cold War, The Third World
Interventions and the Making of our Times, CUP, 2007.
9. Palmer R.R. & Collon, Joel, History the Modern World, London,
1964.
10. Raymon G orthoff, The Great Transition: American Soviet Relations
and the End of the Cold War, Brookings, Washington, 1994.
11. Smith Joseph, The Cold war: 1945 -1965, Blackwell Publishing
House, Cambridge,1989.
12. Tony Judt, Post War: A History of Europe since 1945, Peng uin,
2006.
13. Weech W.N., History of the World (Third Edition), Asia Publishing
House, Bombay,1961.
14. Thompson David, The World History:1914 -1968, OUP, 1968
15. Taylor A.J.P., The Struggle for Mastery in Europe, OUP,
London,1977.


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80 7
CAMPAIGNS WITHIN AND OUTSIDE
SOUTH AFRICA AGAINST APARTHEID
Unit Structure :
7.0 Objectives
7.1 Introduction
7.2 The Union of South Africa
7.3 Disabilit ies of the African Black People
7.4 Introduction of Apartheid
7.5 Group Areas Act
7.6 Internal Resistance
7.7 The African National Congress (ANC)
7.8 Sharpeville Massacre
7.9 Demonstrations at Soweto
7.10 Protest from Outside South Africa
7.11 Condemnation by the UN and the OAU
7.12 The end of apartheid
7.13 Rene wal of Violence
7.14 International Pressure
7.15 Towards Black Majority Rule
7.16 Transition to black Majority Rule
7.17 Summary
7.18 Questions
7.19 References
7.0 OBJECTIVES
1. To study the background of the racial discrimination in South Africa.
2. To understand the adverse effects of Apartheid and the attempts made
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81 7.1 INTRODUCTION
South Africa has had a complicated history. The Dutch were the first
white settlers in Southern Africa, establishing a colony on the Cape of
Good Hope in 1652, which was a vital staging post on the route from
Holland to the Dutch East Indies. It remained a Dutch colony until 1795,
and during that time, the Dutch, who were known as Afrikaners or Boers,
meaning 'farmers', took land away from the native Africans an d forced
them to work as labourers, treating them as little better than slaves. They
also brought more labourers from Asia, Mozambique and Madagascar.
The British links with India similarly encouraged British colonization in
the nineteenth century, but dif ferences in religion, economic attitudes and
colonial policies divided the British from the Dutch. In 1795 the British
captured the Cape during the French Revolutionary Wars, and the 1814
peace settlement decided that it should remain under British control . Many
British settlers went out to Cape Colony.
7.2 THE UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA
The Dutch settlers became restless under British rule, especially when the
British government made all slaves free throughout the British Empire
(1838). The Boer farmers felt that this threatened their livelihood, and
many of them decided to leave Cape Colony. They trekked northeast and
established their own independent republics of the Transvaal and Orange
Free State (1835 --40). Some also moved into the area east of Cape Colon y
known as Natal. The discovery of diamonds near Kimberley and gold near
Johannesburg intensified the rivalry between the Boers and the British.
The first Boer War (1880 -81) resolved nothing, but the second Boer War
(1899 -1902) ended in British victory and the annexation of the two Boer
colonies the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. In 1910 they joined up
with Cape Colony and Natal to form the Union of South Africa. A
provision was made for a central government and parliament, in which
Boers and British mingled in a ratio of about two to one. Thus, the Boers
had a greater influence and provided all the prime ministers and most of
the policies. The whites made up less than twenty per cent of the
population. Black Africans comprised about seventy per cent o f the
population, and the remainders were Asians, especially Indians and
Chinese and other ‘coloured’ people, a phrase denoting racially mixed
backgrounds.
The first Prime minister, Botha (1910 -19) and Smuts (1919 -24) were
moderate men. From 1924 to 1939, Hertzog was in power with the
Nationalist Party. He shared many of Smut’s policies. A splinter group of
the Nationalist Party, the Afrikaner (Boer) Nationalists under Dr Malan,
broke away. They won power in 1948.

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82 7.3 DISABILITIES OF THE AFRICAN BLACK PEO PLE
Although the black Africans made up the vast majority of the population,
they suffered even worse discrimination than black people in the United
States. Some of the gross disabilities from which the black people suffered
were: (1) The white minority do minated politics and the economic life of
the new state, and, with only a few exceptions, blacks were not allowed to
vote. (2) Black people had to do most of the manual work in factories and
on farms and were expected to live in areas reserved for them awa y from
white residential areas. These reserved areas made up only about seven per
cent of the total area of South Africa and were not large enough to enable
the Africans to produce sufficient food for themselves and to pay all their
taxes. Black Africans w ere forbidden to buy land outside the reserves. (3)
The government controlled the movement of blacks by a system of pass
laws. For example, a black person could not live in a town unless he had a
pass showing he was working in a white -owned business. An Af rican
could not leave the farm where he worked without a pass from his
employer. (4) Living and working conditions for blacks were primitive;
for example, in the gold mining industry, Africans had to live in single -sex
compounds with sometimes as many as n inety men sharing a dormitory.
(5) By a law of 1911 black workers were forbidden to strike and were
barred from holding skilled jobs.
7.4 INTRODUCTION OF APARTHEID
Discrimination against non -whites was inherent in South African society
from the earliest da ys. A clause in the Act of Union of 1910 provided that
the native policies of the provinces would be retained and could be
changed only by a two -thirds majority vote of parliament. In Cape Colony
alone the Coloured community and a few black Africans had th e right to
vote. Even after Mahatma Gandhi’s 21 -year struggle before First World
War to assure civil rights for Indian residents, they still had second -class
status after the war.
South African blacks had an even lower status in the white -dominated
state. Urban blacks lived in segregated areas and could not hold office or
vote. They had no viable labour unions, and technical and administrative
positions were closed to them. Even so, the National Party accused Prime
Minister Smuts of allowing whites to be sw allowed in a black sea. In the
1948 elections, led by Daniel F. Malan, the National Party won a narrow
victory and began to implement its harsh concept of apartheid , which was
designed to separate the races economically, politically, geographically,
and so cially. Apartheid is the Afrikaans word for ‘apartness’. In 1948, it
became the official word to describe the racial policies of the South
African government, which were based on the separate development of the
black and white races, and, on the dominatio n of the black majority by the
white minority.
The British settlers of the nineteenth century believed in a measure of
white supremacy. However, the Boer prejudice against the coloured
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83 whites were a master race, and that non -whites were inferior beings. The
preaching of the Dutch Reformed Church backed up this Boer attitude, the
official state church of South Africa and quoted passages from the Bible,
which, they claimed, proved their t heory. This was very much out of line
with the rest of the Christian churches, which believe in racial equality.
The Boers also stood by vague biological beliefs that blacks were
naturally inferior and that people of mixed race were possibly worse.
When In dia and Pakistan were given independence in 1947, white South
Africans became alarmed at the growing racial equality within the
Commonwealth, and they were determined to preserve their supremacy.
Malan campaigned in 1948 against the ‘Black Menace’, and his words
touched the deep fears of those whites who felt that the black majority
might challenge them for economic and political power.
The government’s position was strengthened when the National Party
merged with the smaller Afrikaner Party in 1954. Malan , with growing
support in parliament, introduced several laws designed to relegate all
non-whites to permanent inferior status. A severe anti -Communist law was
passed in 1950; marriage between whites and blacks was made a crime;
and education for blacks wa s defined differently than for whites.
7.5 GROUP AREAS ACT
Most drastic was the Group Areas Act of 1950, which, augmented by later
legislation, provided that specific areas be reserved for each of South
Africa’s four racial groups as defined by apartheid, that is, the Europeans
(whites), Bantu (blacks), Coloureds (mixed race), and Asians. These laws
and the homelands concept, which robbed most blacks of their South
African citizenship and which denied them the right to live in cities
without special permiss ion, were the foundations of apartheid. All blacks
were assigned to specific tribal areas and had to carry passes when they
entered restricted (white) areas. The goal was to create so -called
‘homelands’ for all blacks. In response to these harsh policies, the ANC
decided to pursue a more militant stance through mass civil disobedience.
Nelson Mandela emerged as a central leader at this time.
In 1951 the Separate Representation of Voters Act was passed by a simple
majority. It provided for the removal from t he white register of the names
of Coloured voters in the Cape of Good Hope Province, reversing a policy
that had been in effect since 1852. The bill was declared unconstitutional
by the nation’s Supreme Court in March 1952 because it had been passed
by les s than the two -thirds majority required to amend voting laws.
Legislation to give parliament power to overrule the Supreme Court was
passed in May, but it was also declared unconstitutional. Successive prime
ministers reinforced the apartheid policy: Malan (1948 -54); Strijdom
(1954 -58); Verwoerd (1958 -66); and Vorster (1966 -78).


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84 7.6 INTERNAL RESISTANCE
The earliest resistance to racialist policies in South Africa was led by
Mahatma Gandhi, with a programme of non -violent protests against laws
discriminat ing against Indians, in the years 1913 -15. From then until 1948,
no champion of black rights appeared on the scene of South Africa.
However, as apartheid tightened, some whites began to oppose it through
the Liberal and Progressive Parties. The blacks bega n to use the boycott of
buses as an economic weapon, and silent vigils by black -sashed women as
a dignified and subtle psychological pressure. The Communist Party
attracted support among whites and blacks. However, it was banned by the
Suppression of Commu nism Act of 1950, which gave massive powers to
the Minister of Justice. Similarly other acts such as the Public Safety Act
of 1953, the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1953, the Riotous
Assemblies Act of 1956, the Unlawful Organizations Act of 1960 and the
Terrorism Act of 1967 increased the power of the Bureau of State Security
(BOSS) and made resistance to the apartheid policies of the government
more dangerous.
In view of the various acts and measures opposition to the system of
apartheid in side South Afr ica was difficult. Anyone who objected,
including whites, or broke the apartheid laws, was accused of being a
communist and was severely punished under the Suppression of
Communism Act of 1950. Africans were for bidden to strike, and their
political party, the African National Congress (ANC), was helpless. In
spite of this, protests did take place.
7.7 THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS (ANC)
The ANC was founded in 1912 as a non -violent civil rights organization
that worked to promote the interests of black Afri cans. With a mostly
middle -class constituency, the ANC stressed constitutional means of
change through the use of delegations, petitions, and peaceful protest. In
1940 Alfred B. Xuma became ANC president and began recruiting
younger, more outspoken members . Among the new recruits were Nelson
Mandela, Oliver Tambo, and Walter Sisulu, who helped in establishing the
ANC Youth League in 1944 and soon became the organization's leading
members.
ANC membership greatly increased in the 1950’s after South Africa's
white-minority government began to implement the apartheid policy of
rigid racial segregation in 1948. The ANC actively opposed apartheid, and
engaged in increasing political conflict with the government. In 1955 the
ANC issued its Freedom Charter, which st ated, “South Africa belongs to
all who live in it, black and white, and no government can claim authority
unless it is based on the will of the people.” It went on to demand: -
equality before the law; freedom of assembly, movement, speech, religion
and the press; the right to vote; the right to work, with equal pay for equal
work; 40 -hour working week, minimum wage and unemployment
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85 Church leaders and missionaries, both black and white, spoke out against
apartheid. They included people like Trevor Huddleston, a British
missionary who had been working in South Africa since 1943. Later the
ANC organized other protests, including the 1957 bus boycott: instead of
paying a fare increase on the bus route from their township to
Johannesburg ten miles away, thousands of Africans walked to work and
back for three months until fares were reduced.
7.8 SHARPEVILLE MASSACRE
Protests against the racial policy of the South African government reached
a climax in 1960 when a huge demonstration took place against the pass
laws at Sharpeville, an African township near Johannesburg. Police fired
on the crowd, killing sixty -seven Africans and wounding many more.
Hundreds of people were beaten by police and thousands more were
arrested and imprisoned as the protests continued. The government
imposed ban on the ANC. This was an important turning -point in the
campaign: until then most of the protests had been non -violent; but this
brutal treatment by the authorities co nvinced many black leaders that
violence could only be met with violence. There was a spate of bomb
attacks, but the police soon clamped down, arresting most of the black
leaders, like Nelson Mandela, who was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Chief Albert Lu thuli organized a three -day strike for which he was
deprived of his chieftaincy. He published his moving autobiography Let
My People Go , for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He was
killed in 1967 under mysterious circumstances. The authorities c laimed
that he had deliberately stepped in front of a train.
7.9 DEMONSTRATIONS AT SOWETO
Discontent and protest increased again in the 1970’s because wages of
Africans failed to keep pace with inflation. In 1976, when the Transvaal
authorities announced t hat Afrikaans, the language spoken by whites of
Dutch descent, was to be used in black African schools, massive
demonstrations took place at Soweto, a black township near Johannesburg.
Although there were many children and young people in the crowd, police
opened fire, killing at least 200 black Africans. This time the protests did
not die down; they spread over the whole country. Again the government
responded with brutality. Over the next six months a further 500 Africans
were killed. Among the victims wa s Steve Biko, a young African leader
and founder of the Black Consciousness movement who had been urging
people to be proud of their blackness. He was a supporter of reconciliation
rather than confrontation. He died of head wounds received while in police
custody in 1977. Twenty thousand blacks attended his funeral, as well as
many representatives of European countries.


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86 7.10 PROTEST FROM OUTSIDE SOUTH AFRICA
Though the policy of racial discrimination and apartheid was the internal
matter of the South Afr ican government there was opposition from
different parts of the world. The outside world became increasingly
critical of South African policies as they contrasted more and more with
the trend towards majority rule and racial equality in the rest of the wo rld.
The Commonwealth of Nations was bitterly critical of the policy of
apartheid. Early in 1960 the British Conservative Prime Minister, Harold
Macmillan, had the courage to speak out against apartheid in Cape Town.
He spoke about the growing strength of African nationalism: “the wind of
change is blowing through the continent... our national policies must take
account of it”. His warnings were ignored, and shortly afterwards, the
world was horrified by the Sharpeville massacre. At the 1961
Commonwealth Co nference, criticism of South Africa was intense, and
many thought she would be expelled from the Commonwealth of Nations.
In the end Verwoerd withdrew South Africa's applica tion for continued
membership. In 1960 South Africa had decided to become a republ ic
instead of a dominion, thereby severing the connection with the British
crown; because of this she had to apply for readmission to the
Commonwealth, and she ceased to be a member of the Commonwealth.
7.11 CONDEMNATION BY THE UN AND THE OAU
The United N ations condemned the racial discrimination of apartheid in
1961, 1962 and 1963, at a time when many new African nations were
joining the organization and rejoicing in their freedom from white
domination. The Organization of African Unity also repeatedly
condemned apartheid in South Africa in all its conferences. The UN voted
to impose an economic boycott on South Africa (1962), but this proved
useless because not all member states supported it. This was chiefly due to
the fact that most of the countries of the Western world relied on gold and
diamond reserves of South Africa. Britain, the United States, France, West
Germany and Italy condemned apartheid in public, but continued to trade
with South Africa. Among other things, they sold South Africa massive
arms supplies, apparently hoping she would prove to be a bastion against
the spread of communism in Africa. Wilson’s Labour Government refused
to sell arms to South Africa, a ban that the Conservative government
reversed in 1970 because of its worries about the strategic importance of
the Southern Ocean in the struggle against communism. South Africa was
banned from the Olympic movement. When New Zealand maintained its
rugby -playing links with South Africa, most black African nations
boycotted the 1976 Olympi c Games to indicate their disgust.
Consequently Verwoerd (until his assassination in 1966) and his successor
Vorster (1966 -78) were able to ignore the protests from the outside world
until well into the 1970’s.
The United Nations and the OAU were particul arly critical of the
continued South African occupation of South West Africa (Namibia). In
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87 presence in Namibia was illegal. The situation became critical when
guerrillas from the South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO)
began crossing the border from Angola to attack South African targets in
Namibia. The South African government responded by building up
defenses, attacking Angola, and aiding the rebels who were fighting the
Cuban -supported Angolan government. The war continued into the
1980’s. Ultimately, international political and economic pressure forced
South Africa to take a more conciliatory attitude. The initiative taken by
the United States led to peace talks in December 19 88, which resulted in
independence for Namibia.
7.12 THE END OF APARTHEID
The system of apartheid continued without any concessions being made to
black people, until 1980. Vorster’s successor as Prime Minister, P.W.
Botha, who was elected in 1979 gave an i mmediate impression of being
more liberal than his predecessors. He realized that all was not well with
the apartheid system. He decided that he must reform apartheid, dropping
some of the most unpopular aspects in an attempt to preserve white
control. Bo th external and internal factors prompted Botha to take the
radical steps, which ultimately led to the dismantling of the apartheid
regime in South Africa.
Externally, criticism of the apartheid regime of South Africa from the
Commonwealth, the United Nati ons and the Organization of African Unity
gradually gathered momentum. External pressures became much greater in
1975 when the white -ruled Portuguese colonies of Angola and
Mozambique achieved independence after a long struggle. The African
takeover of Zim babwe (former Rhodesia) in 1980 removed the last of the
white -ruled states, which had been sympathetic to the South African
government and apartheid. South Africa came to be surrounded by hostile
black states, and many Africans in these new states had swor n never to
rest until their fellow -Africans in South Africa had been liberated.
The economic sanctions imposed by the United Nations against South
Africa, though not implemented rigidly, gradually began to affect South
African economy. Recession in the lat e 1970’s brought about hardships
and the condition of many white people became worse. Whites began to
emigrate in large numbers, but the black population was increasing. In
1980 whites were only sixteen per cent of the population, whereas
between the two w orld wars they had formed twenty -one per cent. Under
these circumstances, the continuation of the policy of apartheid was
considered to be not in the long -term interest of South Africa.
In a speech in September 1979, which astonished many of his Nationali st
supporters, the newly elected Prime Minister Botha said: “A revolution in
South Africa is no longer just a remote possibility. Either we adapt or we
perish. White domination and legally enforced apartheid are a recipe for
permanent conflict.” Botha wen t on to suggest that the black homelands
must be made viable and that unneces sary discrimination must be
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88 hoped would be enough to silence the critics both inside and outside South
Africa. These changes were: blacks were allowed to join trades unions and
to go on strike (1979); blacks were allowed to elect their own local
township councils (1981). However, they were not yet granted right to
vote in national elections; a new constitution was introduced setting up
two new houses of parliament, one for coloureds and one for Asians (but
not for Africans). The new system was so designed that the whites kept
overall control. It came into force in 1984; sexual relations and marriage
were allowed be tween people of different races (1985); the hated pass
laws for non -whites were abolished (1986).
7.13 RENEWAL OF VIOLENCE
Botha was not prepared to go beyond these concessions to the blacks and
coloured people of South Africa. He even refused to consider the ANC's
main demands of the right to vote and to play a full part in ruling the
country. Rather than being won over by these concessions, black Africans
were angered that the new consti tution made no provision for them, and
were determined to carry on t heir struggle till they achieved full political
rights.
Violence escalated, with both sides guilty of excesses. The ANC used the
'necklace', a tyre placed round the victim's neck and set on fire, to murder
black councillors and black police, who were regar ded as collaborators
with apartheid. On the twenty -fifth anniversary of Sharpeville, police
opened fire on a procession of black mourners going to a funeral in Port
Elizabeth, killing over forty people in March 1985. In July a state of
emergency was declar ed in the worst affected areas, and it was extended
to the whole country in June 1986. This gave the police the power to arrest
people without warrants and freedom from all criminal proceedings;
thousands of people were arrested, and newspapers, radio and TV were
banned from reporting demonstrations and strikes.
7.14 INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE
The renewed violence and state repression roused the international
community to take action against the South African government. In
August 1986 the Commonwealth of Natio ns, except Britain, agreed on a
strong package of economic and cultural sanctions against South Africa.
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher would commit Britain only to a
voluntary ban on investment in South Africa. Her argument was that
severe econom ic sanctions would worsen the plight of black Africans,
who would be thrown out of their jobs. This caused the rest of the
Commonwealth to feel bitter against Britain; Rajiv Gandhi, the Indian
Prime Minister, accused Mrs. Thatcher of 'compromising on basic
principles and values for economic ends'. In September 1986 the United
States joined the international community when Congress, in spite of
President Reagan’s veto, voted to stop American loans to South Africa, to
cut air links and to ban imports of iron, steel, coal, textiles and uranium
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89 Within South Africa too things had been changing. The black population
was no longer just a mass of uneducated and unskilled labourers. There
was a steadily growing number of well -educated, professional , middle -
class black people, some of them holding important positions, like
Desmond Tutu, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 and
became Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town in 1986. The Dutch
Reformed Church, which had once supported apartheid, now condemned
it as not in accordance with Christianity. A majority of white South
Africans began to recognize that it was difficult to defend the total
exclusion of blacks from the country's political life. Thus, although they
were nervous about what might ha ppen, they were resigned to the idea of
black majority rule at some time in the future. White moderates were
therefore prepared to make the best of the situation and get the best deal
possible.
7.15 TOWARDS BLACK MAJORITY RULE
F.W. de Klerk, who was electe d as the new President in 1989 had a
reputation for caution, but pri vately he had decided that apartheid would
have to go completely, and he accepted that black majority rule must come
eventually. The problem was how to achieve it without further violence
and possible civil war. With great courage and determination, and in the
face of bitter opposition from right -wing Afrikaner groups, de Klerk
gradu ally moved the country towards black majority rule.
In order to create an atmosphere of congeniality for a possible black
majority rule, the government of President F. W. de Klerk released
Mandela in February 1990 after twenty -seven years in jail. The
government also lifted the ban on the ANC and other previously banned
political parties. Mandela assumed the le adership of the ANC, and led
negotiations with the government in the difficult years between 1990 and
1994 when, on many occasions, it looked as though talks would collapse
and violence would take over instead. In 1991 the government repealed
the last of t he laws that formed the legal basis for apartheid. Namibia, the
neighbouring territory ruled by South Africa since 1919, was given
independence under a black government in 1990.
Following these confidence building measures talks began in 1991
between the government and the ANC to work out a new constitution,
which would allow blacks full political rights. Meanwhile the ANC was
doing its best to present itself as a moderate party, which had no plans for
wholesale nationalization, and to reassure whites that they would be safe
and happy under black rule. Nelson Mandela condemned violence and
called for rec onciliation between blacks and whites. The negotiations
dragged on due to many complicated issues. The transition from white
minority rule to black majorit y rule was not an easy task. De Klerk had to
face right -wing opposition from his own National Party and from various
extreme white racialist groups who claimed that he had betrayed them.
The ANC was involved in a power struggle with another black party, th e
Natal -based Zulu Nathan Freedom party led by Chief Buthelezi. Mandela
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90 establish democracy and racial harmony in South Africa.
7.16 TRANSITION TO BLACK MAJORITY RULE
In the spring of 199 3 the talks were successful and agreement was reached
about how to carry through the transition to black majority rule. A general
election was held and the ANC won almost two -thirds of the votes. As had
been agreed, a coalition govern ment of the ANC, Nati onal Party and
Inkatha took office with Nelson Mandela as the first black president of
South Africa and F.W. de Klerk as the deputy president in May 1994.
Although there had been violence and bloodshed, it was a remarkable
achieve ment, for which both de K lerk and Mandela deserve the credit that
South Africa was able to move from apartheid to black majority rule
without civil war.
The new government moved quickly to address the key concerns of the
black majority such as health, housing, education, and jobs. Details of a
Reconstruction and Development Programme were announced in May
1994, but implementation of this programme was expected to be long and
slow. The other priority of President Mandela was national reconciliation.
In all his speeches he stressed t he need to maintain national unity.
However, black frustration at the slow pace of change led to an increase in
the number of strikes.
The first draft of a new national constitution, to be implemented from
1999, was published in November, while Archbishop Desmond Tutu was
appointed to head a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate
human rights abuses by both sides during the apartheid years. Following a
Supreme Court ruling in February 1996, black pupils were registered at
the overwhelmingly whit e Primary School in Northern Province with
heavy police protection, after the school had tried to deny them admission.
Most local white families promptly boycotted the school. F. W. de Klerk
took his National Party out of Mandela’s government in May 1996, citing
differences with Mandela and the need for the National Party to rebuild its
electoral appeal.
In February 1998 a successor to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
was announced. The Institute for Change, Memory, and Reconciliation
will research the final report of the commission and help in the
implementation of its recommendations. In October Desmond Tutu
handed the final report of the Truth Commission to President Mandela.
The ANC had attempted to block its publication, objecting to references to
human rights abuses by its own members.
In the June 1998 general elections, the ANC strengthened its position in
the assembly. The party received sixty -six per cent of the vote, but was
one seat short of holding the two -thirds majority required to rewr ite the
constitution. The ANC formed a coalition with the Indian -led Minority
Front, which held one seat, and so assumed the majority. Nelson Mandela
expressed his desire to retire from active politics and was succeeded by
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91 7.17 SU MMARY
South Africa has had a complicated history. The Dutch were the first
white settlers in Southern Africa, establishing a colony on the Cape of
Good Hope in 1652, which was a vital staging post on the route from
Holland to the Dutch East Indies. It rema ined a Dutch colony until 1795,
and during that time, the Dutch, who were known as Afrikaners or Boers,
meaning 'farmers', took land away from the native Africans and forced
them to work as labourers, treating them as little better than slaves. They
also b rought more labourers from Asia, Mozambique and Madagascar.
The first Prime minister, Botha (1910 -19) and Smuts (1919 -24) were
moderate men. From 1924 to 1939, Hertzog was in power with the
Nationalist Party. He shared many of Smut’s policies. A splinter g roup of
the Nationalist Party, the Afrikaner (Boer) Nationalists under Dr Malan,
broke away. They won power in 1948.
The Communist Party attracted support among whites and blacks.
However, it was banned by the Suppression of Communism Act of 1950,
which ga ve massive powers to the Minister of Justice. Similarly other acts
such as the Public Safety Act of 1953, the Criminal Law Amendment Act
of 1953, the Riotous Assemblies Act of 1956, the Unlawful Organizations
Act of 1960 and the Terrorism Act of 1967 incre ased the power of the
Bureau of State Security (BOSS) and made resistance to the apartheid
policies of the government more dangerous.
The Commonwealth of Nations was bitterly critical of the policy of
apartheid. Early in 1960 the British Conservative Prime Minister, Harold
Macmillan, had the courage to speak out against apartheid in Cape Town.
He spoke about the growing strength of African nationalism: “the wind of
change is blowing through the continent... our national policies must take
account of it”.
Thus, the campaigns within and outside Africa against were taken place.
7.18 QUESTIONS
1. Trace the origin of the policy of apartheid in South Africa. What was
its impact on the South African people?
2. What factors led to the end of apartheid in South Africa?
3. Give an account of the movement within South Africa for the end of
the apartheid.
4. Evaluate the role of international pressure in the termination of the
policy of apartheid in South Africa.
5. Trace the transition from the white minority to black majority rule i n
South Africa.
6. Write short notes on the following: munotes.in

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92 (a) Apartheid
(b) African National Congress (ANC)
(c) Nelson Mandela
7.19 REFERENCES
1. Carr E.H., International Relations between the Two World Wars,
Macmillan -Palgrave, 1985
2. Conwell R.D., World History in the Twentiet h Century, Longman,
Gordon, 1969.
3. Davis H.A., An Outline of the World, OUP, New Delhi, 1968
4. Fay S.B., Origins of the World Wars, New York, 1991.
5. Gokhale B.K., History of the Modern World, Himalaya Publishing
House, Bombay,1982.
6. John Lewis, Gaddis, We Now K now, Rethinking the Cold War
History, OUP, 1997.
7. Lorenz Luthi, The Sino -Soviet Split, The Cold War in the Communist
World, Princeton University Press,2008
8. Odd Arne, Westad, The Global Cold War, The Third World
Interventions and the Making of our Times, CUP , 2007.
9. Palmer R.R. & Collon, Joel, History the Modern World, London,
1964.
10. Raymon Gorthoff, The Great Transition: American Soviet Relations
and the End of the Cold War, Brookings, Washington, 1994.
11. Smith Joseph, The Cold war: 1945 -1965, Blackwell Publishi ng
House, Cambridge,1989.
12. Tony Judt, Post War: A History of Europe since 1945, Penguin, 2006.
13. Weech W.N., History of the World (Third Edition), Asia Publishing
House, Bombay,1961.
14. Thompson David, The World History:1914 -1968, OUP, 1968
15. Taylor A.J.P., The St ruggle for Mastery in Europe, OUP,
London,1977.



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8
Unit Structure :
8.0 Objectives
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Historical Background
8.3 Limitations
8.4 Violation of Human Rights
8.5 Human Rights and International Law
8.6 Amnesty International
8.7 Civil Rights Movement
8.8 Summary
8.9 Questions
8.10 References
8.0 O BJECTIVES
1. To study the concept and practice of Human Rights Movement.
2. To understand the progress of Civil Rights Movement with
special reference to the USA.
8.1 INTRODUCTION
Human Rights are of Universal importance. They are common to all
regardless of caste, colour, religion, race, etc. Countries, all over the
world strive hard to safeguard human rights through their well established
constitutions as per the provisions of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights; International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights;
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Optional Protocols. Violations
of Human Rights occur in the name of religion, race, creed, caste,
colour, sex, region, etc.
It has been said that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity
and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and
should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. The concept of
human rights has been evolved from the concept of natural rights. These CIVIL RIGHT MOVEMENTS IN U .S.A.
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94 natural rights are derived fro Natural Law, which helped in the
development of human rights.
8.2 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Traces of human rights cane be found in the writings of ancient Greek and
Roman thinkers in the fifth century B.C. According to ancient Greek
writers, the God establishes a law, which stands above the obligations
and interdictions imposed by the rulers of the community. But it was in
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries that this theory was
popularized by the philosophers such as Hobbes, Locke, Spinoza and
others. The American Declaration of Indep endence (1776) and the
Declaration of the Rights of Man by the French National Assembly
(1789), stressed the inherent rights of man. These indicate how its was
for the first time an attempt was made to derive human rights from natural
rights.
Human rights had already found expression in the Covenant of
the League of Nations, which led to the creation of the International
Labour Organization. At the 1945 San Francisco Conference, held to draft
the Charter of the United Nations, a proposal to embody a 'Declaration on
the E ssential Rights of Man' was put forward but was not examined
because it required more detailed consideration than was possible at the
time. The Charter clearly speaks of 'promoting and encouraging respect
for human rights and for fundam ental freedoms for all without distinction
as to race, sex, language or religion.' The idea of promulgating an
'international bills of rights’ was also considered by many as
basically implicit in the Charter.
The League of Nations and the United Nations stressed the need for
striving towards peace among the countries of the world and for the
upliftment of human rights. The United Nations Charter pays special
attention in safeguarding and developing human rights since 1945.
There was lack of proper unde rstanding about human rights prior to
1945. But, today the realization of human rights has become
important at the national and international level. Democracy is a
precondition for strengthening human rights. No society can be free, or no
state can claim to be democratic unless every citizen enjoys human
rights. In modern times all the d emocratic states give top most priority to
safeguard human rights and establish peace in the ir states. Un Charter
also empha sizes peace and human rights all over the world, which in
turn helps to promote socio-economic development.
8.2.1 Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopt ed as a
resolution unanimously on 10 December 1948 by the General Assembly
of the United Nations. The objective of the 30-article declaration is to
promote and encourage respect for human rights and fundamental
freedoms. The declaration proclaims the personal, civil, political,
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95 only by recognition for the rights and freedoms of others and the
requirements of morality, public order, and general welfare. Among the
rights cited by the declaration are the rights to life, liberty, and security of
person; to freedom from arbitrary arrest; to a fair trial; to be
presumed innocent until proved guilty; to freedom from interference
with the privacy of one's home and correspondence; to freedom of
movement and residence; to asylum, nationality, and ownership of
property; to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, opinion, and
expression; to association, peaceful assembly, and participation in
government; to social security, work, rest, and a standard of living
adequate for health and well-being; to education; and to participation
in the social life of one's community. The declaration was conceived
as the first part of an international bill of rights. The UN Commission
on Human Rights directed its efforts to the incorporation of the main
principles of the declaration into various international agreements.
The General Assembly in 1955 authorized two human rights
covenants, one relating to civil and political rights, and the other to
economic, social, and cultural rights. After a long struggle for
ratification, both of these covenants became effective in January 1976.
Since 1948 it has been and rightly continues to be the most
important and far-reaching of all United Nations declarations, and a
fundamental source of inspiration for national and international
efforts to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedom s.
It has set the direction for all subsequent work in the field of human
rights and has provided the basic philosophy for many legally binding
international instruments designed to protect the rights and freedoms,
which it proclaims. As its very name implies it is universal not only
in title but also in content. In enunciates and directs that human
rights and fundamental freedoms should be available to all human
beings on the earth. These rights are beneficial to the peoples of the
whole universe. Almost all its articles start with the word ‘Every one’ or
‘No one’ or ‘Men and Women’. It shows that every human being is
entitled to enjoy the hum an rights regardless of citizenship or domicile.
The United Nations have proclaimed that peoples all over the world
have these rights not because they belong to certain countries or
states, but because they are the members of human family. The Universal
Declaration of Rights sets a new international standard. It is one of the
greatest achievements of Mrs. Roosevelt, the chairperson of the
Commission on Human Rights and the principal representative of the
United States on the Third Committee. She stated that, “the
Declaration was the first and foremost declaration of the basic principles
to serve as a common standard for all nations.” She also added that, “it is
the International Magna Carta of all Mankind.”
In the Proclamation of Teheran, adopted by the International
Conference on Human Rights held in Iran in 1968, the Conference agreed
that "the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states a common
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96 inviolable rights of all members of the human family and constitutes an
obligation for the members of the international community." The
Conference affirmed its faith in the principles set forth in the
Declaration, and urged all peoples and governments "to dedicate
themselves to [those] principles. . . and to redouble their efforts to
provide for all human beings a life consonant with freedom and
dignity and conducive to physical, mental, social and spiritual welfare."
8.2.2 International Covenants on Human Rights:
In 1952, it was decided that there should be two great Covenants
one on Civil and Political Rights and the other on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights. Following this, a separate instrument called the
Optional Protocol to the Civil and Political Rights Covenant was
adopted in 1966 to regulate the implementation arrangements. As
such the two Covenants were adopted unanimously on 16 December
1966 but they came into force only in 1976. The Covenants are to
affirm legal obligations of States to respect human rights. The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights constitute a trinity, often regarded
as the ‘Magna Carta of Humanity’.
The In ternational Covenant on Civil and Po litical Rights came into
force from March 1976 together with its Optional Protocol. The
major rights and freedoms provided by this Covenant are rights to self-
determination, right to life, abolition of slavery and suppression of slave
trade, right to liberty, right of prisoners to be treated with humanity, right
of not to be imprisoned arbitrarily, right of every one to leave any
country, including his own and to return to his country, right to equality
ion the administration of justice, right to provide legal assistance, right
to privacy, right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, right
to freedom of opinion and expression, right to freedom of peaceful
assembly, right to freedom of association, rights relating to marriage
and family protection, right of the child, right to take part in the
conduct of public affairs, and right to equality before law and equal
protection of the law.
This Covenant has the provision to check violation of human rights
and implement the same. In order to implement these rights the Covenant
has established an international organ known as the ‘Human Rights
Committee’. The Comm ittee consists of eighteen members who are
experts in human rights. The International Court of Justice elects
the members. Each member has a term of four years. The Human Rights
Committee adopts four different methods in implementing human rights
as provided in the Covenant. These are: meetings, reporting, inter-
state communication system and conciliation.
The In ternational Covenant on Civil and Po litical Rights and the
Optional Protocol are separate instruments. But they are related to each
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97 parties to the Protocol. The first Optional Protocol to the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights enables the Human Rights
Committee set up under the Covenant, to receive and consider
communications from individuals claiming to be victims of violations of
any of the rights set forth in the Covenant. Both the Covenant and the
Protocol came into force simultaneously in March 1976. The country
that ratifies the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights unde rtakes to protect its people by law against cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment. It recognizes the right of every human
being to life, liberty, privacy and security of a person.
A country ratifying the Covenant on Econom ic, Social and Cultural
Rights acknowledges its responsibility to promote better living
conditions of its people. It recognizes every ones right to work, to
fair wages, to social security, to adequa te standards of living and
freedom from hunger and to health and education. It also unde rtakes to
endure the right of every one to form and join trade unions.
The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations
plays and important role in protecting the human rights as provided in the
UN Charter. The ECOSOC set up the International Commission on
Human Rights in February 1946. The Human Rights Committee has
the right to make recommendations to the ECOSOC. The Human Rights
Committee has submitted certain conventions, which are considered to be
very important. Some of these are: Declaration of the rights of the
Child (1953); United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination (1963); Declaration on the Elimination of
Religious Intolerance (1964 ); International Convention on the
Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid (1972);
Declaration on the P rotection of All Persons from being subjected to
Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment (1989).
8.3 LIMITATIONS
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that the exercise of
a person's rights and freedoms may be subject to certain limitations,
which must be determined by law, solely for the purpose of securing due
recognition of the rights and freedoms of others and of meet ing the just
requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a
demo cratic society. Rights may not be exercised contrary to the
purposes and p rinciples of the United Nations, or if they are aimed at
destroying any of the rights set forth in the Declaration. The International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights states that the rights
provided for therein may be limited by law, but only in so far as it
is compatible with the nature of the rights and solely to promote the
gene ral welfare in a democratic society.
Unlike the Universal Declaration and the Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and
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98 rights provided for in the Covenant authorizing restrictions on their
exercise. However, several articles in the Covenant provide that the
rights being dealt with shall not be subject to any restrictions except
those which are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect national
security, public order, or the rights and freedoms of others.
Certain rights, therefore, may never be suspended or limited, even in
emergency situations. These are the rights to life, to freedom from torture,
to freedom from enslavement or servitude, to protection from
imprisonment for de bt, to freedom from retroactive penal laws, to
recognition as a person before the law, and to freedom of thought,
conscience and religion.
The Covenant on Civil and Political Rights allows a State to limit or
suspend the enjoyment of certain rights in cases of officially
proclaimed public emergencies, which threaten the life of the nation.
Such limitations or suspensions are permitted only ‘to the extent
strictly required by the exigencies of the situation’ and may ne ver
involve discrimination solely on the ground of race, colour, sex,
langu age, religion or social origin. The limitations or suspensions must
also be reported to the United Nations.
8.4 VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Almost in all the countries of the world, violation of human rights has
become a no rmal commitment. Even the organized governments could
not p revent the violation of human rights. Police and custodians of law
cause atrocities against women, children, prisoners, poor and destitutes.
The police use third degree methods to extract confessions from
suspected criminals. Sometimes innocent people die due to such
inhuman treatment by the police. Death in police custody has become a
comm on feature in many countries of the world. P olice encounters in
which criminals are killed are also violation of human rights. Abuse of
prisoners, ill treatment of women in the name of dowry leading to either
murder or suicide, honour killing of women for violation of clan or
caste rules, etc. constitute violation of human rights. Genocides
carried out by the Khmer Rouge regime of Pol Pot in Cambodia from
1975 to 1979, mutual massacre of Tutsis and Hutus in Rwanda in 1994,
mass killings in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo in former Yugoslavia
since 1991, elimination of political dissidents in many countries of
Latin America and Africa, and suppression of democratic
movement in China (Tiananm en Square massacre, 1989 ), and
Burma, have been serious violations of human rights. The apartheid
followed by the minority white regime in South Africa was the worst
human rights abuse known in history.


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99 8.5 HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNATIONAL LAW
Since the Second World War international law has become increasingly
concerned with the protection of human rights. It has provided improved
procedures for th at purpose within the UN. This new emphasis has also
been manifested in the adoption by the UN of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights and the conclusion of the Convention on the Prevention
and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in 1948, the signing of the
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination in 1966, and the adoption in 1975 of the Declaration
on the Protection of All Persons from Being Subjected to Torture
or Other Cruel, Inhumane, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment. These measures have been supplemented by regional
conventions, such as the European Convention for the Protection of
Human Rights and Funda mental Freedoms (1950) and the American
Convention on Human Rights (1969). In 1945 an international
convention for the prosecution of the major war criminals of the
European Axis Powers provided for the punishment of crimes against
humanity and established a special International Military Tribunal for that
purpose.
The et hnically-motivated massacres and human rights atrocities during
recent and continuing civil wars, such as those in the former Yugoslavia
and Rwanda, have prompted the UN to establish international courts to
deal with violations of human rights in times of war. For example the
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR ) was set up in 1994
and, after the conclusion of two trials, now has twenty-four suspects in
custody. The tribuna l's conviction of Jean-Paul Akayesu, the former
mayor of the central Rwandan community of Taba, on nine counts of
genocide and crimes against humanity in September 1998 set an
important precedent for other international courts. In a second ruling the
ICTR became the first international court to define the crime of
rape, calling it a “physical invasion of a sexual nature, committed on a
person under circumstances which are coercive.” This was necessary, the
court said, because “to date, there is no commonly accepted definition of
[rape] in international law.” The court also ruled that rape and sexual
violence may constitute geno cide if committed with the intent to
destroy a specific national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.
The international application of h uman rights violations developed
further with the extradition of former Chilean dictator Augu sto
Pinochet from Britain to Spain. After his arrest in October 1998,
Pinochet was extradited to Spain to face trial for crimes against
humanity, specifically the violation of the human rights of Span ish
citizens in Chile. In April 1999 the British Home Secretary, Jack Straw,
decided that the extradition could go ahead, despite claims from
Pinochet's supporters, including those in Chile, that a head of state was
immu ne from such charges. Extradition proceedings were opened in
September, and a ruling the following month stated that Pinochet's
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100 undertaken as part of an appeal against this decision revealed that he was
too ill to stand trial. Four European countries appealed against the
Home Office's decision, but Pinochet was allowed to return to Chile in
March 2000.
New th reats constantly call for new international responses. As well as
the establishment of temporary international courts to investigate specific
cases of alleged genocide and government-sponsored violation of human
rights, examples include the conventions against acts of terrorism and
the distribution of drugs. Thus, despite the modern multiplication of
global and regional multilateral treaties, customary international law still
maintains a central role in the legal system of the international
community. Two Libyans suspected of carrying out the Lockerbie
bombing in 1988, in which 259 people died, were handed over to United
Nations officials in April 1999. They entered pleas of not guilty at
the pre-trial hearing; their trial started in the Netherlands in May 2000
with Scottish judges presiding.
8.6 AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Amnesty International is an indepen dent, worldwide pressure group
campaigning impartially for the release of all prisoners of conscience,
that is, people imprisoned or maltreated because of their political or
religious beliefs. The movement was founded in 1961 by the British
lawyer Peter Benenson, and maintains its headq uarters in London.
Amnesty International is based on a network of voluntary local
groups and individual members throughout the world, who adopt
prisoners of conscience and pursue their cases with the governments
concerned or through international bodies. Methods of investigation and
campaigning include monitoring, fact-finding missions, media publicity,
and individual correspondence.
The gene ral purposes of the organization are to upho ld the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights; to work for the release of those detained,
restricted, or otherwise subjected to physical coercion by reason of
their beliefs, ethnic origin, gender, colour, or language, provided they
have not used or advocated violence; to oppose detention without trial and
to uphold the right to a fair trial; and to oppose the use of the death
penalty or torture, whether or not the people concerned have advocated
violence.
Amnesty International is financed by voluntary donations. Its
membership stands at some 1.2 million peop le, with 4,300 volunteer
groups and nationally organized sections in 55 countries, and supporters
in more than 160 countries. In 1977 Amnesty International received the
Nobel Prize for Peace for “its efforts on behalf of defending human
dignity against violence and subjugation”.

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101 8.7 CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
8.7.1. Civil Rights:
Civil rights are the freedoms and rights that a person may have as a
member of a community, state, or nation. Civil rights include freedom
of speech, of the press, and of religion. Among others are the right to
own property, and to receive fair and equal treatment from government,
other persons, and private groups.
In de mocratic countries, law and custom protect civil rights. The
constitutions of many democracies have bills of rights that describe basic
liberties and rights. Courts of law decide whether a person's civil rights
have been violated. The courts also determine the limits of civil rights, so
that people do not use their freedoms in order to violate the rights of
others.
In many non-democratic countries, the government claims to respect
and guarantee civil rights. But in most of these countries, such
claims differ greatly from the actual conditions. In some Communist
countries, for example, the people were denied such basic rights as
freedom of speech and of the press. Yet their constitutions guaranteed
these rights.
Some people draw sharp distinctions between civil liberties and civil
rights. They regard civil liberties as guarantees to a person against
government interference. They think of civil rights as guarantees of
equal treatment for all people. For example, civil liberties would include
freedom from government interference with a person's right to free
speech. Civil rights would include the right of all people to receive
equal protection of the law. Civil rights often refer to the condition and
treatment of minority group.
8.7.2. Basic Civil Rights:
The basic civil rights recognized by most democratic countries are
freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and the right to peaceful
assembly. These rights are guaranteed under the constitutions of many
countries. Legislation may guarantee other rights concerned with the
process of law. These include protection against arrest and detention
without a proper reason, the right to jury trial, and protection against
being tried twice for the same offence. In addition, people and property
may not be wrongfully searched or seized and excessive or unusual
punishments may not be inflicted.
Rights against discrimination protect minority groups and ensure
equal rights and oppo rtunities for all people regardless of race, sex,
religion, age, or disability. Laws exist in many countries to give equal
rights to all men and women regardless of their race or religion. But
in some countries, discrimination on racial or religious grounds is part
of government policy. Rights to form trades unions are intended to protect
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102 workers are still fighting for the right to organize and to campaign for
better pay, improved working conditions, and the right to strike.
8.7.3. Limits of Civil Rights:
All civil rights have limits, even in democratic countries. For
example, a person may be denied freedom of speech in a democracy
if it can be shown that his or her speech might lead to the overthrow of
the government. A person may not use civil rights to justify actions
that might seriously harm the health, welfare, safety, or morals of
others. A person may be denied a civil right if that right is used to violate
other people's rights. Freedom of expression, for example, does not
permit a person to tell lies that ruin another person's reputat ion.
Property owners have the right to do what they choose with their
property. However, this right may not allow a person legally to refuse
to sell property to a person of a certain race or religion. This is because
the property owner would be denying the other person equal freedom of
choice.
The specific limits of civil rights vary with the times. In time of war, a
government may restrict personal freedoms in the interest of the security
of the country. Changing social and economic conditions also cause
changes in the importance that people give certain rights.
8.7.4. Civil Rights Movement in the United States:
One of the bitterest civil rights movements was that of black
Americans in the United State s, who campa igned for equal rights from
the 1800's. This campaign continued through the 1900's, and led to
a major protest movement during the 1950's and 1960’s, which resulted
in important civil rights legislation to end discrimination against black
Americans.
1) Constitutional Amendm ents in Favour of the Blacks:
Black Americans, who make up the largest minority group in the United
States, have been denied their full civil rights more than any o ther
minority group. However, the black Americans made significant gains in
their struggle for equal rights during Reconstruction, the twelve-year
period following the Civil War (1860-65). The Thirteenth Amendment,
adopted in 1865, abolished slavery in the United States. In 1868, the
Fourteenth Amend ment made the former slaves citizens. It also
provided that the states must grant all peo ple within their jurisdiction
‘equal protection of the law’. The Fifteenth Amendment, which became
law in 1870, prohibited the states from denying peop le the right to vote
because of th eir race. During Reconstruction, Congress passed several
laws to protect blacks’ civil rights.


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103 2) ‘Separate but Equal’ Rule:
During the 1870’s, white Americans increasingly disregarded the
newly won rights of black Americans. The government itself
contributed greatly to de nying blacks the rights. In 1883, the
Supreme Court ruled that Congressional acts to prevent racial
discrimination by private individuals were unconstitutional. In 1896, in
the case of Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court upheld Louisiana law
requiring separate but e qual accommodations for blacks and whites in
railroad cars. For over fifty years, many Southern states used the
‘separate but equal’ rule established in this case to segregate the races
in public schools, and in transportation, recreation, and such public
establishments as hotels and restaurants. Many states also used
literacy, poll taxes, and other means to deprive blacks of their voting
rights.
3) Changes in the American Race Relations:
The period after the Second World War was one of rapid change in
American race relations. As more blacks left the rural south for urban
areas, the relative economic status of blacks improved. The existence of a
growing affluent and edu cated black population in urban areas made
possible major political gains. Black urban voters provided decisive
suppo rt for liberal Democratic candidates, who in turn backed civil rights
reforms.
A pattern of black influence on national politics was clearly established in
1948, when Harry Truman was elected president, despite receiving only a
minority of white votes. Truman had gained the suppo rt of blacks by
issuing an executive order that eventually desegregated the a rmed forces
and by supporting a civil rights policy for the Democratic Party.
Although Truman's actions had little immediate impact on blacks, they
indicated that the federal government was listening to black demands.
Vigorous political dissent among blacks was discouraged during the so-
called McCarthy era (1950 -1955), as black leaders came under attack
from the government, but anti-communism also provided an excuse for
blacks to demand that the United States live up to its democratic claims.
4) Desegregation in Schools:
Although neither President Eisenhower nor Congress was willing to take
action on behalf of black civil rights during the first half of the
1950’s, new presidential appointments to the US Supreme Court
prepared the way for a reversal of racial segregation in schools
established in 1896. In 1954 the Supreme Court ruled, in Brown v. Board
of Education of Topeka, that segregation in pub lic schools is
unconstitutional. In time, this decision broke down the ‘separate but
equal’ principle. Although southern white officials sought to obstruct
implementation of the Brown decision, many African-Americans saw
the ruling as a sign that the federal government might intervene on their
behalf in other racial matters. Unwilling to wait for firm federal action,
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104 1957, black children defied white mobs in Little Rock, Arkansas, until
Eisenhower sent troops to protect their right to attend an all-white high
school. Ten years after the B rown decision, however, less than two per
cent of southern black children attended integrated schools. During the
early 1960’s, it was necessary to maintain federal troops and police on
the University of Mississippi campus to ensure the right of a black
student to attend classes.
5) The Montgomery Bus Boycott:
The Brown decision also en couraged African-Americans to launch a
sustained movement to desegregate all public facilities. It began in
Montgomery, Alabama, in December 1955, when a black woman called
Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a city bus to a white man
and was arrested. Led by the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., black
residents reacted to the arrest by organizing a bus boycott that lasted
more than a year, before a federal court declared Alabama's bus
segregation laws unconstitutional. The Mont gomery Bus Boycott
dramatized the ef fectiveness of non- violent direct action and raised
Martin Luther King into leadership of the non-violent movement. He
adopted the Gandhian philosophy of Satyagraha. King's comm itment to
reform through non-violent means attracted a favourable response even
in the press for his protests.
6) The Civil Rights Act of 1957:
In 1957, Congress passed the first federal civil rights law since
Reconstruction. The Civil Rights Act of 1957 set up the Commission on
Civil Rights to investigate charges of denial of civil rights. It also created
the Civil Rights Division in the Department of Justice to enforce federal
civil rights laws and regulations.
Although King remained the most renowned black leader, protest
activities soon moved beyond the control of any single individual or
group. King's supporters organized the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference (SCLC) in 1957, but when black university students began a
widespread campaign of sit-ins in lunch-bars in February 1960,
most young activists rejected leadership by S CLC and older civil
rights groups. They formed the Student Non-violent Coordinating
Committee (SNCC), which was often more militant than other civil rights
groups.
7) Struggle to Achieve Voting Rights:
The Freedom Rides of 1961 initiated by Congress of Racial Equa lity
(CORE) were designed to end segregation in facilities dependent on
interstate commerce, and demonstrated the ability of civil rights protesters
to force federal intervention in the South. They brought many young
activists into M ississippi, where white officials firmly resisted any
concessions to the civil rights movement. Black civil rights leaders in
Mississippi, who had long struggled for gains with the help of the
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105 encouraged young civil rights workers affiliated with SNCC to
concentrate their efforts on achieving voting rights. By 1962 Robert
Moses, a Harvard- educated schoolteacher, had brought together a staff
of organizers who worked closely with local residents seeking to
register as voters. White resistance, however, remained strong. In 1964,
after the murder of three of the organizers, a major national effort led to
the unsuccessful challenge by the Mississippi Freedom Democratic to
unseat the all-white Mississippi delegation at the national
Democratic convention.
8) March to Washington, 1963:
Although the voting-rights movement in Mississippi made slow p rogress,
civil rights protests in southern urban centres achieved important
gains. Massive demonstrations were held in Albany, Georgia, during
1961 and 1962, and the following year more than a million
demonstrators kept up the pressure in numerous other cities. This
wave of protests reached a peak during the spring of 1963, when federal
troops were sent into Birmingham, Alabama, to quell racial violence.
President John Kennedy reacted to the widespread demonstrations by
introducing civil rights legislation designed to end segregation in
public facilities. On 28 Augu st 1963, more than 250,000 p rotesters
gathered in Washington, D.C., for a pea ceful demonstration, calling for
congressional action in civil rights and employment legislation. This was
the climax of the non-violent movement and, perhaps of Martin Luther
King’s career. The huge gathering of black and white marchers
promoted hope that Dr. King’s dream that “this nation will rise up and
live out the true meaning of its creed” might be realized. This hope
dimmed when four children died in a church bombing in Birmingham
and when an assassin’s bullet killed President Kenne dy.
9) The Civil Rights Act of 1964:
But there was still reason for hope. In 1964, the Noble Prize
Committee chose Dr. King to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, and
President Lyndon B. Johnson secured the enactment of a comprehensive
Civil Rights Act of 1964. This was the strongest civil rights bill in the
history of the United State s. It ordered restaurants, hotels, and other
businesses that serve the gene ral public to serve all people without
regard to race, colour, religion, or national origin. It also barred
discrimination by emp loyers and unions, and established the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission to enforce fair employment
practices. In addition, the act provided for a cutoff of federal funds
from any programme or activity that allowed racial discrimination.
10) The Voting Rights Act of 1965:
The President and the Congress respond ed again when Dr. King led
his forces into Selma, Alabama, where black citizens were being denied
the right to vote. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 removed the remaining
legal and technical obstacles to the exercise of the franchise by
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106 1966, the Supreme Court prohibited poll taxes in state and local
elections. A 1970 law made literacy tests illegal in all the states. These
acts had a dramatic impact on black voter registration. In Mississippi,
the percentage of blacks registered to vote increased from seven per cent
in 1964 to fifty-nine per cent in 1968.
11) Changes in the Civil Rights Movement:
Major changes in the Civil Rights Movement occurred during the
1970 ’s. Earlier civil rights efforts had involved lawsuits and other
attempts to protect individual rights. In the 1970’s the emphasis shifted
from individual rights to group rights. The federal government began to
enact laws designed to assure rights for groups that formerly had
suffered discrimination. For example, the government began a programme
of affirmative action. Affirmative action consists of efforts to counteract
past discrimination by giving special help to disadvantaged groups.
Typical measures included recruiting drives among women and minority
groups and special training programme for minority workers.
12) Allegation of ‘Reverse Discrimination’:
Efforts to he lp groups that had suffered discrimination raised a
number of new civil rights issues. Many peop le felt the government
violated the principle of equality under the law by giving preference
to certain groups at the expense of others. Some white men complained of
reverse discrimination, saying they were treated unfairly because of their
race and sex. Other individuals believed such efforts were necessary to
help the disadvantaged overcome past discrimination and eventually
compete on an equal basis with white males.
13) The Black Power:
The years of civil rights activism in the South led to an upsurge in racial
pride and militancy among blacks througho ut the nation. In 1966 SNCC
annou nced that the goal of the black movement was no longer civil rights
but ‘black power’, which could be achieved only when black people
developed a mo re positive image of themselves. Such sentiments
coincided with a trend towards black militancy in northern urban centres
spearheaded by Black Muslims. The most renowned advocate of Black
Nationalism and leader of the Black Muslims was Malcolm X. Although
he had attracted only modest support by the time he was assassinated
in 1965, his ideas became increasingly popular after his death. His
calls for armed self-defence reflected widespread anger among urban
blacks and resulted in outbreaks of extensive racial violence in Los
Angeles, California, in August 1965. During the following three
years, nearly every major urban centre in the United States experienced
similar violent, black disturbances. The Kerner Commission, set up by
President Johnson, reported in 1968 that the “nation is moving toward
two societies, one white, one black— separate and uneq ual”. New
militant organizations, such as the Black Panther party, sought to
provide leadership for discontented urban blacks. The outspoken
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107 repression, and by the late 1960 ’s most of the black militant groups
had been weakened by police raids as well as internal dissension.
Before his assassination in April 1968, even Martin Luther King
became a target for government surveillance and harassment, as he
responded to the new mood of militancy with forceful attacks on US
involvement in the Vietnam War (1959-1975) and with calls for
economic reforms.
Blacks attend ing university launched a movement to introduce black
studies into the curriculum, which would result in greater knowledge and
unde rstanding of the African-American experience. A new spirit of black
racial assertion was particularly evident in sports. In the 1960’s black
athletes gave university and professional sports a distinctive,
individualistic, and spontane ous style of play, despite freque nt objections
from white coaches and observers in the media. For example, the
refusal of the heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali to be enlisted into the
army cost him his world championship but also made him a hero to many
blacks.
8.8 SUMMARY
Human Rights are of Universal importance. They are common to all
regardless of caste, colour, religion, race, etc. Countries, all over the
world strive hard to safeguard human rights through their well established
constitutions as per the provisions of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights; International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights;
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Optional Protocols. Violations
of Human Rights occur in the name of religion, race, creed, caste,
colour, sex, region, etc.
The League of Nations and the United Nations stressed the need for
striving towards peace among the countries of the world and for the
upliftment of human rights. The In ternational Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights came into force from March 1976 together with its
Optional Protocol. Civil rights are the freedoms and rights that a person
may have as a member of a community, state, or nation. Civil rights
include freedom of speech, of the press, and of religion. Among
others are the right to own property, and to receive fair and equal
treatment from government, other persons, and private groups.
In many non-democratic countries, the government claims to respect
and guarantee civil rights. Some people draw sharp distinctions
between civil liberties and civil rights. They regard civil liberties as
guarantees to a person against government interference. The basic
civil rights recognized by most democratic countries are freedom of
speech, freedom of the press, and the right to peaceful assembly. All
civil rights have limits, even in democratic countries. For example, a
person may be denied freedom of speech in ademocracy if it can be
shown that his or her speech might lead to the overthrow of the
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108 8.9 Q UESTIONS
1. Explain the concept of the Human Rights Movement and trace its
origin and progress.
2. Write a detailed note on the Amnesty International.
3. Examine the various aspects of the Civil Rights Movement.
4. Trace the progress of Civil Rights Movement in the USA.
5. Write short notes on the following:
(a) Constitutional Amendments in favour of the Blacks
(b) Desegregation in Schools
(c) The Black Power
(d) Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
8.10 REFERENCES
1. Carr E.H., International Relations between the Two World Wars,
Macmillan -Palgrave, 1985
2. Conwell R.D., World History in the Twentieth Century, Longman,
Gordon, 1969.
3. Davis H.A., An Outline of the World, OUP, New Delhi, 1968
4. Fay S.B., Origins of the World Wars, New Yo rk, 1991.
5. Gokhale B.K., History of the Modern World, Himalaya Publishing
House, Bombay,1982.
6. John Lewis, Gaddis, We Now Know, Rethinking the Cold War
History, OUP, 1997.
7. Lorenz Luthi, The Sino -Soviet Split, The Cold War in the
Communist World, Princeton Un iversity Press,2008
8. Odd Arne, Westad, The Global Cold War, The Third World
Interventions and the Making of our Times, CUP, 2007.
9. Palmer R.R. & Collon, Joel, History the Modern World, London,
1964.
10. Raymon Gorthoff, The Great Transition: American Soviet Rela tions
and the End of the Cold War, Brookings, Washington, 1994.
11. Smith Joseph, The Cold war: 1945 -1965, Blackwell Publishing
House, Cambridge,1989.
12. Tony Judt, Post War: A History of Europe since 1945, Penguin,
2006.
13. Weech W.N., History of the World (Third Edition), Asia Publishing
House, Bombay,1961.
14. Thompson David, The World History:1914 -1968, OUP, 1968
15. Taylor A.J.P., The Struggle for Mastery in Europe, OUP,
London,1977.
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109 9
NON -ALIGNED MOVEMENT
Unit Structure :
9.0 Objectives
9.1 Introduction
9.2 The Bandung Conference
9.3 The Non -Aligned Movement
9.4 Summary
9.5 Questions
9.6 References
9.0 OBJECTIVES
1. To assess the role of the Afro -Asian nations in world politic s in the era
of Cold War.
2. To understanding the initiative taken by the Afro -Asian countries in
building up the solidarity of the third world nations as against the two
dominant Powers Blocs.
9.1 INTRODUCTION
The emergence of two Power Blocs following the end of the Second
World War and the resurgent Cold War proved to be detrimental to the
newly independent nations of Asia and Africa. These nations, which had
been liberated due to prolonged freedom struggles or liberations wars from
the clutches of co lonial powers had to reconstruct their economy and
society. Hence, they were keen to seek material and moral support from
any quarters without any ideological pre -conditions. Thus, the Afro -Asian
nations did not want to become camp followers either of the Western or of
the Communist Power Blocs. They desired to keep an equi -distance
position from both these Power Blocs. The Bandung Conference was first
of these attempts to build up the solidarity of Afro -Asian nations as
against the two Power Blocs. Non -aligned Movement was the culmination
of the solidarity of the third world countries during the age of Cold War
politics.


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110 9.2 THE BANDUNG CONFERENCE
9.2.1. Characteristics of the Conference :
The Bandung Conference of April 1955 was a unique international
gathering of nations. It was a unique in the sense that for the first time in
modern history a group of former colonial nations, which were under the
European colonial control, met to discuss their mutual interests and, as it
turned out, mutual differences as well. Not a single European or American
nation was represented at the Bandung Conference. The superpowers of
the post -war period, the United States and the Soviet Union were
deliberately kept out of this Afro -Asian gathering. Nearly all of the
twenty -nine participating countries had recently emerged from colonial or
semi -colonial status; and all participating countries were strongly
nationalistic, anti -colonialist, and anti -imperialist. Nearly the whole of
Asia, except the Soviet Union, was represented a t the conference.
9.2.2. Indonesian Initiative:
The initiative for holding an Afro -Asian con ference in the first place came
from Indo nesia. The Prime Minister of Indonesia, Ali Sastroamidjojo,
proposed that the Afro -Asian group in the United Nations sh ould hold an
international conference, and this proposal was raised at the meeting of the
prime ministers of Burma, Ceylon, India, Pakistan, and Indonesia at
Colombo in April 1954. Initially only Ceylon's Prime Minister Sir John
Kotelawala was enthusiastic , but Jawaharlal Nehru of India and U Nu of
Burma were skeptical of the value of hold ing such a conference. By
September, how ever, Sastroamidjojo had his way and Jawaharlal Nehru
accepted the proposal after the former came on a visit to New Delhi. At
the end of December 1954, the five Colombo states met at Bogor in
Indonesia to outline definite plans for the proposed Afro -Asian
conference. It was decided that the invitations would not be restricted to
the Afro -Asian states in the UN, in order to include a s many nations as
possible at the conference. Nehru's proposal that Communist China be
invited to the conference was generally accepted, as all five Colombo
states had recog nized Peking rather than the Taipei government of
Nationalist China. In addition to the UN Afro -Asian group, in vitations
were sent to Japan, Jordan, Libya, Nepal, North and South Vietnam, the
Gold Coast (Ghana), Sudan, and the Central African Federation. Out of
these invitees only the Central African Federation declined to attend the
conference. It was never even suggested that any of the Soviet Asian
republics or Mongolia be invited, and since the Korean War had only
recently ended neither North nor South Korea were asked to attend. Israel
was excluded since many of the Arab and Musli m states would have
refused to attend the conference if Israel was invited. The Union of South
Africa was also excluded because of its policy of racial discrimination.


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111 9.2.3. Representing Countries :
The participating countries from Asia were: Afghanista n, Burma,
Cambodia, Ceylon, the People’s Republic of China, India, Indonesia, Iran,
Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Laos, Lebanon, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines,
Saudi Arabia, Syria, Thailand, Turkey, North Vietnam, South Vietnam,
and Yemen. Most of independent an d nearly independent Africa was also
represented: Egypt, Ethiopia, the Gold Coast (Ghana), Liberia, Libya, and
the Sudan. The Koreas were omitted, as were Israel and Nationalist China
(Taiwan), due to objections raised by a majority of participating nation s
for a number of reasons. It was clear that the participating countries had a
great deal in common; the question was whether these unifying concepts
would be enough for the Afro -Asian nations, with vastly divergent
histories and national interests, to sta nd together to form what some called
a 'neutralist bloc'.
9.2.4.Objectives of the Bandung Conference:
The Bandung Conference visualized the following four main objectives:
(1) To promote goodwill and co -operation among the Afro -Asian nations
and to advanc e mutual interests; (2) to consider economic, social, and cul -
tural problems and relations of the countries represented; (3) to consider
problems of special interest to the peoples of Africa and Asia, such as
racialism, colonialism, and problems affecting national sovereignty; (4) to
examine the position of the peoples of Africa and Asia in the world and
the contribution each nation could make to the promotion of world peace
and international co -operation.
9.2.5. Other Issues to be taken up in the Confere nce:
The communiqué issued from Bogor by the five prime ministers also
supported the case of Indonesia with respect of West Irian as well as the
independence movements in Tunisia and Morocco against French rule.
This final communiqué from Bogor indicates some of the real reasons for
holding the conference, which cannot easily be found in the four -point
proposal. In effect, the conference was to be a protest against the failure of
the Western powers to consult or even seriously consider the points of
view o f the Afro -Asian nations. It was strongly felt that these states had a
right to take a more active role in affairs, which dealt with their part of the
world. Besides, the Colombo states were anxious to reduce tensions
between communist China and the United States by attempting to
influence the People’s Republic of China at the conference and to develop
China’s political independence from the influence of the Soviet Union.
India and Burma were particularly concerned with the aggressive attitude
of China towa rds them and other countries in Asia, especially Vietnam,
and therefore hoped to reduce tensions between themselves and China at
the conference by championing the common cause of anti -imperialism and
anti-colonialism.

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112 9.2.6. Leading Personalities at the Bandung Conference:
From 18th to 24th April 1955, representatives of twenty -nine Afro -Asian
states met at the Indonesian city of Bandung in West Java. At the outset
Nehru appeared to be the most important figure at the conference, as at the
time India wa s perceived to be the leader among the so -called non -aligned
Afro -Asian states. However, other notable personalities such as Norodom
Sihanouk of Cambodia, Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Krishna Menon of
India, Carlos P. Romulo of the Philippines, Muhammad Al i of Pakistan,
and U Nu of Burma were trying to get the maximum amount of publicity
out of their respective roles at Bandung Conference. Sukarno, the
President of Indonesia and the host of the Bandung Conference held the
spotlight at times. But all eyes we re unquestionably on China’s delegate,
Chou En -lai. China’s position as the most populous and potentially most
powerful Asian nation was of vital interest to every participating Afro -
Asian state.
9.2.7. Inaugural Speech of Dr. Sukarno:
Sukarno’s inaugura l speech to the conference on 18th April emphasized
the differing political and social background of the nations attending the
conference. On the other hand he also reiterated on the force, which
unified them, that is anti -colonialism. He set the tone of t he conference by
saying: “Yes, we have so much in common; and yet we know so little of
each other.” Sukarno felt the conference would be a success if it could
overcome this handicap. But even in the other speeches that followed
Sukarno’s, it became quite c lear that the interests of the participating states
were as divergent as the historical background of each of them. First of all,
certain nations, such as the Philippines and Turkey were already members
of one or another mutual security or regional pacts w ith the United States
and her European allies such as NATO, the Baghdad Pact, or the South
East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). Countries such as China and
North Vietnam were to a greater or lesser degree aligned with the Soviet
Union. Most of the rest o f the countries attending the conference were
non-aligned, and it appeared that Nehru was their spokesman.
9.2.8. Chou En -lai’s Conciliatory Approach:
The conciliatory speech by Chou En -lai took many of the delegates by
surprise. Although he asserted that most of the difficulties in achieving
lasting peace in East Asia was due to the United States’ support of the
Taiwan government of Chiang Kai -shek, Chou En -lai tried to minimize
China’s differences with her neighbours. He stated that he had come to
Bandun g ‘to seek unity and not to quarrel’ and proved it by attempting to
resolve the problem caused by the dual nationality of the ethnic Chinese in
Thailand, Cambodia, and Indonesia. In fact, this question appeared to be
resolved when China and Indonesia signe d a treaty during the conference
dealing with the nationality of the ethnic Chinese in Indonesia. A similar
agreement was offered to the Philippines, and assurances of amicable
relations were made when Chou En -lai invited Prince Norodom Sihanouk
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113 between China and the Arab states as well. To their great surprise and
delight, China supported the position of the Arab states over Palestine.
Chou En -lai even suggested that there was a parallel between the problems
of Palestine and Formosa (Taiwan), indicating that neither problem could
be resolved unless intervention by outside forces (the United States) was
excluded. Therefore, in Chou En -lai’s view China was facing the same
problem as those of the Arabs.
9.2.9.Resolutions:
The Bandung Conference next passed a resolution on the questions of
West Irian supporting the position of Indonesia against Netherlands
(Holland). The conference also approved a resolution proposed by Egypt
supporting the ri ght of national self -determination for the peoples of North
Africa, specifically, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.
9.2.10. Differences Among the Delegates:
However, in the Bandung Conference, not only were China’s position and
the unity of the Afro -Asian blo c on trial, but the neutralist position of
India and her role as leader of the non -aligned nations was on trial as well.
Sir John Kotelawala of Ceylon raised the issue of non -Western
imperialism before the delegates. He proposed that all type of colonialis m
should be condemned by the conference, when he asserted that there was
another form of colonialism besides the traditional Western variety.
“Think for example”, he said “of those satellite states under communist
domination in Central and Eastern Europe…A re these not colonies as
much as any of the colonial territories in Africa or Asia?” He then
suggested that the conference should specifically take a stand against
Soviet as well as Western imperialism. One of the greatest debates of the
conference then to ok place, which threatened to cause a serious deadlock.
Pakistan’s Muhammad Ali supported the delegates from Ceylon, but he
hastened to add that China could by no means be considered as an
imperialist nation. Therefore, he asked Chou En -lai not to misinte rpret his
words, as Pakistan felt that resolution against Soviet imperialism be
supported, but that it should in no way be construed that China was also
being condemned as China had no satellites. Iraq and Turkey seconded
Pakistan’s position, and Turkey in troduced a resolution, which condemned
‘all types of colonialism including international doctrines resorting to
methods of force, infiltration, and subversion’. This proposal was
supported by Iraq, Iran, Japan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Libya, Liberia, the
Sudan and the Philippines. This indicated that the pro -Western states
successfully drew together as the resolution was indirectly aimed against
the Soviet Union.
9.2.11. Nehru’s Stand at the Conference:
Jawaharlal Nehru viewed these developments at the Bandung Conference
with alarm. Not only this state of affairs disrupt the conference, but the
Afro -Asian nations representing at Bandung, were in effect, being forced
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114 undermining India’s lead ership of the non -aligned states. Nehru tried to
classify the counties of Eastern Europe as non -colonial and therefore
outside the jurisdiction of the conference. But those who supported the
Turkish resolution were adamant and the matter was finally left t o be
debated in the sub -committee, which included China. Nehru asserted,
meanwhile that because of India’s size and geographical position she was
in no danger of being conquered militarily, and therefore could rely on
herself. He warned that ‘if all the w orld were to be divided up between
these two big power blocs…the inevitable result would be war’. He
asserted, therefore, that any step, which reduced the number of non -
aligned states, was a step towards war. Nehru also added that NATO was a
protector of c olonialism and barred the way to the independence of states
like Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.
Nehru’s assertion met the strong opposition of Pakistan, Turkey, Iraq,
Lebanon and the Philippines. Muhammad Ali of Pakistan objected to
Nehru’s criticism of Pa kistan’s membership of SEATO, and the others
declared that their geographical position in the world did not allow them
the luxury of maintaining a non -aligned position. Romulo charged that the
Philippines had entered SEATO for self -defence, and added that almost
half the budgets of India and Pakistan went for military preparations
because of the Kashmir dispute.
9.2.12. Chou En -lai’s Seven Principles:
Ironically, it was Chou En -lai who at tempted to bridge the gap between
the positions of the non -aligned a nd the West ern-oriented states. He
proposed seven principles whose aim was to safeguard peace in Asia.
Among them were mutual respect for the national sovereignty of
neighbouring states, abstention from ag gression against one another, and
abstin ence fro m intervention in the internal affairs of other states. He
added that China, of course, opposed military pacts such as NATO and
SEATO, considering that they increased the possibility of general war, but
he added that China did not fear aggression against h er territory by
Pakistan and the Philippines, both mem bers of SEATO. Nehru supported
Chou's speech of reconciliation, and general approval was given to the
Chinese pro posals. By the time the conference closed on 24th April, the
participating nations had approved a series of platitudes which pleased
everyone, including the assertion of the principle of mutual economic co -
operation, cultural exchanges, the pro motion of world peace, the right of
national self -determination, and anti -colonialism in general. In addition
the conference expressed its support of the Arab states against Israel, for
the independence movements in French North Africa, for Indonesia's
rights in West Irian, and for Yemen over Aden.
9.2.13. An Assessment of the Bandung Conference:
Desp ite the divergent opinions expressed at Bandung, it was apparent that
the Afro -Asian nations had certain causes in com mon. Although the final
communiqué of the conference drafted over the great differences of
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115 First of all, Nehru had entered the conference as the champion of the non -
aligned nations; by the end his image was somewhat tarnished, and Chou
En-lai now dominated the proceedings. Chou En -lai's conciliatory attitude,
especially toward the delegates of Southeast Asia, India, and Pakistan had
left China with a new image among the Afro -Asian states as a reasonable
and peaceful neighbour. The political atmosphere was less tense after
Bandung between China and the rest of Asia than p erhaps at any time
since the seizure of power in China by the Communists in 1949.
Secondly, despite the attacks made on her position, India still retained
leadership of the neutralist bloc, and although her position was not
strengthened, at least Nehru ha d withstood extreme pressures against his
non-aligned position. But the greatest achievement of Bandung was the
fact that the conference took place at all. Whatever the immediate results
of the conference, it was clear that Bandung was to represent a water shed
in the history of the Afro -Asian world. For the first time in modern
history, the recently independent states had declared that they were,
despite their differences, a factor to be reckoned with by the great powers.
In fact they demonstrated that they were independent and represented a
large portion of the population of the world; that despite their differences,
all were anti -colonialist and anti -racialist; that they demanded to be treated
as equals, not merely pawns in the international chess game. Fu rthermore,
the Afro -Asian nations felt that their opinions could exercise a moral
restraint upon China, and the fact that China had renounced aggression
against or internal subversion of all the participating states was considered
a major victory of the co nference. Bandung also helped to develop the
self-confidence of the Afro -Asian states, even if the complete solidarity of
opinion originally hoped for was not fully achieved. Before the Bandung
Conference, the Western nations and the Soviet Union had under estimated
the role of Africa and Asia in forming world public opinion and in
influencing the policy of the great powers. However, after Bandung the
opinion of the Afro -Asian states had to be considered seriously by all
nations.
9.3 THE NON -ALIGNED MOVEMENT
The post -Second World War era witnessed two important phenomena, the
Cold War politics between the two superpowers, the United States and the
Soviet Union, and the process of decolonization and emergence of free
nations in Asia and Africa. These newly in dependent nations decided to
have their own system of governments, which were suitable to the needs,
and aspirations of their people. When the world was being polarized in
two power blocs, the newly liberated Afro -Asian nations decided to steer
clear of th e bi-polar world and decided to chart their own course, the non -
alignment.
9.3.1. Nehru’s Initiative:
The decision of the new states of Asia and Africa, with few exceptions, to
throw in their lot with neither superpower was much influenced by one
man, J awaharlal Nehru, the prime Minister of India. Nehru was a world
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116 the new states, India, in 1947, and held that office without break for
seventeen years. He was a pragmatic leader who ha d imbibed Western
liberal and democratic values and was also attracted by the Soviet Union’s
record in auto -industrialization. He disliked Stalin’s tyranny and police
state, as well as the crudities of McCarthyism in the United States. Nehru
was aghast at the arrogant and moralistic division of the world into
communists and anti -communists.
9.3.2.Commonwealth of Nations:
Nehru was the chief creator of the post -imperial Commonwealth as an
association of monarchies and republics of all races whose links were not
ideological but historical and accidental. When he decided that India
should remain in the British Commonwealth, he did so upon the
conditions that India should become a republic and that she should have
the right to conduct her own foreign policy dis tinct from, and even at odds
with, the foreign policies of Britain and its other Commonwealth
associates. Thus, Nehru stressed the political independence, which all
other new states needed to assert, while retaining links, which had
economic, cultural and sentimental value. Other members of the
Commonwealth followed the example of India. Although Burma severed
these links with Britain in 1948, no other British possession did so and at
the end of the century the Commonwealth had 53 members, including
Pakista n. Pakistan had resigned its membership of the Commonwealth in
1973, but rejoined in 1989 and was suspended, i.e., barred from meetings
in 1999. The Commonwealth had members in every part of the world.
Nehru’s insistence that each member of the Commonwealt h should be free
to pursue its own foreign policy meant that neither the Commonwealth as
a whole nor its members need follow Britain’s example in taking the
American side in the Cold War. This was the beginning of the Third
World’s neutralism or non -alignm ent, to which France’s former colonies
also adhered in the 1960’s.
9.3.3. Neutrality and Non -alignment:
The attitudes of non -alignment passed through a number of phases. They
were rooted in the concept of neutrality. Neutrality was a general intent to
rema in out of any war, which might occur. However, it was not a practical
stand as was proved during the Second World War. The newly emerged
independent states of Asia and Africa were not thinking of a shooting war
and how to keep out of it, but of the Cold Wa r and how to behave in
regard to it. Neutralism and non -alignment, therefore, as distinct from
neutrality, were the expression of an attitude towards a particular and
present conflict. This involved, in the first place equivalent relations with
both sides and, in the second place, positive neutralism, which means an
attempt to mediate and resolve the dangerous quarrels of the superpowers.
In its negative phase, non -alignment involved a condemnation of the Cold
War, an assertion that there were more importan t matters in the world, an
acknowledgement of the powerlessness of new states, and a refusal to
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117 9.3.4. Positive Aspect of Neutralism:
The positive phase of neutralism represented the desires of new states to
evade the Col d War but not to be left out of world politics. When Asia as
well as Africa became independent the number of neutralists and the space
they occupied round the globe became considerable. Through non -
alignment these newly independent nations could at least p revent the
spread of Cold War in their regions. Besides, these nations could exert
influence by holding conferences to publicize their views or by debating
and voting in the General Assembly of the United Nations.
To be effective, non -alignment, negative o r positive, presupposed
solidarity among the non -aligned. The newly emerged independent states
in Asia and Africa were weak and were aware of their weakness. Their
weakness made them apprehensive of too close an association with a
single major power. This situation obliged these new states to seek
strength by unity among them. Many of them were far from being nations.
9.3.5. The Asian -Relations Conference:
The search for solidarity preceded independence among both Asians and
Africans. The first notable pos t-war Asian conference – the Asian
Relations Conference held in New Delhi in March 1947, had twenty -eight
delegates among whom only eight came from sovereign states. Its motive
force was a desire to ensure that the United Nations should not become an
organ ization dominated by European or white states and viewpoints.
However, the tone of the discussions was not shapely anti -colonial. The
conference was a gathering of Asians to discuss Asian problems including
land reform, industrialization, Asian socialism a nd the application of non -
violence in international affairs. Soon after the conference India, Pakistan,
Burma and Ceylon became independent.
In January 1949 another Asian conference assembled in New Delhi. The
immediate occasion for the conference was Ind onesia, where the Dutch
threatened the liberation movement. The conference demanded the release
of Indonesian nationalist leaders who had been arrested and imprisoned by
the Dutch authorities. It also demanded the establishment of an interim
government and independence for Indonesia by 1950. The Indonesian
issue gave the conference a clear anti -colonial voice, however, it was
divided between friends of the West and neutralists. Asian leaders took up
different attitudes towards two important events within f ew months. One
was the victory of the communists under the leadership of Mao Tse Tung
in Chin and the other was the Korean War. Asian solidarity was proving
difficult to achieve even an anti -colonialist programme. The British and
French campaigns in Malaya and Indo -China did not evoke the same
united protest as the Dutch in Indonesia. This was chiefly due to the
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118 9.3.6. Cracks in the Asian Solidarity:
In 1950’s Asian solidarity and neutralism were at the lowest ebb. Some
Asian states, putting their economic and strategic needs before their
neutralism, signed commercial and even defence treaties with the United
States or the Soviet Union. By signing the treaty of 1954 with China
embodying the P ancha Sheel, India maintained its principles. But in the
same year Pakistan, Thailand and the Philippines concluded military pacts
with the United States, while Afghanistan became the first non -communist
country to receive Russian aid. The Soviet Union, wh ich had a trade
agreement with India, was about to conclude another with Burma, and
tried to befriend Indonesia, which led to the visit of Sukarno to Moscow in
1956. The superpowers were, thus, taking considerable interest in Asian
affairs. These factors m ade it difficult for the Asians to maintain a
common attitude towards the great powers or to keep their distance as pure
neutralism required.
9.3.7. The Bandung Conference:
Another conference, originally suggested by Ceylon and taken up by
Sukarno and Neh ru, assembled at Bandung in April 1955. The background
for convening this conference was the treaty between the United States
and Taiwan, the Manila Pact creating SEATO, and the Baghdad Pact. The
Soviet Union and China welcomed what looked at first like an anti-
Western conference. Twenty -nine countries from Asia and Africa
participated in the Bandung conference. Thus, Bandung became the
prototype of Afro -Asian as opposed to purely Asian solidarity. The
representatives at Bandung were divided among themselve s even on the
issue of non -alignment. The Soviets and the Chinese hoped to advance
communism by exploiting anti -Western nationalisms, while the Americans
hoped to exploit fears of communism and of China and thus, create new,
and if necessary heavily subsid ized military groups. American policy,
illustrated by the signing of the Manila Pact, ran counter to the spirit of
Bandung. Chou En -lai, who attended the Bandung Conference, went some
way towards showing that Chinese communism was reconcilable with
other A sian nationalisms. The Soviets had already taken a number of
steps, which brought them into closer accord with the Asian states.
For the neutralists themselves the chief achievements of the Bandung
Conference were that they met and got to know each other; that they had
laid the foundations for joint action at the UN and, through solidarity,
increased their security, their status and their diplomatic weight in the
world; and that they were making the superpowers take them seriously and
treat their policies a s respectable.
9.3.8. The Brioni Conference:
In the summer of 1956 Nehru and Nasser visited Tito at Brioni in
Yugoslavia. With an Asian, an African and a European leading them, the
neutralists became more ambitious in international affairs, and hoped to be
able to bring pressure to bear on the superpowers in Cold War matters.
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119 determined to pursue the policy of non -alignment, expressed their serious
concern over the division of the world i nto mutually hostile blocs,
reiterated the need for speedy disarmament and urged for the suspension
of nuclear tests. The tree leaders emphasized their keen interest in
promoting co -operation among nations in the sphere of peaceful uses of
atomic energy an d stressed the need for speeding up of development work
in the underdeveloped countries.
9.3.9. The Belgrade Conference:
In September 1961 a conference of the non -aligned countries was held at
Belgrade, capital of Yugoslavia. The Belgrade Conference was h eld in an
atmosphere of crisis. The background included French nuclear tests in the
Sahara and the resumption of Russian tests, the Bay of Pigs and the Berlin
Wall, the Franco -Tunisian clash and crisis in the Congo. A new conflict
between India and China s eemed to be emerging. The heads of
government of twenty -four countries attended the Belgrade non -aligned
conference. Following lengthy deliberations the conference adopted
resolutions on a number of problems. One of the important issues taken up
was the nu clear explosion, which were unanimously condemned by the
participating countries. The conference emphasized on the need of
complete disarmament. A reference was made to the Congo crisis and
insisted that it should not become a center of Cold War politics. The
conference supported Algerian demand for freedom from France. A
general resolution condemning imperialism was adopted. The delegates in
the conference reaffirmed their faith in the UN Charter and stressed that
all the disputes should be settled by nego tiations and other peaceful
means.
9.3.10. The Summit Conferences:
In October 1964 the second summit conference of the non -aligned
countries was held at Cairo. Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri
represented India. The issues taken up at the conference incl uded the
problem of the termination of colonialism and neo -colonialism. Thereafter
the summit conferences of the non -aligned countries were regularly held at
intervals in different countries. The third conference was held at Lusaka in
1970, which was atten ded by fifty -four nations. This conference drafted a
manifesto on neutrality and economic freedom. The fourth conference was
held in Algeria in September 1973, which was attended by seventy -six
countries. Next the non -aligned summit conference was held at Colombo
in 1976. In 1979, ninety -two nations were represented at the non -aligned
conference in Havana, capital of Cuba. In 1983, India hosted the non -
aligned summit conference during the Prime Ministership of Mr. Indira
Gandhi. An important aspect of this conference was the denunciation of
the policy of apartheid followed by the white minority government of
South Africa. Economic co -operation among the non -aligned nations was
also emphasized at this conference. Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe
hosted the nex t summit conference in 1986. Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi
of India inaugurated the eight non -aligned summit conference at Harare. It
marked the twenty -fifth anniversary of the non -aligned movement. The munotes.in

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120 movement since then had grown to embrace 101 countries as members.
9.3.11. An Assessment of the Non -aligned Movement:
The non -aligned movement was committed in keeping the member nations
out of the military blocs. Promotion of world peace and economic
development of the Third World countries through mutual co -operation
had been the cornerstone of the movement. In the initial stages of the
movement colonialism, and later neo -colonialism came under severe
attack. The non -aligned nations sympathized with those countries
struggling for their independence from the colonial control and passed
resolutions in various conferences condemning colonialism. The
armament race and nuclear explosions by nuclear powers came under
severe criticism in the non -aligned movement. Invariably in every
conference resolutions were passe d in favour of disarmament and a
moratorium on nuclear test emphasizing the need for harnessing the
nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. The non -aligned movement strongly
condemned the apartheid policy of South Africa and denial of political
rights to the black majority in that country. Solution of chronic economic
problems of the Third World countries was another grave concern of the
non-aligned movement. In successive conferences discussions on the need
to have a new world economic order to save poor cou ntries from
exploitation by the industrialized countries were taken up.
Following the fall of communism and disintegration of the Soviet Union
since early 1990’s, the world has become increasingly uni -polar, the
United States dominating the world scene. Un der these circumstances, the
non-aligned movement has lost its original characteristics. In the absence
of the Cold War politics, the non -aligned movement has become
redundant and its activities have become dormant.
9.4 SUMMARY
The emergence of two Power Blocs following the end of the Second
World War and the resurgent Cold War proved to be detrimental to the
newly independent nations of Asia and Africa. These nations, which had
been liberated due to prolonged freedom struggles or liberations wars from
the clutches of colonial powers had to reconstruct their economy and
society. Hence, they were keen to seek material and moral support from
any quarters without any ideological pre -conditions. Thus, the Afro -Asian
nations did not want to become camp followers either of the Western or of
the Communist Power Blocs.
The Bandung Conference of April 1955 was a unique international
gathering of nations. It was a unique in the sense that for the first time in
modern history a group of former colonial nations, which w ere under the
European colonial control, met to discuss their mutual interests and, as it
turned out, mutual differences as well.
The participating countries from Asia were: Afghanistan, Burma,
Cambodia, Ceylon, the People’s Republic of China, India, Indon esia, Iran,
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121 Saudi Arabia, Syria, Thailand, Turkey, North Vietnam, South Vietnam,
and Yemen.
The conciliatory speech by Chou En -lai took many of the delegates by
surprise. The Bandung Con ference next passed a resolution on the
questions of West Irian supporting the position of Indonesia against
Netherlands (Holland). The conference also approved a resolution
proposed by Egypt supporting the right of national self -determination for
the peop les of North Africa, specifically, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.
Jawaharlal Nehru viewed these developments at the Bandung Conference
with alarm. Nehru’s assertion met the strong opposition of Pakistan,
Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon and the Philippines. Muhammad A li of Pakistan
objected to Nehru’s criticism of Pakistan’s membership of SEATO, and
the others declared that their geographical position in the world did not
allow them the luxury of maintaining a non -aligned position. The non -
aligned movement was committe d in keeping the member nations out of
the military blocs. Promotion of world peace and economic development
of the Third World countries through mutual co -operation had been the
cornerstone of the movement. In the initial stages of the movement
colonialis m, and later neo -colonialism came under severe attack.
Thus, the Non -Aligned Movement was the some of the new ideology that
was given to the world by the leadership of India.
9.5 QUESTIONS
1. Why was the Bandung Conference organized? What were its
achievement s?
2. Give an account of the Afro -Asian movement with special reference to
the Bandung Conference (1955).
3. Write a detailed note on the Bandung Conference (1955).
4. Examine the background of the Non -aligned Movement. What were its
achievements?
5. Explain the role of the non -aligned Movement in world politics.
9.6 REFERENCES
1. Carr E.H., International Relations between the Two World Wars,
Macmillan -Palgrave, 1985
2. Conwell R.D., World History in the Twentieth Century, Longman,
Gordon, 1969.
3. Davis H.A., An Outline of th e World, OUP, New Delhi, 1968
4. Fay S.B., Origins of the World Wars, New York, 1991.
5. Gokhale B.K., History of the Modern World, Himalaya Publishing
House, Bombay,1982.
6. John Lewis, Gaddis, We Now Know, Rethinking the Cold War
History, OUP, 1997. munotes.in

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122 7. Lorenz Luthi, The Sino -Soviet Split, The Cold War in the Communist
World, Princeton University Press,2008
8. Odd Arne, Westad, The Global Cold War, The Third World
Interventions and the Making of our Times, CUP, 2007.
9. Palmer R.R. & Collon, Joel, History the Modern World, London,
1964.
10. Raymon Gorthoff, The Great Transition: American Soviet Relations
and the End of the Cold War, Brookings, Washington, 1994.
11. Smith Joseph, The Cold war: 1945 -1965, Blackwell Publishing
House, Cambridge,1989.
12. Tony Judt, Post War: A History of E urope since 1945, Penguin,
2006.
13. Weech W.N., History of the World (Third Edition), Asia Publishing
House, Bombay,1961.
14. Thompson David, The World History:1914 -1968, OUP, 1968
15. Taylor A.J.P., The Struggle for Mastery in Europe, OUP,
London,1977.



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123 10
GLOBALIZATION
Unit Structure :
10.0 Objectives
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Globalization Through History
10.3 Causes of Globalization
10.4 Forms of Globalization
10.5 Extent of Globalization
10.6 Approaches to Globalization
10.7 World Trade Organiza tion (WTO)
10.8 Impact of Globalization
10.9 How to respond to Globalization?
10.10 Future Of Globalization
10.11 Summar y
10.12 Questions
10.13 References
10.0 OBJECTIVES
1. To understand the concept and factors that lead to globalization.
2. To study the impact of globalization.
10.1 INTRODUCTION
Globalization is a concept that underlines the growth of connections
between people on a worldwide scale. Globalization involves the
reduction of barriers to trans -world contacts. Through it people from
different parts of the world become more able, physically, legally,
culturally, and psychologically, to engage with each other in ‘one world’.
Globalization means different things to different people. It can be defined,
simply, as the expansion of economic act ivities across political boundaries
of nation -states. It refers to a process of increasing economic integration
and growing economic interdependence between countries in the world
economy. It is associated not only with an increasing cross -border munotes.in

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124 movement of goods, services, capital, technology, information and people,
but also with an organization of economic activities which cut across
national boundaries. This process is driven by the lure of profit and the
threat of competition in the market.
10.2 GLOBA LIZATION THROUGH HISTORY
Historians have dated the beginning of globalization at various points.
Taking the longest view, it may be said that globalization began a million
years ago with the first transcontinental migration of the human species
out of Afri ca. Alternatively, we could date the start of globalization from
the fifth and sixth centuries BC with the birth of two of the earliest ‘world’
religions, namely Zoroastrianism and Buddhism. A secular global
imagination arose in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries with the
geographical discoveries and explorations including the first
circumnavigation of the Earth. Technologies for high -speed global
connections initially appeared in the mid -nineteenth century with the
advent of intercontinental telegraph l ines. The second half of the
nineteenth century also saw the arrival of long -distance telephony, global
commodity markets, global brand names, a global monetary regime, and
global associations in several social movements, including labour and
feminist acti vism. The consolidation of intercontinental colonial empires
in the late nineteenth century facilitated the development of many of these
trans -world connections.
Whenever one dates the beginning of globalization, it is clear that the
process has unfolded o n an unprecedented scale in contemporary history.
Most manifestations of global connectivity have seen most of their growth
during the past half -century. Consider the recent spread of jet travel,
satellite communications, facsimiles, the Internet, televisi on, global
retailers, global credit cards, global ecological problems, and global
regulations. To take but one indicator, the world count of radio receivers
rose from fewer than 60 million in the mid -1930’s to over 2,000 million in
the mid -1990’s. Today’s society is more global than that at any earlier
time.
10.3 CAUSES OF GLOBALIZATION
Different social theories offer different interpretations of how and why
trans -world connections have grown. For example, liberal economics
stresses the role of unrestricted market forces in a context of technological
change and deregulation. In contrast, Marxist political economy highlights
the dynamics of the international capitalist system as the engine of
globalization. For many sociologists, meanwhile, globalization is a
product of modern rationalism. Others find their explanation of
globalization in a combination of these causes.
10.3.1.Technological innovation:
Technological innovation has contributed to globalization by supplying
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125 means of transport, communications, and data processing have allowed
global links to become denser, faster, more reliable, and much cheaper.
Large -scale and rapid globalization has depended on a number of
innovations re lating to coaxial and later fibre -optic cables, jet engines,
packaging and preservation techniques, semiconductor devices, computer
software, and so on. In other words, global relations could not develop
without physical tools to effect cross -planetary con tacts.
10.3.2. Regulations:
Next to technology, regulation has also played an enabling role for
globalization. Supraterritorial links would not be possible in the absence
of various facilitating rules, procedures, norms, and institutions. For
example, glo bal communications rely heavily on technical standardization.
Global finance depends in good measure on a working world monetary
regime. Global production and trade are greatly promoted by
liberalization, that is, the removal of tariffs, capital controls, and other
state-imposed restrictions on the movement of resources between
countries. Tax laws, labour legislation, and environmental codes can also
encourage or discourage global investment. In short, globalization requires
supporting regulatory frameworks .
10.3.3. Capitalism:
Capitalism has been a further force for globalization. Already in the
1850’s, Karl Marx noted in his A Contribution to the Critique of Political
Economy, 1859, that “capital by its nature drives beyond every spatial
barrier” to “conq uer the whole Earth for its market”. More specifically,
global markets offer prospects of increased profits through higher sales
volumes. In addition, larger production runs to feed global markets
promise enhanced profits due to economies of scale. Capital ists also
pursue globalization since it allows production facilities to be located
wherever costs are lowest and earnings greatest. Furthermore, global
accounting practices enable prices and taxes to be calculated in ways that
raise profits. Finally, globa l connections themselves such as
telecommunications, electronic finance, etc., create major opportunities
for profit making.
10.3.4.Rationalism:
Rationalism as the prevailing modern form of knowledge also has
provided impetus to globalization. With its se cular character, rationalist
thought orients people towards the physical world of the planet rather than
spiritual realms. As a secular universalism, rationalism provides a
knowledge foundation for globalization
Many theorists identify one of these forces as the primary engine of
globalization and treat other elements as having secondary or no causal
significance. Other analysts hold that globalization has a multi -causal
dynamic involving the interrelation of several forces.
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10.4 FORMS OF GLOBALIZATION
Global connections take many forms. For instance, jet airplanes transport
passengers and cargo across any distance on the planet within a day.
Telephone and computer networks effect near -instantaneous interpersonal
communication between points all over the E arth. Electronic mass media
broadcast messages to world audiences. Countless goods and services are
supplied to consumers in global markets. Moreover, some articles are
manufactured through trans -world processes, where different stages of
production are lo cated at widely dispersed locations on the Earth. The US
dollar and the Euro are examples of currencies that have global
circulation. In global finance, various types of savings and credits flow in
the world as a single space. Many firms, voluntary associa tions such as
Amnesty International, and regulatory agencies, such as the World Trade
Organization, operate across the globe. Climate change, so -called ‘global
warming’, and stratospheric ozone depletion are instances of human
induced ecological developmen ts that unfold on a planetary scale.
Globalization is the trend whereby these various kinds of global relations
emerge, proliferate, and expand. As a result of globalization, social
geography gains a planetary dimension. ‘Place’ comes to involve more
than local, provincial, country, regional, and continental realms. With
globalization the world as a whole also becomes a social space in its own
right. Thus global connections involve a different kind of geography.
Whereas other social contexts are territoria lly delimited, global relations
transcend territorial distances and territorial borders to unfold on planet
Earth as a single social space. In this sense globalization might be
characterized as the rise of ‘supraterritoriality’.
Of course globalization do es not signal the end of other social spaces. The
rise of supraterritoriality does not eliminate the significance of localities,
countries, and regions. Nor does the spread of trans -world connections
abolish territorial governments or dissolve territorial identities. The global
coexists and interrelates with the local, the national, the regional, and other
dimensions of geography.
10.5 EXTENT OF GLOBALIZATION
It is important to note that Globalization has not encompassed all of
humanity to the same extent. In terms of territorial location, for example,
global networks have involved the populations of North America, Western
Europe, and East Asia much more than other parts of the world. In terms
of class, global finance has been a domain of the wealthy far mor e than the
poor. In terms of gender, men have linked up to global computer networks
much more than women. This unevenness of globalization has important
implications for social power relations. People with connections to
supraterritorial spaces have access to important resources and influence
that are denied to those who are left outside. In this regard, some
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127 called ‘digital divide’ and other inequalities. Others have objected to a
‘cultural imperialism’ of Hollywood and McDonald’s in contemporary
globalization. Since the mid -1990’s such discontents have provoked a so -
called ‘anti -globalization movement’ marked by regular mass protests
against global companies, the International Monetary Fund, and other
prominent agents of trans -world relations.
10.6 APPROACHES TO GLOBALIZATION
There are basically two main attitudes towards the approaches to
globalization -positive and normative. The positive group of thinkers
visualizes globalization as pu rely as objective and descriptive
phenomenon that is taking place under current trends. On the other hand,
the normative group of thinkers explores the reality from the objective
truth, norms, policies, prescriptions which are being taken as a form of
advice to developing countries for liberalizing and integrating themselves
with the rest of the world as fast as possible as the definite way to achieve
the pace of development. As seen above, a much more comprehensive
approach to globalization should not be a ssociated with purely economic
view rather it must embrace into its folds a much more political and
cultural dimension.
Apparently the approach to globalizations is mainly an economic
phenomenon. However, the real perception of globalization is much more
comprehensive. It is primarily a cultural and political phenomenon that is
driven by technology and other scientific innovations. With the progress in
transport, telecommunication, computers that makes possible to divide the
stages of production of an artic le in different geographic locations.
The world economy has experienced a progressive international economic
integration since 1950. However, there has been a marked acceleration in
this process of globalization during the last quarter of the twentieth
century. The fundamental attribute of globalization is the increasing
degree of openness in most countries. There are three dimensions of this
phenomenon: international trade, international investment and
international finance. It is important to note that op enness is not confined
to trade flows, investment flows and finacial flows. It also extends to
flows of services, technology, information, ideas and persons across
national boundaries. However, trade, investment and finance constitute the
cutting edge of g lobalization.
The second half of the twentieth century has witnessed a phenomenal
expansion in international trade flows. World exports increased from $61
billion in 1950 to $315 billion in 1970 and $3447 billion in 1990. The
international investment flows also took the same route. The stock of
direct foreign investment in the world economy increased from $68 billion
in 1960 to $502 billion in 1980 and $1948 billion 1992. The past two
decades have witnessed an explosive growth in international finance. The
movement of finance across national boundaries is enormous. The
internationalization of financial markets has four dimensions: foreign
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128 It has been now abundantly clear that the challenges and o pportunities of
globalization in almost all the countries of the world in the twenty -first
century would more and more depend on the advancement of science and
technology which have emerged as major determinants wealth and power
of nations. The comparative advantage of a nation will be more and more
influenced by its capacity to generate absorb, adapt and assimilate new
technologies into production processes and organize production process
efficiently. If liberalization and globalization are not to create i slands of
prosperity surrounded by vast sea of destitution, there has to be firm
commitment to human resource development and to continuous upgrading
of human skills and capabilities in the fast changing world that we live in.
10.7 WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO)
In recent times, the issue of global governance has been an extensively
explored subject of discussion particularly with the emergence of WTO
since January 1995. It is an international body established to promote and
enforce global free trade. The WTO was founded in 1993 by the Final Act
that concluded the Uruguay Round (1986 -1994) of multilateral
negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
of 1947, which it supersedes, and exists to administer and police the 28
free-trade a greements in the Final Act, oversee world trade practices, and
adjudicate trade disputes referred to it by member states. The headquarters
of WTO is in Geneva. When it began operating on 1 January 1995 it had
76 member states, but by November 2000 its memb ership increased to
140. Unlike its predecessor (GATT), it is a formally constituted entity
whose rules are legally binding on its member states, but it is independent
of the United Nations. It provides a framework for the rule of law in
international trad e. Its regulations include trade in services, intellectual
property rights, and investment. A disputes panel composed of WTO
officials adjudicates trade disputes referred to the WTO; nations can
appeal against rulings to a WTO appellate body, whose decisio n is final.
In February 1997 the WTO concluded a landmark agreement liberalizing
telecommunications trade between its members. In March 1999 the United
States imposed sanctions on selected European Union (EU) goods
following a WTO ruling against EU tariffs on bananas; the dispute
broadened later the same month when the WTO ruled against an EU ban
on US beef reared with growth hormones. At the Seattle summit in
November 1999 the WTO's failure to reach any kind of agreement on the
opening up of previously pro tected areas of trade was seen as a major
blow to the free -trade movement. In the same month China and the United
States signed a historic agreement that paved the way for China to join the
WTO. However, the deal still required formal approval from the Uni ted
States, the EU, Canada, and other countries.
The WTO with its comprehensive mandate and extensive out reach has
emerged as the most powerful supra -national body for global governance.
The concept of nation -state is gradually losing its ground in view o f the
fact that many economic decisions, which are of great crucial relevance to
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129 by economic power groups outside the nation -state. As a result nation -
state is losing at least so me part of their autonomy in designing their own
policies and development strategies. This gradual erosion in the autonomy
of the nation -state has synchronized with the emergence of many powerful
interest groups in the management of the world economy. They often pose
a serious threat to the pursuit of national priorities and assertions of
indigenous perceptions. The option open to the developing countries in the
long-run perspective is to improve their own economic strengths by efforts
for improvement in pr oductivity, human resource development, higher
saving, and overall discipline in economic management. They have to
identify the right kind of policies and programmes which enable them to
safeguard and promote their national interest even within the framewo rk
of the new rules and the game.
10.8 IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION
10.8.1. Economic Impact:
Globalization has wider implications. In terms of economics, globalization
substantially alters the organization of production, exchange, and
consumption. Many firms ‘ go global’ by setting up affiliates across the
planet. Many enterprises also form trans -world alliances with other
companies. Countless mergers and acquisitions occur as business adjusts
to global markets. Questions of competition and monopoly can arise as a
result. In addition, corporations relocate many production facilities as
globalization reduces transport and communications costs. Globalization
also expands the ‘virtual economy’ of information and finance, sometimes
at the expense of the ‘real economy ’ of extraction and manufacturing. All
of this economic restructuring in the face of globalization raises vital
issues of human security related to employment, labour conditions,
poverty, and social cohesion.
10.8.2. Political Impact:
In relation to polit ics, globalization has significant implications for the
conduct of governance. Territorially based laws and institutions through
local, provincial, and national governments are not sufficient by
themselves to regulate contacts and networks that operate in trans -world
spaces. Globalization, therefore, stimulates greater multilateral
collaboration between states as well as the growth of regional and trans -
world governance arrangements like the European Union and the United
Nations. In addition, private -sector bodies may step in to regulate areas of
global relations for which official arrangements are lacking, as has
occurred regarding certain aspects of the Internet and trans -world finance,
for instance. The resultant situation of multi -layered and diffuse
governance raises far -reaching questions about the nature of sovereignty
and democracy in a globalizing world.
10.8.3. Cultural Impact:
With regard to culture, globalization disrupts traditional relationships
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130 connections encourages the rise of non -territorial cultures according to
age, class, gender, race, religion, and sexual orientation. As a result,
identity of such people who lead more globalized lives tend to become less
fixed on territ ory, in the form of nation -states and ethnic bonds. Besides,
globalization encourages more hybridity, where individuals develop and
express a mix of identities. At the same time, other people, including those
who have less opportunity to participate in glo bal relations, react against
globalization with defensive nationalism. In these various ways
globalization calls the nature of community into question.
However, it is important to note that the extent of social transformation
connected with globalization m ust not be exaggerated. Hence traditional
sectors like agriculture and manufacturing still matter in a globalizing
economy. The state still figures centrally in the governance of global
flows. Territorial cultures survive alongside, and in complex interrel ations.
Thus with globalization, as with any other trend, history involves an
interplay of change and continuity.
10.9 HOW TO RESPOND TO GLOBALIZATION ?
Globalization and its consequences have become a subject of heated
political debate. The important ques tion is how should we respond to the
trend of globalization?
10.9.1. Neo -Liberal Approach:
Those people who are concerned with the problem of globalization advice
what is generally called a ‘neo -liberal’ approach to globalization. Neo -
liberalism takes in spiration from the tradition of laissez -faire economics
and holds that globalization will yield maximum gains when its course is
left to unrestricted market forces. Neo -liberals therefore prescribe that
globalization should be met with full -scale liberaliz ation, deregulation,
and privatization. According to the neo -liberal creed, official measures
should be used only to enable, but not to constrain, global market forces.
The unrestricted global economy will then in time generate prosperity,
democracy, commu nity, and peace for all.
10.9.2. Reformism:
Another general policy framework for globalization can be termed as
reformism, or global social democracy. Reformists agree with neo -liberals
that market capitalism can be a major force for social good. However, they
argue that these benefits can only be secured with proactive public policies
that steer, and where necessary restrict, global flows. For example, many
reformists advocate official measures to protect labour, the poor, and the
environment from the pot ential harmful effects of unrestricted
globalization. Some reformists also promote the principle of global
redistributive taxes, for example, on foreign -exchange transactions or the
profits of global companies. Reformist programmes generally visualize a
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131 trans -world institutions, and many reformists are concerned to enhance the
democratic credentials of these regimes.
10.9.3. Progressive Radicalism:
A third broad political response to glob alization might be described as
progressive radicalism. These critics reject the structural foundations of
contemporary globalization and seek to reconstruct the process on a
different basis. For example, global socialists regard capitalism as an evil
that no amount of reform can correct. Thus, they seek to rebuild
globalization with a different, post -capitalist mode of production. From
another radical perspective, global postmodernists treat rationalism as
incorrigibly flawed and promote an alternative glo balization based on
different kinds of knowledge and identity politics.
10.9.4. Traditionalism:
A fourth approach to globalization can be termed as traditionalism. This
viewpoint regards trans -world connections as being inherently violent as
globalization tend to undermine cultural heritage, democracy, ecological
health, economic well -being, and social cohesion. In the eyes of
traditionalists, globalization has nothing to offer anything new and must
therefore be reversed. Traditionalist calls for ‘de -globa lization’ have come
in a number of forms, including ultra -nationalism, religious revivalism,
and certain strains of environmentalism.
Broadly speaking, neo -liberalism was the prevailing and largely
unchallenged policy framework for globalization in the 198 0’s and early
1990’s. Since the mid -1990’s both traditionalist and reformist reactions
against neo -liberal globalization have gathered force, though laissez -faire
tendencies remain very strong at the beginning of the twenty -first century.
Meanwhile, progre ssive radical approaches to globalization have not yet
become popular among the masses, although they may prove important in
times to come.
10.10 FUTURE OF GLOBALIZATION
The future prospects of globalization are unclear. In one scenario the
twenty -first c entury will experience a continuation, if not a further
acceleration, of recent high rates of globalization. In an alternative
account, globalization will slow down and stop once it reaches a certain
plateau. In another forecast, for example, if globalizat ion is a cyclical
trend or succumbs to traditionalist opposition, the future will bring a
process of de -globalization that reduces trans -world connections.
At present the forces behind globalization seem to be very strong. Current
trends in technological i nnovations and regulatory developments are
highly conducive for a further expansion of trans -world connectivity.
Likewise, both capitalism as a mode of production that promotes
globalization and rationalism as a mode of knowledge that stimulates
globalizat ion are quite strong in contemporary world. Under these munotes.in

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132 circumstances a halt to globalization, let alone a reversal, seem to be a
remote possibility in modern times.
10.11 SUMMARY
Globalization is a concept that underlines the growth of connections
between people on a worldwide scale. Globalization involves the
reduction of barriers to trans -world contacts. Through it people from
different parts of the world become more able, physically, legally,
culturally, and psychologically, to engage with each other in ‘one world’.
Historians have dated the beginning of globalization at various points.
Taking the longest view, it may be said that globalization began a million
years ago with the first transcontinental migration of the human species
out of Africa.
Most ma nifestations of global connectivity have seen most of their growth
during the past half -century. Consider the recent spread of jet travel,
satellite communications, facsimiles, the Internet, television, global
retailers, global credit cards, global ecologi cal problems, and global
regulations.
Electronic mass media broadcast messages to world audiences. Countless
goods and services are supplied to consumers in global markets.
Moreover, some articles are manufactured through trans -world processes,
where diffe rent stages of production are located at widely dispersed
locations on the Earth. Neo -liberalism takes inspiration from the tradition
of laissez -faire economics and holds that globalization will yield
maximum gains when its course is left to unrestricted m arket forces. In
another forecast, for example, if globalization is a cyclical trend or
succumbs to traditionalist opposition, the future will bring a process of de -
globalization that reduces trans -world connections.
10.12 QUESTIONS
1. Explain the concept, ca uses and different forms of globalization.
2. Write a detailed note on globalization.
3. Describe the consequences of globalization. What are different kinds
of responses to globalization?
4. Write short notes on the following:
(a) Forms of globalization
(b) World Trade Or ganization (WTO)
(c) Impact of globalization
(d) Response to globalization

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133 10.13 REFERENCES

1. Carr E.H., International Relations between the Two World Wars,
Macmillan -Palgrave, 1985
2. Conwell R.D., World History in the Twentieth Century, Longman,
Gordon, 1969.
3. Davi s H.A., An Outline of the World, OUP, New Delhi, 1968
4. Fay S.B., Origins of the World Wars, New York, 1991.
5. Gokhale B.K., History of the Modern World, Himalaya Publishing
House, Bombay,1982.
6. John Lewis, Gaddis, We Now Know, Rethinking the Cold War
History, OUP, 1997.
7. Lorenz Luthi, The Sino -Soviet Split, The Cold War in the
Communist World, Princeton University Press,2008
8. Odd Arne, Westad, The Global Cold War, The Third World
Interventions and the Making of our Times, CUP, 2007.
9. Palmer R.R. & Collon, Joel, Hi story the Modern World, London,
1964.
10. Raymon Gorthoff, The Great Transition: American Soviet Relations
and the End of the Cold War, Brookings, Washington, 1994.
11. Smith Joseph, The Cold war: 1945 -1965, Blackwell Publishing
House, Cambridge,1989.
12. Tony Judt, Post War: A History of Europe since 1945, Penguin,
2006.
13. Weech W.N., History of the World (Third Edition), Asia Publishing
House, Bombay,1961.
14. Thompson David, The World History:1914 -1968, OUP, 1968
15. Taylor A.J.P., The Struggle for Mastery in Europe, OUP,
London,1977.



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11
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND
WOMEN’S LIBERATION MOVEMENT
Unit Structure :
11.0 Objectives
11.1 Introduction
11.3 Development of Technology
11.4 Problems of the Contemporary World
11.5 Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming
11.6 Depletion of the Ozone Layer
11.7 Problem of Disposal of Sewage
11.8 Nuclear Radiation
11.9 Chemical Pesticides and Toxins
11.10 Deforestation
11.11 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
11.12 The Earth Summit
11.13 Women’s Liberation Movement
11.14 Summary
11.15 Questions
11.16 References
11.0 O BJECTIVES
1. To study the problems of development and its impact on
environment.
2. To understand the various attempts made by different individual
women and organizations towards Women’s Liberation Movement.


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135 11.1 INTRODUCTION
There is a widespread belief in the world today that twentieth
century society, based on increasing use of and reliance on technology,
will soon begin to collapse under its own weight as the ea rth’s
resources, on which the human beings depend to maintain the
immensely complex infrastructure of tod ay, become exhausted by human
beings’ insatiable greed. The industrialized nations that are mo re and
more obsessed with the creation of wealth and profit pay little attention
to the side effects that such developmental strategies have been
producing.
11.2 ORIGIN OF CIVILIZATION
The human beings, who appeared late in the Earth’s history, were
ultimately able to mod ify the Earth’s environment by their activities.
Because of their unique mental and physical capabilities, human beings
were able to escape the environmental constraints that limited other
species and to change the environment to meet their needs.
Although early human beings lived in some harmony with the
environment, as did other animals, their retreat from the wilderness
began with the first, prehistoric agricultural revolution. The ability to
control and use fire allowed them to modify or eliminate natural
vegetat ion, and the domestication and herding of grazing animals
eventually resulted in overgrazing and soil erosion. The domestication
of plants also led to the destruction of natural vegetat ion to m ake room
for crops, and the demand for wood for fuel depleted forests. Wild
animals were slaughtered for food and destroyed as pests and predators.
11.3 DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNOLOGY
While human populations remained small and human technology modest,
their impact on the environment was localized. As p opulations increased
and technology improved and expanded, however, more significant and
widespread problems arose. Rapid technological advances after the
Middle Ages culminated in the Industrial Revolution, which involved
the discovery, use, and exploitation of fossil fuels, as well as the
extensive exploitation of the Earth’s mineral resources. With the
Industrial Revolution, humans began to change the face of the Earth, the
nature of its atmosphere, and the quality of its water. Today,
unprecedented demands on the environment from a rapidly expanding
human population and from advancing technology are causing a
continuing and accelerating decline in the quality of the environment and
its ability to sustain life.


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136 11.4. PROBLEMS OF THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD
The contem porary world is faced with two main type of problems:
(1) Industrialization and development has been exhausting the
world’s resources of raw ma terials and fuel such as oil, coal and gas,
and (2) Industrialization has been causing massive pollution of the
environment, and if this continues, it would likely to severely damage
the ecosystem. This is the system by which living creatures, trees and
plants function within the environment and are all interconne cted.
1) Exhaustion of the World’s Resources:
Fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas, are the remains of
plants and living creatures, which died hundreds of millions of years ago.
These resources cannot be replaced. They are known as non-
renewable resources. The continuous exploitation of these energy
resources may ultimately lead to their exhaustion. There is probably
plenty of coal left, but nobody is quite sure just how much natural gas and
oil are left. Oil production increased enormously during the twentieth
century. Some experts believe that all the oil reserves will be used up
early in the twenty- first century. This was one of the reasons why
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) tried to conserve
oil during the 1970’s. The British responded by successfully drilling for
oil in the North Sea, which made them less dependent on o il imports.
Another response was to develop alternative sources of power,
especially nuclear power.
Other raw materials to be seriously depleted were tin, lead, copper, zinc
and mercury. Experts are of the opinion that these might get
exhausted early in the twenty-first century. It is the Third World, which is
being stripped of the resources it needs to help it escape from poverty.
A lot of timber is being used all over the world for various purposes.
About half the world's tropical rain forest had been lost by 1987, and it
was calculated that about 80,000 square kilometres, an area roughly the
size of Austria, was being lost every year. A side effect of this was the
loss of many animal and insect species, which had lived in the forests.
Most of the edible fish have been extensively fished and are being in
danger of falling below the level where it will be worth fishing. Many
species of fish face extinction.
The supply of phosphates, which are used for fertilizers, was being
rapidly used up. The more fertilizers farmers used to increase agricultural
yields in an attempt to keep pace with the rising population, the
more phosphate rock was quarried. Supplies of phosphates are expected
to be exhausted by the middle of the twenty-first century.
There is a danger that supplies of fresh water might soon run out. Most of
the fresh water on the planet is tied up in the polar icecaps and glaciers, or
deep in the ground. All living organisms, human beings, animals, trees
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137 by 90 million a year, scientists at Sta nford University (California) found
that in 1995 human beings and th eir farm animals, crops and forestry
plantations were already using up one-fourth of all the water taken up by
plants. This leaves less moisture to evaporate and therefore a likelihood of
less rainfall. “The wars of the next century will be over water” is the
depressing prediction of Ismail Serageldin, Vice-President of the World
Bank. Whether or not this turns out to be the case, there is undeniably a
problem with water. It is not the total quantity of water which is the issue
but where it is located. Nature has distributed water very uneq ually
across the world, making for severe shortages in parts along with excesses
in others. Moreover, the demand for water is increasing. Population is
increasing, which naturally increases demand both directly and indirectly
by its use in industry and ag riculture.
The amount of land available for agriculture was dwindling. This
was partly because of spreading industrialization and the growth of
cities, but also because of wasteful use of farmland. Badly designed
irrigation schemes increased salt levels in the soil. Sometimes
irrigation took too much water from lakes and rivers, and whole areas
were turned into deserts. Soil erosion is accelerating on every continent
but Antarctica and is degrading one fifth to one third of the cropland
of the world, posing a significant threat to the food supply. For
example, erosion is unde rmining the productivity of approximate ly 35
per cent of all cropland in the United State s. In the developing world,
increasing needs for food and firewood have resulted in the deforestation
and cultivation of steep slopes, causing severe erosion. Adding to the
problem is the loss of prime cropland to industry, dams, urban
sprawl, and highways. The amount of topsoil lost each year is at least
25 million tonnes, which is enough, in principle, to grow 9 million
tonnes of wheat. About half of all erosion is in the United State s, the
former Soviet Union, India, and China. Soil erosion and the loss of
cropland and forests also reduce the moisture-holding capacity of soils
and add sediments to streams, lakes, and reservoirs.
2) Environmental Pollution:
Discharges from heavy industry cause pollution of the atmosphere, rivers,
lakes and the sea. In 1975 all five Great Lakes of North America were
described as 'dead', meaning that they were so heavily polluted that no
fish could live in them. About ten per cent of the lakes in Sweden were
in the same condition. Acid rain (rain polluted with sulphuric acid)
caused extensive damage to trees in central Europe, especially in
Germany and Czechoslovakia. Britain was blamed for producing the
majority of the pollution causing the acid rain. Acid rain corrodes
metals, weathe rs stone buildings and monuments, injures and kills
vegetation, and acidifies lakes, streams, and soils, especially in the
poorly protected regions of northeastern North America and northern
Europe. In these regions, lake acidification has killed some fish
populations. It is also now a problem in the southeastern and western
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138 11.5 GREENHOUSE EFFECT AND GLOBAL
WARMING
From about 1970 scientists were worried about what they called the
'greenhouse effect' and ‘global warming’. It is alleged that the world is
getting warmer due to the activities of human beings, and in particular
the process of industrialization, coupled with the quickly expand ing
population. The primary causes of this are the so-called greenhouse
gases. The temperature of the earth is partly governed by the balance of
the radiation which comes in and that which escapes. These are
determined by the constitution and quantity of the gases in the
atmosphere. If they increase, the earth gets warmer; if they decrease it
gets colder. The present forms of life on the earth depend on there being
a greenhou se effect to keep it at the appropriate temperature. However,
difficulties arise if the gases vary. Thus, the greenh ouse effect in itself is
crucial to human life. It is the variations in it, which cause the
problems. The evidence seems to sugge st that the world is getting
warmer. The greenhouse gases are increasing largely due to various forms
of economic activity.
The most significant of the greenhouse gases is carbon dioxide, which
accounts for a little more than half of the contribution to global warming.
It comes chiefly from fossil fuel burning and deforestation. CFC s are
used in aerosol sprays, refrigerators and fire extinguishers. About
fifteen per cent of global warming comes from methane, the source of
which is rice paddies and various forms of fermentation. Nitrous oxide
accounts for about six per cent and comes from biomass burning, fertilizer
use and fossil fuel consumption.
Once the greenhouse warming in underway it sets up various feedback
processes, that is, processes which either speed up the process of
global warming, which are known as positive feedback processes, or
those which counteract the trend, which are known as negative feedback
processes. Global warming increases the amount of water vapour from the
seas. Water vapour itself is a powerful greenhouse factor so the warming
process is amplified.
The consequen ces of global warming are various. First, the sea level
will rise, which will put various coastal states in serious positions.
The countries with low-lying coasts will have a lot of problems.
Unfortunately, it is accidentally the case that many of the most
vulnerable countries are also very poor. These countries include Egypt,
Mozambique and Pakistan. Bangladesh, already one of the poorest
countries out side Africa, will be particularly badly affected. In Europe,
Netherlands and the east coast of Britain are vulnerable to the sea and
will become much more so if the sea level increases significantly.
Another major conseque nce of global warming is the displacement of
various sorts of economic activity. Thus, temperate areas suitable for
wheat will become hotter and less suitable, while other areas, which are
now too cold, will become more suitable. The central Wheatlands of munotes.in

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139 the United States will move northwards to Canada. Similarly Siberia
may become grain basket. This suggests that the process of global
warming will simply shift economic activity. Some areas and
countries will gain from this while others may lose.
11.6 DEPLETION OF THE OZONE LAYER
Another major problem faced by the contemporary world is that of the
depletion of the ozone layer. Around the earth, at a height between
10 and 35 kilometres, is a layer of ozone, which keeps harmful radiation
from the Sun down to levels, which the present living inhabitants of the
world, human and non-human, can tolerate. Studies showed the ozone
layer was being damaged by the increasing use of industrial
chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs, compounds of fluorine) that
are used in refrigeration, air-conditioning, cleaning solvents, packing
mate rials, and aerosol sprays. Chlorine, a chemical by-product of
CFC s, attacks ozone. In 1979 scientists discovered that there was a large
hole in the ozone layer over the Antarctic. By 1989 the hole was much
larger and another hole had been discovered over the Arctic. This meant
that people were more likely to develop skin cancers because of the
unfiltered radiation from the sun. Some progress was made towards
dealing with this problem, and many countries bann ed the use of CFC s.
11.7 PROBLEM OF DISPOSAL OF SEWAGE
Getting rid of sewage from the world's great cities has been a
problem. Some countries simply dumped sewage untreated or only
partially treated straight into the sea. The sea around New York is badly
polluted, and the Mediterranean is heavily polluted, mainly by human
sewage. Farmers in the richer countries contributed to pollution by
using artificial fertilizers and pesticides, which drained, off the land into
streams and rivers.
11.8 NUCLEAR RADIATION
Although most countries have banned atmospheric testing of nuclear
weapons, eliminating a large source of radioactive fallout, nuclear
radiation still remains an environmental problem. It is now known that
this can cause cancer, particularly leukemia. Power plants always
release some amount of radioactive waste into the air and water. There
was a constant risk of major accidents like the explosion at Three Mile
Island in the United States in 1979, which contaminated a vast area
around the power station. When leaks and accidents occurred, the
authorities always assured the public that nobody had suffered harmful
effects; however, nobody really knew how many people would die later
from cancer caused by radiation. The worst ever nuclear accident
happened in 1986 at Chernobyl in the Ukraine, then part of the Soviet
Union. A nuclear reactor exploded, killing possibly hundreds of people
and releasing a huge radioactive cloud, which drifted across most of
Europe. Ten years later it was reported that hund reds of cases of thyroid
cancer were appearing in areas near Chernobyl. Even in Britain, a munotes.in

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140 thousand miles away, hundreds of square miles of sheep pa sture in Wales,
Cumbria and Scotland were still contam inated and subject to
restrictions. A greater problem facing the nuclear industry is the storage
of nuclear wastes, which remain toxic thousands of years, depe nding on
the type. Safe storage for geological periods of time is problemat ic.
Meanwhile nuclear wastes accumulate, threatening the environment.
Concern about the safety of nuclear power has led many countries to
look towards alternative sources of power, which were safer, particularly
solar, wind and tide power.
11.9 CHEMICAL PESTICIDES AND TOXINS
Extensive use of synthetic pesticides derived from chlorinated
hydrocarbons in pest control has had disastrous environmental side
effects. These chemical pesticides are highly persistent and resist
biological degradation. They are relatively insoluble in water and cling to
plant tissues and accumulate in soils, the bottom mud of streams and
ponds, and the atmosphere. Although these synthetic chemicals are not
found in nature, they nevertheless enter the food chain. The pesticides
are either taken in by plant eaters or absorbed directly through the
skin by such aquatic organisms as fish and various invertebrates. The
pesticide is further concentrated as it passes from herbivores to
carnivores. It becomes highly concentrated in the tissues of animals at the
end of the food chain, such as the predatory birds and animals. As
a result, some large predatory and fish-eating birds have been
brought close to extinction. Because of the dangers of pesticides to
wildlife and to humans, and because insects have acquired resistance to
them, the use of halogenated hydrocarbons such as DDT is declining
rapidly in the Western world, although large quantities are still used in
developing countries.
Toxic substances are chemicals and mixtures of chemicals the
manufacturing, processing, distribution, use, and disposal of which
present an unreasonable risk to human health and the environment. Most
of these toxic substances are synthetic chemicals that enter the
environment and persist there for long periods of time. Major
concentrations of toxic substances occur in chemical dumpsites. If they
seep into soil and water, the chemicals can contaminate water supplies,
air, crops, and domestic animals, and have been associated with human
birth defects, miscarriages, and organic diseases. Despite known
dangers, the problem still persists. In a recent 15-year period, more
than 70,000 new synthetic chemicals were manufactured, and new ones
are being created at the rate of 500 to 1,000 each year.
11.10 DEFORESTATION
The de forestation technique of slash and bu rn, utilized extensively to clear
large areas of forest for agricultural and other purposes, causes an
enormous amount of environmental damage. The large amounts of carbon
dioxide given off into the atmosphere during burning add to the
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141 animal habitats and greatly accelerates erosion, adding to the sediment
loads of rivers and making seasonal flooding much more severe.
Increasing numbe rs of human beings are encroaching on remaining wild
lands, even in those areas once considered relatively safe from
exploitation, degradation, and pollution. Insatiable demands for
energy are forcing the development of Arctic regions for oil and gas
and threatening the delicate ecological balance of tundra ecosystems and
their wildlife. Tropical forests, especially in southeastern Asia and the
Amazon River Basin, are being destroyed at an alarming rate for timber,
conversion to crop and grazing lands, pine plantations, and
settlements. It was estimated at one point in the 1980’s that such
forest lands were being cleared or converted at the rate of 20 hectares
(nearly 50 acres) a minute; another estimate put the rate at more
than 200,0 00 sq km (78,000 sq mi) a year. In 1993 satellite data
provided a rate of about 15,000 sq km (5,800 sq mi) a year in the
Amazon Basin area alone. This tropical deforestation has already
resulted in the extinction of as many as 750,000 species, and is likely
to eliminate millions if allowed to continue unchecked. This would mean
the loss of a multiplicity of products: food, fibres, medical drugs,
dyes, gums, and resins. In addition, the expansion of croplands and
grazing areas for domestic livestock in Africa, and illegal trade in
endangered species and wildlife products, could mean the end of
Africa’s large mammals. In North America, wild areas are being
threatened by ag ricultural expansion and widespread pollution.
11.11 UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT
PROGRAMME (UNEP)
The UNEP is a specialized agency established in 1972 by the United
Nations General Assembly. Its aim is to promote international
coope ration in environmental matters. Its tasks include constant
surveillance of the environment in a programme known as Earthwatch,
analysis of trends, the collection and dissemination of information, the
adop tion of environme ntally sound policies, and ensuring the
compatibility of projects with the priorities of developing
countries. UNEP has initiated projects concerned with the following
problems: the ozone layer, climate, the transport and disposal of waste,
the ma rine environment, water systems, soil degradation, deforestation,
biodiversity, urban environmen t, sustainable development, energy
conservation, human settlements and popu lation issues, health, toxic
chemicals, environmental law, and education. The activities of the
UNEP are financed from the UN's general budget, by members'
contributions, and by trust funds. The money is allocated proportionally:
Twenty per cent to Africa, Asia, Latin America, western Asia, Europe,
and the Mediterranean and eighty per cent to global projects. UNEP,
however, is not a funding agency. Its resources are used to start up
programmes, which then draw funds from other sources, such as
governments and environmental agencies. It works in close cooperation
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142 (FAO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO), and the World Health Organization (WHO). It
also has links with over 6,000 non- governmental bodies concerned with
the environment. Its Governing Council, with representatives from 58
member states, meets every two years. The Administrative Committee on
Coordination liaises between UNEP and other UN agencies and
related programmes. The organization's headqua rters are in
Nairobi, Kenya. In September 1999 UNEP claimed that the world would
face a massive environmental crisis in the twenty-first century unless
immediate action was taken. According to its report, Global
Environment Outlook 2000 (GEO-2000 ), which UNEP claims is
the most ‘authoritative assessment’ of environmental issues ever
produced, the chief culprits behind the world’s current environmental
situation were the ‘continued poverty of the majority’ of the world’s
people and ‘excessive consumption’ by Western and some East Asian
nations.
11.12 THE EARTH SUMM IT
In June 1992 the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development, commonly known as the Earth Summit was convened for
twelve days on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was attended by
delegates from 178 countries including many prime ministers and
presidents, making it the largest conference ever held.
The Earth Summit developed and legitimized a broad agen da for
environmental, economic, and political change. The purposes of the
conference were to identify long-term environmental reforms and to
initiate processes for their implementation and supervision. Conventions
were held to discuss and adopt documents on t he environment. The
major topics covered by these conventions included climate change,
biodiversity, forest protection, Agenda 21, which is a 900-page blueprint
for environmental development, and the Rio Declaration, which is a six-
page statement that called for integrating the environment with economic
development. The Climate Convention and the Biodiversity Convention
were legal agreements. The Earth Summit was an historic event of great
significance. Not only did it make the environment a priority on the
world’s agenda The environmen tal outlook for the future is mixed. In
spite of economic and political changes, interest in and concern about
the environment remains high. Air quality has improved in some areas in
the developed world but has deteriorated in many developing
countries, and problems of acid deposition, chlorofluorocarbons and
ozone depletion, and heavy air pollution in Eastern Europe still seek
solutions and concerted action. Until acid deposition is diminished, loss
of aquatic life in northern lakes and streams will continue, and forest
growth will be affected. Water pollution will remain a growing
problem as increasing human populations put additional stress on the
environment.\
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143 11.13 WOMEN’S LIBERATION MOVEMENT
Women's movement campaigned to obtain political, social, and econom ic
equality between women and men. Among the equal rights campaigned
for are control of personal property, equality of oppo rtunity in education
and employment, equal suffrage, that is, the right to vote, and
equa lity of sexual freedom. The women's rights movement, also known
as feminism and women's liberation, first arose in Europe in the late
eighteenth century. Although by 1970 most women throughout the
world had gained many rights according to law, in fact complete political,
economic, and social equality with men remains to be achieved.
11.13.1 Beginning of Change:
After wars and revolutions in Russia (1917) and China (1949), new
Communist governments discouraged the patriarchal family system and
supported sexual equa lity, including birth control. In the So viet Union,
however, the majority of working women held low-paid jobs and was
minimally represented in pa rty and government councils. Birth-control
techniques were primitive, day- care centres were few, and mothe rs
working outside the home were largely responsible for keeping house
and tending children too. China more fully preserved its revolutionary
ideals, but some job discrimination against women nevertheless existed.
Socialist governments in Sweden in the 1930 ’s established wide-ranging
programmes of equal rights for women, which included extensive child-
care arrangem ents.
11.13.2.The Right to Vote:
The participation of women in the First World War and the Second
World War helped them achieve on of the major aims of the
nineteenth century feminist movement, the right to vote. Already after the
First World War, many governments acknowledged the contributions of
women to the war effort by granting them the right to vote. Sweden,
Britain, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Austria, and Czechoslovakia did so
in 1918, followed by the United States in 1920. Women in France
and Italy did not obtain the right to vote until 1945. After the Second
World War, European women tended to fall back into the traditional
roles expected of them, and little was heard of feminist concerns. But by
the late 1960’s, women began to assert heir rights again and speak as
feminists. Along with the student upheavals of the late 1960’s came
renewed interest in feminism, or the women’s liberation movement,
as it was now called. Increasingly women protested that the acquisition
of political and legal equa lity had not brought true equality with men.
In a British Women’s Liberation Workshop in 1969 the women
expressed their anguish in the following words: “We are economically
oppressed: in jobs we do full work for half pay; in the home we do
unpaid work full-time. We are commercially exploited by
advertisement, television, and the press; legally we often have only the
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144 narrower horizons than men. This is our specific oppression as women. It
is as women that we are, therefore, organizing.”
11.13.3.Simone de Beauvoir:
Of great importance to the emergence of the postwar women's liberation
movement was the work of Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986). Born into
a Catholic middleclass family and educated at the Sorbonne in Paris,
she supported herself as a teacher and later as a novelist and writer. She
maintained a lifelong relationship, but not marriage, with the
philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. Her involvement in the existentialist
movement, the leading intellectual movement of its time, led her to
become active in political causes. De Beauvoir believed that she lived a
‘liberated’ life for a twentieth- century European woman, but for all her
freedom, she still came to perceive that as a woman she faced limits
that men did not. In 1949, she published her highly influential work
The Se cond Sex, in which she argued that as a result of male
dominated societies, women had been defined by their differences from
men and consequently received second-class status.
11.13.4.Betty Friedan:
Another important influence in the growth of a women's movement
in the 1960’s came from Betty Friedan. Friedan, who was a journalist
and the mother of three children, grew increasingly uneasy with her
attempt to fulfill the traditional role of the ‘ideal housewife and mother’.
In 1963, she published the famous book entitled The Feminine
Mystique, in which she analyzed the problems of middle-class
American women in the 1950’s and argued that women were being
denied equality with men. She wrote: "The problem that has no name-
which is simply the fact that American women are kept from growing to
their full human capacities-is taking a far greater toll on the physical
and mental health of our country than any known disease.” The Feminine
Mystique became a bestseller and e levated Friedan into a
newfound celebrity.
11.13.5.Transformation of Women’s Lives:
It is estimated that women need to average 2.1 children in order to ensure
a natural replacement of a country's population. In many European
countries, the population stopped growing in the 1960’s, and the
trend has continued since then. By the 1990’s, birthrates were down
drastically; among the nations of the European Union, the average
number of children per woman of childbearing age was 1.4. Italy's rate-
1.2, was the lowest in the world in 1997.
11.13 .6.Women in Profession:
At the same time, the numb er of women in the workforce has
continued to rise. In Britain, for example, the number of women in the
labour force went from 32 per cent to 44 percent between 1970 and
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145 access to universities and professional schools enabled women to take
jobs in law, medicine, government, busi- ness, and education. In the
Soviet Union, for example, about 70 percent of do ctors and tea chers were
women. Nevertheless, economic inequality still often p revailed. Women
received lower wages than men for comparable work and received fewer
oppo rtunities for advancement to management positions.
11.13.7.‘Consciousness-raisi ng’ Groups:
Feminists in the women's liberation movement came to believe that
women themselves mu st transform the fundamental conditions of their
lives. They did so in a variety of ways after 1970. First, they formed
numerous ‘consciousness-raising’ groups to further awareness of
women's issues. Women met together to share their personal
experiences and become aware of the many ways that male dominance
affected their lives. This ‘consciousness raising’ helped many women to
become activists.
11.13.8. Legislation Favouring Women:
Women sought and gained a me asure of control over their own bodies by
seeking to overturn legal restrictions on both contraception and abortion.
In the 19 60’s and 1970’s, hund reds of thousands of European women
worked to repeal the laws that outlawed contraception and abortion and
began to m eet with success. A French law in 1968 permitted the sale of
contraceptive devices, and in the 1970’s French feminists worked to
legalize abortion. In 1979, a new French law legalized abortion. Even in
Catholic countries, where the church remained strongly opposed to
abortion, legislation allowing contraception and abortion was
passed in the 1970’s and 1980’s.
11.13.9. Women Activists:
As more women became activists, they a lso became involved in new
issues. In the 1980’s and 1990’s, women faculty in universities
concentrated on developing new cultural attitudes through the new
academic field of women's studies. Courses in women's studies,
which stressed the role and contributions of women in history, came
to be introduced in both American and European colleges and
universities.
Other women began to try to affect the political envi- ronment by
allying with the anti-nuclear movement. In 1981, a group of women
protested American nuclear missiles in Britain by chaining themselves
to the fence of an American military base. Thousands more joined
in creating a peace camp around the military compound. Enthusiasm
ran high; one participant said: "I'll never forget that feeling; it'll live with
me forever . . . As we walked round, and we clasped hands. . . it was
for women; it was for peace; it was for the world."
Some women joined the ecological movement. As one German writer
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146 must give birth to children, willingly or unwillingly, in this polluted
world of o urs." Especially prominent was the number of women
members in the Green Party in Germany, which supported
environmental issues and elected forty-two delegates to the West German
parliament in 1987.
Women in the West have also reached out to work with women from
the rest of the world in international conferences to change the conditions
of their lives. Between 1975 and 1995, the United Nations held
conferences in Mexico City, Copenhagen, Nairobi, and Beijing. These
meetings made clear the d ifferences between women from Western and
non-Western countries. Whereas women from Western countries spoke
about political, economic, cultural, and sexual rights, women from
developing countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia focused their
attention on bringing an end to the violence, hunge r, and disease that
haunt their lives. Despite these differences, these meetings made it clear
how women in both developed and developing nations were organizing to
make people aware of women’s issues.
11.13.10.Gains of the Women’s Liberation Movement:
The women's rights movement has made many gains in its history. In
more than ninety per cent of nations, women can vote and hold public
office. Aided by the United Nations Commission on the Status of
Women (1946), women in many countries have gained legal rights
and fuller access to education and the professions. However, the
advent of industrialization in non- Western nations destroyed some
traditional economic arrangements that favoured women and made
underpaid factory labour the only work available to them, while the
recent resurgence of religious fundamentalism, for example, in the
Islamic world, has sometimes brought about the re-emergence of
oppressive practices towards women. Women's rights movements in
the developing world have aimed to improve the social status of women
by campaigning against divisive legal and social codes such as purdah
(seclusion of women) in Arab and Islamic societies, and the dowry
system in India, and by opposing female genital mutilation
(circumcision). In Africa, women produce more than two-thirds of the
continent’s food, and steps are being taken to help women gain greater
control over agricultural technology. In 1975 the United Nations
launched a Decade for Women programme, and major conferences
were held in 1975, 1980, and 1985, and again in 1995. The 1995
conference, held in Beijing, China, centred on human- rights issues
relating specifically to women.
In the 1990’s, the women's movement has been examining the possibility
that Western society is demonstrating a so-called post-feminist
backlash against legal and social gains made by women. Books such as
The Beauty Myth (1990) by Naomi Wolf and Backlash (1992) by
Susan Faludi have concentrated on how gains previously made as a result
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147 opposition, especially in the United States, to abortion, is sighted as one
of the examples of this argument.
11.14 SUMMARY
There is a widespread belief in the world today that twentieth
century society, based on increasing use of and reliance on technology,
will soon begin to collapse under its own weight as the ea rth’s
resources, on which the human beings depend to maintain the
immensely complex infrastructure of tod ay, become exhausted by human
beings’ insatiable greed. The industrialized nations that are mo re and
more obsessed with the creation of wealth and profit pay little attention
to the side effects that such developmental strategies have been
producing.
The contem porary world is faced with two main type of problems:
(1) Industrialization and development has been exhausting the
world’s resources of raw ma terials and fuel such as oil, coal and gas,
and (2) Industrialization has been causing massive pollution of the
environment, and if this continues, it would likely to severely damage
the ecosystem. This is the system by which living creatures, trees and
plants function within the environment and are all interconne cted.
In June 1992 the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development, commonly known as the Earth Summit was convened for
twelve days on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was attended by
delegates from 178 countries including many prime ministers and
presidents, making it the largest conference ever held.
Women's movement campaigned to obtain political, social, and econom ic
equality between women and men. Among the equal rights campaigned
for are control of personal property, equality of oppo rtunity in education
and employment, equal suffrage, that is, the right to vote, and
equa lity of sexual freedom. Of great importance to the emergence of
the postwar women's liberation movement was the work of Simone de
Beauvoir (1908-1986). Another important influence in the growth of
a women's movement in the 1960’s came from Betty Friedan.
Friedan, who was a journalist and the mother of three children, grew
increasingly uneasy with her attempt to fulfill the traditional role of the
‘ideal housewife and mother’. As more women became activists, they
also became involved in new issues. In the 1980’s and 1990’s, women
faculty in universities concentrated on d eveloping new cultural
attitudes through the new academic field of women's studies.
In this way, the Sustainable Development a nd Womens’ Liberation
Movement bore the fruit in its course.


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148 11.15 Q UESTIONS
1. Analyze the causes of the exhaustion of the resources in the
contemporary world.
2. Discuss the various factors that have led to the degradation of the
environment in the contemporary world.
3. Trace the various stages in the women’s liberation movement since
1945.
4. Examine the women’s liberation movement in the contemporary
world.
5. Write short notes on the following:
a) Greenhouse effect and global warming
b) Deforestation
c) Nuclear radiation
d) Earth Su mmit (1992)
e) Simone de Behavior
f) Betty Friedan
11.16 REFERENCES

1. Carr E.H., International Relations between the Two World Wars,
Macmillan -Palgrave, 1985
2. Conwell R.D., World History in the Twentieth Century, Longman,
Gordon, 1969.
3. Davis H.A., An Outline of the World, OUP, New Delhi, 1968
4. Fay S.B., Origins of the World Wars, New York, 1991.
5. Gokhale B.K., History of the Modern World, Himalaya Publishing
House, Bombay,1982.
6. John Lewis, Gaddis, We Now Kno w, Rethinking the Cold War
History, OUP, 1997.
7. Lorenz Luthi, The Sino -Soviet Split, The Cold War in the Communist
World, Princeton University Press,2008
8. Odd Arne, Westad, The Global Cold War, The Third World
Interventions and the Making of our Times, CUP, 2007.
9. Palmer R.R. & Collon, Joel, History the Modern World, London,
1964.
10. Raymon Gorthoff, The Great Transition: American Soviet Relations
and the End of the Cold War, Brookings, Washington, 1994.
11. Smith Joseph, The Cold war: 1945 -1965, Blackwell Publishing
House, Cambridge,1989.
12. Tony Judt, Post War: A History of Europe since 1945, Penguin,
2006. munotes.in

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Sustainable Development And
Women’s Liberation
Movement
149 13. Weech W.N., History of the World (Third Edition), Asia Publishing
House, Bombay,1961.
14. Thompson David, The World History:1914 -1968, OUP, 1968
15. Taylor A.J.P., The Str uggle for Mastery in Europe, OUP,
London,1977.


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