NCERT Class 12 Political Science Chapter 2 The End of Bipolarity

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NCERT Class 12 Political Science Chapter 2 The End of Bipolarity

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The End of Bipolarity

Chapter: 2

POLITICAL SCIENCE

PART – I: CONTEMPORARY WORLD POLITICS

TEXTBOOK QUESTION ANSWER

Q. 1. Which among the following statements that describe the nature of Soviet economy is wrong?

(a) Socialism was the dominant ideology.

(b) State ownership/ control existed over the factors of production.

(c) People enjoyed economic freedom.

(d) Every aspect of the economy was planned and controlled by the State.

Ans. (c) People enjoyed economic freedom.

Q. 2. Arrange the following in chronological order:

(a) Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan.

Ans. Russian Revolution.

(b) Fall of the Berlin Wall.

Ans. Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan.

(c) Disintegration of the Soviet Union.

Ans. Fall of the Berlin Wall.

(d) Russian Revolution.

Ans. Disintegration of the Soviet Union.

Q. 3. Which among the following is not an outcome of the disintegration of the USSR?

(a) End of the ideological war between the USA and USSR.

(b) Birth of CIS.

(c) Change in the balance of power in the world order.

(d) Crisis in the Middle East.

Ans. (d) Crisis in the Middle East.

Q. 4. Match the following:

Ans. 

Q. 5. Fill in the blanks.

(a) The Soviet political system was based on __________ ideology.

Ans. Socialist.

(b) __________ was the military alliance started by the USSR.

Ans. Warsaw Pact.

(c) __________ party dominated the Soviet Union’s political system.

Ans. The Communist.

(d) __________ initiated the reforms in the USSR in 1985.

Ans. Mikhail Gorbachev

(e) The fall of the __________ symbolised the end of the Cold War.

Ans. Berlin Wall.

Q. 6. Mention any three features that distinguish the Soviet economy from that of a capitalist country like the US.

Ans. (i) Soviet economy was socialist economy while US economy is a capitalist economy.

(ii) In Soviet economy property was under state’s control while it was under control of individual in US economy.

(iii) In USSR, it was state economy while in US, it was market economy set by demand and supply forces.

Q. 7. What were the factors that forced Gorbachev to initiate the reforms in the USSR?

Ans. (i) Excessive bureaucratic control or red-tapism.

(ii) Exchequer was depleted and inflation was soaring.

(iii) Single party dominance had become arbitrary.

Q. 8. What were the major consequences of the disintegration of the Soviet Union for countries like India?

Ans. (i) Relations of these countries continued with republics so disintegrated and join CIS with Russia as successor of USSR in UN.

(ii) Globalisation spree has made all these independent states open to countries like India.

(iii) Central Asian Republics comprising states like Tajakistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia have geographical proximity to China, Afghanistan, Pakistan and countries in West Asia. There have been signed bilateral agreement for trade in hydrocarbon resources.

(iv) These countries and India have a vision of multipolar world order in terms of coexistence of several powers, collective security and settlement of international conflicts. They want to organise a continental regional power centre for Asian countries in line with EU and ASEAN.

(v) India and Russia have signed more than 80 bilateral agreements in 2001 known as Indo- Russian strategic agreements. An agreement in the use of outer space for peaceful purposes and a MoU in standardisation, meterology, evaluation of conformity in quality were signed with Ukraine in 2005. Similarly, MoU for cooperation in the energy sector, partnership agreement between GAIL (India) Ltd. and Uzbekneftegaz, MoU for cooperation in the mining sector, agreement on exemption of visa for diplomatic and official passport holders and simplified visa for travel of businessmen and tourists have been signed between India and Uzbekistan.

(vi) Indian films are widely propagated and liked by nationals of all erstwhile fifteen republics including Russia.

Q. 9. What was Shock Therapy? Was this the best way to make a transition from communism to capitalism?

Ans. The model of transition in Russia, Central Asia and East Europe that was influenced by the World Bank and the IMF came to be known as ‘shock therapy’. It was varied in intensity and speed amongst the former Second World countries, but its direction and features were quite similar.

I cannot see it best in view of consequent imbroglio, but there were no other options than to bear the pain of shock therapy. Very compulsion can be described as under:

(i) Capitalist economy was just opposite to egalitarian society with so large diversities in USSR.

(ii) In socialist economy, all assets and properties were under the management of the state while capitalist economy had given that power to market forces i.e. demand and supply of commodities. It stretched the gap between rich and poor.

(iii) As the Union machinery was failed, garage sale had become the only option.

(iv) Being a union of 15 republics, it had become difficult for USSR to adopt gradual steps towards adoption of capitalist economy like China.

(v) Gorbachev’s reforms were premature or untimely to the prevailing circumstances in USSR. Republics should have discussed thoroughly the consequences of that transition.

Q. 10. Write an essay for or against the following proposition: “With the disintegration of the Second World, India should change its foreign policy and focus more on friendship with the US rather than with traditional friends like Russia”.

Ans. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, India should change its foreign policy and focus more on friendship with the US rather than with traditional friends like Russia.

Arguments in favour:

(i) India and America are the two biggest democracies of the world. The democratic system of the government has been working successfully in both the countries.

(ii) America has provided substantial economic assistance to India from time-to-time. This was used to implement the Five Year Plans and to set up many small and big industries in India.

(iii) In October 1962, when China attacked India, the United States helped India by supplying the latest military weapons and other artillery. The leaders of both the countries have been visiting each other’s countries time to time. The visit of the leaders of both the countries have proved helpful to understand each other’s views.

(iv) Tarapur atomic power plant was set up in India with collaboration with America. For this power plant, America has been continuously supplying uranium to India, which is used as a raw-material there.

Arguments in against:

(i) American attitude on Kashmir has never been appreciated in India. Moreover, India has recognised the Communist Government of China soon after the revolution in 1949, but the United States did not do so till 1971.

(ii) American military assistance to Pakistan has been a constant source of tension between India and the USA.

(iii) America after the nuclear explorations by India, refused to provide the cryogenic rockets when India needed it for her space programme.

(iv) The Indian military gets most of its hardware from Russia and not from America.

Q. 11. Which among the following statements about hegemony is incorrect?

(a) The word implies the leadership or predominance of one State.

(b) It was used to denote the predominance of Athens in the ancient Greece.

(c) The country having hegemonic position will possess unchallenged military power.

(d) Hegemonic position is fixed. Once a hegemon, always a hegemon.

Ans. (d) Hegemonic position is fixed. Once a hegemon, always a hegemon.

Q. 12. Which among the following statements is wrong about the contemporary world order?

(a) There is an absence of world government, which could regulate the State’s behaviour.

(b) The US is the predominant player in world affairs.

(c) States are using force against one another.

(d) States, which violate international law, are severely punished by the UN.

Ans. (a) There is an absence of world government, which could regulate the State’s behaviour.

Q. 13. Which among the following statements is wrong with regard to ‘Operation Iraqi Freedom’?

(a) More than forty countries joined in the US-led coalition of the willing to invade Iraq.

(b) The reason given for invading Iraq was to prevent it from developing weapons of mass destruction.

(c) The action was taken with the prior approval of the UN.

(d) The US-led coalition did not face major resistance from Iraqi forces.

Ans. (c) The action was taken with the prior approval of the UN.

Q. 14. Give an example each of the three kinds of hegemony that are dealt within the chapter. Do not cite examples that are in the chapter.

Or

Explain any two types of hegemony and write their one example of each.

Ans. Example of hegemony as a soft power: Praveen is doing very well in his studies at a high school in Lucknow. He is the least interested in joining the army and wants to become a musician. However, his father has engaged as a teacher who could train how in marshal art, judo-karate and insist how to join gymnasium. He hopes his son may join in future central command of USA which has bases in Kazakhstan.

Example of structural hegemony: Arjun, a talented young artist lives in Ranchi, India. His paintings are heavily influenced by traditional tribal art forms. He wants to go to art school and later open his own studio. However, his father wants him to study for an MBA and then join the family business. The business is not doing too well; Arjun’s father feels that with an MBA degree, Arjun will be able to make the family business profitable.

Example of cultural hegemony: Surekha is a girl studying in D.P.S. in Delhi. She is from a middle class traditional family. Her parents persuade her not to wear blue jean especially when they visit at temples but she says her friends will laugh at her in her tradition attire of Salwar and Kameez.

Q. 15. Mention three ways in which US dominance since the Cold War different from its position as a superpower during the Cold War.

Ans. We can discuss this two type interlocked dominance and position as a super power of USA in the following ways:

(i) Dominance since the Cold War:

(a) Competition, the tension and a series of confrontation between the USA and USSR. Here the USA made a show of her power and tried to knock down USSR’s initiatives e.g. Cuban Missile Crisis, Berlin Blockade, intervention in Korean War in 1950-53 and invasion in Vietnam.

(b) Cryptic foreign policy: e.g. keeping USSR in dark by doing espionage on Indo-USSR relations through secret alliance with China, signing of the Baghdad Pact (CENTO), Wavel Plan for Germany in 1918 but soon withdrawal, taking benefit of internal unrest in Yugoslavia and stationing of a NATO force in Kosovo, one of the province in Yugoslavia.

(c) Strong-hold in Economy: e.g. initiative to create Bretton Woods twin (viz. IMF and World Bank), control on sea-lanes of communications (SLOCs), bring about WTO and get patented commodities/products all over the world.

(ii) As super power during the Cold War: These are described as USA’s 

(a) Hegemony as hard power.

(b) Hegemony as structural power and 

(c) Hegemony as soft power.

Difference: Dominance is referred to as USA’s cryptric foreign policy consisting of her intervention in internal affairs of other countries in the world, reinforcement of NATO and influence over developed countries while as super power, her supply of warfare, financial aid to one out of two countries involved in war (e.g. India vs. Pakistan), establishment of military base in all over the world and stronghold in UNO affairs.

Q. 6. Match the following:

Ans. 

Q. 7. What are the constraints on American hegemony today? Which one of these do you expect to get more important in the future?

Ans. There are three constraints on American power. The first constraint is the institutional architecture of the American state itself. It is a system of division of powers between the three branches of government i.e. legislature, executive and judiciary. Legislative and judiciary branches place significant brake upon the unrestrained exercise of America’s military power by the executive branch. The second constraint on American power is domestic in nature and stems from the open nature of American society. The third constraint on American power is the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

I expect the third constraint on American power would get more importance in the future. North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is the only one organisation in the international system that could possibly moderate the exercise of American power because it has strong hold on US market economy.

Q. 8. Read the three extracts in the chapter from the Lok Sabha debate on the Indo-US deal. Develop any one of these into a full speech defending a certain position on Indo-US relations.

Ans. I agree with the position taken by Dr. Manmohan Singh, member of the Congress Party. It is a fact that the policy of liberalisation and globalisation has made the country an attractive economic partner for a number of countries including the US. It is an historic opportunity for India to take advantage of US hegemony and the mutual convergences to establish the best possible options for itself. We should not oppose the US because that will harm us in the future. On the other hand, we should maintain good relations with the US. We should not forget that the US absorbs 65 percent of India’s total exports in the software sector. About 300,000 Indians work in the Silicon Valley. All this is beneficial for the Indians. Thus, India should not oppose the US and should maintain good relations in this age of liberalisation and globalisation.

Q. 9. “If big and resourceful states cannot resist the US hegemony, it is unrealistic to expect much smaller and weaker non-state actors to offer any resistance”. Examine this proposition and give your opinion.

Ans. I am not agree to this statement because these are people (not states or institutions) understood as progenitor of democracy. Hence, in my opinion, non-state actors or NGOs, pressure groups and interest groups of people, if desire and resolve, can bridle the US hegemony. Had the differences and discrimination erased and global consciousness of co-existence and cooperation restored in people of all nations in the world, US hegemony can never cause any pains to them. It will manifest in a combination of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), social movements and public opinion. It may arise from sections of the media and intellectuals, artists and writers. These various actors will form links across national boundaries and challenge US hegemony.