Chapter Introduction

THE world has been completely transformed during the years since the end of the Second World
War in 1945. Its political map has also changed. The influence and the dominations which a few
European imperialist powers exercised in the prewar years became things of the past. A large
number of nations in Asia and Africa which had been suffering under colonial rule emerged as
independent nations Together, they have become a major factor in the world. The United States
had emerged as the biggest power after the First World War. The Soviet Union also emerged as a
mighty power after the Second World War, in spite of the terrible devastation that she suffered
during the war Before the Second World War, the Soviet Union was the only country. In the
world which professed socialism. After the war, a number of other countries joined her.
The two world wars, fought within a brief period of about 30 years, resulted in the loss of
millions of human lives. The danger of a new world war which would destroy human life
altogether created a new awareness of the need for establishing lasting peace. Peoples and
nations made efforts in this direction by promoting mutual relations based on friendship and
cooperation. They also created many new institutions and agencies for the purpose.
However, in spite of these efforts the period after the Second World War has been full of stresses
and strains. It has seen many conflicts and wars in which hundreds of thousands of people have
been killed even though the world has escaped a large-scale conflagration.
Since the late 1980s, further changes have taken place m some parts of the world. Some of the
consequences of the Second World War and, in some cases, even of the First World War have
been undone during the past five years. During this period, some of the issues which dominated
the world and some of the forces and factors which shaped the world for about four decades after
the war have become irrelevant. The threat of communism which had been a major factor in
determining the policies of many countries since the Russian Revolution and, even more so, after
the Second World War is no longer an issue. Communist regimes in the Soviet Union and in the
countries of Eastern Europe have collapsed. The Soviet Union has broken up into 15 independent
States. Many other changes have taken place the world over and it is possible to think of the
period from the late 19805 as the one marking the beginning of a new phase in the history of the
world after the Second World War.

Second World War: Immediate

Consequences
During the war, the major Allied nations had held many conferences and had issued declarations
stating the principles which would form the bases of peace. The first major declaration had been
issued by Britain and USA in 1941. It stated that Britain and the United States would not seek
any territory. It also supported the right of every people to have the form of government of their
choice. Early in 1942 was issued, as mentioned before, the United Nations Declaration. This
Declaration supported the one issued by Britain and USA earlier. Another declaration stated that

all the Chinese territories taken by Japan would be restored to her. In 1943, Churchill, Roosevelt
and Stalin, leaders of Britain, USA and the Soviet Union, respectively, met at Teheran. They
declared their resolve to banish the scourge and terror of war and to create a world in which all
peoples may live free lives untouched by tyranny and according to their varying desires and their
own consciences.

Yalta Conference
Early in 1945 when Germany was on the verge of defeat, the heads of the three big nations met
at Yalta in the Soviet Union. Here they agreed on a number of issues such as how to deal with
Germany and the non-German territories which had been liberated from Germany.
The Yalta Conference also took the decision to set up a new organisation to replace the League of
Nations.

Birth of UNITED NATIONS

Subsequently, a conference was held at San Francisco, USA, from 25 April 1945. The conference
was attended by 50 nations. On 26 June the conference adopted the United Nations Charter under
which a new world organization was set up This was the United Nations Organization which was
based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all peace loving states The purposes of the
United Nations Organization were to maintain international peace and security, to develop
friendly relations among nations and to achieve international cooperation in solving international
problems of an economic, social, cultural or humanitarian character
To carry out these objectives, six principal organs of the United Nations Organization (now
referred to as the United Nations or simply the UN) were created these were:
1. the General Assembly composed of all the members of the UN;
2. the Security Council composed of five permanent members, viz. the United States, the
Soviet Union, Britain, France and China, and six others to be elected by the General
Assembly for a period of two years The Security Council was made primarily responsible
for the maintenance of peace and security (The number of nonpermanent members was
subsequently raised from six to ten );
3. the Economic and Social Council of 18 members to promote respect for, and observance
of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all
4. the Trusteeship Council
5. the International Court of Justice
6. the Secretariat with a Secretary General appointed by the General Assembly as its head.

A number of specialized agencies of the UN were also created such as the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Health Organization
(WHO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Labour Organization (ILO)
(this body had been created after the First World War), etc. It was realized that unless all the
permanent members of the Security Council, who were at that time the biggest powers, were
agreed, no course of action for the maintenance of peace and security could be effective. Hence it
was provided that any decision of the Security Council must have the support of all five
permanent members. The setting up of the United Nations was one of the most important
consequences of the Second World War.
btw, to see the complete list of various UN organs, download following PDF file
http://www.un.org/en/aboutun/structure/pdfs/un-system-chart-color-sm.pdf

The Potsdam Conference

Another major conference of the heads of government of Britain, the United States and the
Soviet Union was held at Potsdam (near Berlin) from 17 July to 2 August 1945. The declaration
issued by this conference mentioned the main aims of the Allies with regard to Germany which
had already surrendered Germany had been partitioned into four zones, each under the control of
Britain, France, the United States and the Soviet Union. The declaration stated that the aim of the
Allied occupation of Germany was to bring about the complete disarmament of Germany, to
destroy the Nazi Party and to prepare conditions for the creation of a democratic Germany. It was
also decided to set up an international tribunal to bring to trial persons who had committed
crimes against humanity. Decisions were also taken regarding the border between Poland and
Germany, and the transfer of the northern part of East Prussia to the Soviet Union and the
southern part to Poland. The various conferences held during and after the war influenced the
political developments after the war.

Europe after the Second World War

Many countries in Europe had been liberated from German occupation by the Soviet armies.
These countries were Poland, Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia.
The Communist parties and other antifascist parties in these countries had played an important
role in the struggle against German occupation of these countries. By the end of 1948, the
governments of all these countries were dominated by the Communist parties. In Albania and
Yugoslavia, the struggle against German occupation had, been led by the Communist parties of
these countries. In these countries too Communist parties formed the governments. The
establishment of the Communist parties rule in these countries was a significant development
after the Second World War Up to the Second World War, the only country in Europe, and the
world, ruled by a Communist party was the Soviet Union. Now a large number of European
countries were ruled by Communist parties. In these countries, other political parties were either

not allowed to exist or had only a nominal presence. The political power was exclusively in the
hands of the Communist parties.
The presence of Soviet troops in these countries ensured the continuance of the Communist
parties monopoly of power. Sometimes, the Soviet troops were used to suppress movements
which opposed the domination of Communist parties. Within the Communist parties themselves,
differences over policies were not allowed and the power within, the Communist parties became
concentrated in a few hands. As in the Soviet Union, dissent even within the ruling parties was
not tolerated and many veteran communists were shot or sentenced to long periods of
imprisonment after fake trials. Sometimes these countries were branded as satellites of the
Soviet Union. The Communist party of Yugoslavia was the only ruling Communist Party which
refused to be dominated by the Soviet Union. But at the same time, the government of
Yugoslavia did not allow other political parties to function.

GERMANY: partition
Within a little more than four years after the end of the Second World War, certain developments
took place which resulted in the division of Germany The four powers Britain, France, the
United States and the Soviet Union which were in occupation of four different zones of Germany
followed different policies in dealing with the social, economic and political problems in their
respective zones. In the British, French and American zones, the economic development
continued on capitalist lines. The two major parties in these zone, were the Christian Democratic
Party and the Social Democratic Party. In 1948, Brain, France and the United States decided to
merge the three zones under their control which were in West Germany and form a separate
government there. In September 1949 these zones were united and a separate state in West
Germany called the Federal Republic of Germany with its capital at Bonn came into being.
In East Germany which was under Soviet occupation, the policies pursued were different from
those that had been followed in the western zones. Lands were distributed among peasants and
all the major industries were taken over from private hands and made the property of the state. In
1946 the Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party in the Soviet zone of Germany
merged to form the Socialist Unity Party of Germany. In October 1949, the Soviet zone became a
separate state called the German Democratic Republic. The Socialist Unity Party of Germany
became the ruling party in the German Democratic Republic. Thus Germany came to be divided
into two states, each following its own pattern of social, economic and political development.
The division of Germany into two independent states, which lasted for over four decades, was a
major consequence of the Second World War.

GERMANY: Fall of Berlin Wall

The division of Germany had been a source of tension in Europe and a major factor in the Cold
War. East Berlin was the capital of East Germany (German Democratic Republic or GDR) while
West Berlin which was located within the GDR territory was treated as a part of West Germany
(Federal Republic of Germany or FRG).

In 1961, the GDR authorities built a wall between East and West Berlin to prevent East Germans
from going away to West Berlin.

The building of the wall became a further source of tension in Europe. The process of ending
communist rule in GDR and of the reunification of Germany began in 1989 when the Berlin Wall
was opened and political parties which were outside the control of the communist party (called
the Socialist Unity Party) were allowed to function. In early 1990 elections were held and a new
government came to power. On 3 October 1990, the division of Germany was ended and a
unified Germany again emerged.

France and Italy: rise of communism

In other parts of Europe also, important political changes took place. The Communist parties of
France and Italy had played an important role in the resistance movements in these countries.
They had emerged as powerful parties at the end of the war.

France
In the first government formed in France after the war, the Communist Party of France was
represented. However, it quit the government in 1947 because of differences over economic
policies and over the question of independence for the countries comprising IndoChina. The
French government was trying to reestablish its rule over IndoChina which the Communist Party
opposed.

Italy
In the Italian government, the Communist Party and the Socialist Party were an important force.
In 1946, monarchy was abolished and Italy became a republic. In 1947 the Christian Democratic
Party came to power and the Communist Party quit the government. However, even though the
Communist and Socialist parties were out of the government in these two countries, they were

together a powerful force in the politics of the two countries. For many years, in both these
countries, the socialist parties became the ruling parties either alone or in alliance with other
parties The Communist parties, however, were almost throughout the period after 1948 kept out
of the government. In recent years, while the Italian Communist Party it is now called the
Democratic Party of the Lefthas remained a powerful force, the influence of the French
Communist Party has declined

Britain: Rise of Labour Party

In Britain, the elections were held in July 1945. The Conservative Party whose leader Winston
Churchill had been the Prime Minister during the war lost and the Labour Party came to power.
India won her independence during this period. During the Labour Partys rule many significant
changes took place in the economy of the country. Many important industries such as coal mines
and railways were nationalized. Steps were taken to provide social security to the people, and to
build a welfare state in Britain. In 1951, the Conservative Party was returned to power and the
Labour Party became the ruling party in 1964. Thus, neither of these parties remained in power
for long and both of the parties were more or less equally matched. Only in recent years, there
seems to have been a decline in the influence of the Labour Party.
The political system in most countries of Western Europe was based on the parliamentary form
of government. Their economies had suffered a serious setback, and it affected their international
position. Gradually through their own efforts and with massive American aid, these countries
were soon on the way to rebuild their economies However, the domination that these countries
exercised over the world before the First World War and to a lesser extent after that had declined.
The period after the Second World War saw the rapid decline of their empires.

Eastern Europe

Many changes of great historical importance have taken place in the Soviet Union and in
countries of Eastern and Central Europe. The most significant of these has been the collapse of
the Soviet Union and the ending of the communist regimes there and in other countries of
Europe. In 1956, three years after the death of Stalin, the Communist Party of Soviet Union had
denounced the excesses and crimes committed by Stalin. From 1985, many important reforms
began to be introduced m the political system of the Soviet Union with a view to promoting
political democracy. There was free and open discussion on every issue and curbs on the freedom
of thought and expression were lifted.
Reforms in economy were also initiated to end the stagnation that had set in and to improve the
living conditions of the people. The importance of these reforms was recognized the world over,
Two Russian words were used to describe these reforms:
perestroika Restructuring
glasnost
openness
The hold of the Communist Party over the political life of the country was loosened and other
political parties were allowed to function.

Fall of USSR
In the meantime, there was a demand for greater autonomy by the republics which constituted
the Soviet Union. Some republics wanted to become independent. Attempts were made to frame
a new treaty which would provide greater autonomy to the republics and at the same time
preserve the Union However, in August 1991, there was an attempt to stage a coup by some
leaders of the Communist Party. Though the coup collapsed, the Soviet Union began to break up.
Many republics declared their independence. On 25 December 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev, who
was the President of the Soviet Union during this period and had initiated the reforms mentioned
earlier, resigned and the Soviet Union formally ceased to exist. In place of the Soviet Union
which had been a major influence on world historical development for about seven decades,
there emerged 15 independent republics. Though the rule of the communist par ties has ended in
all these republics, many of them are faced with serious political and economic problems. There
are also many problems between the republics although 12 of them have formed a loose
federation called the Commonwealth of Independent States. However, the names of republics
have changed. The new names are
New Name
1. Russian Federation
2. Kazakhstan
3. Estonia
4. Latvia
5. Lithuania
6. Ukraine
7. Moldova
8. Armenia
9. Georgia
10. Azerbaijan
11. Turkmenistan
12. Uzbekistan
13. Tajikistan
14. Belarus
15. Kyrgyzstan

Old Name
RSFSR
Kazakh SSR
Estonian SSR
Latvian SSR
Lithuanian SSR
Ukrainian SSR
Moldavian SSR
Armenian SSR
Georgian SSR
Azerbaijan SSR
Turkmen SSR
Uzbek SSR
Tajik SSR
Byelorussian SSR
Krighiz SSR

Equally important changes have taken place m those countries of Europe which were ruled by
communist parties. There had been outbursts of resentment in some of these countries against
Soviet control and against the Soviet supported communist governments since the 1950s. There
were occasions when Soviet troops were used to suppress the unrest in these countries. The
changes in the Soviet Union affected these countries directly. There were mass upheavals in all
these countries in the late 1980s. By 1989, Soviet control over them came to an end. The
monopoly of political power enjoyed by the communist parties in these countries was ended.
There were free elections and new governments were formed. It is notable that these far reaching

changes took place in most countries without the use of violence. In some countries, leaders who
had misused their position for personal gain and power were tried and jailed. Many communist
parties no longer ruling parties in their countries expelled some of their former leaders who
had committed excesses when they were in power. In one country, Rumania, the Communist
Party leader who for about 15 years had been the virtual dictator was executed. The Warsaw
Pact, the military alliance which was headed by the Soviet Union and of which the communist
ruled states of Europe were members, was dissolved in 1991.

Retreat of Socialism
The collapse of the Soviet Union and of communist governments in Europe has been a major
factor in ending the Cold War. It has also been seen as marking the retreat of socialism. It can,
however, be said that the system which was built in these countries was only a distorted version
of the socialist ideal and that social justice which was fundamental to that ideal has become a
part of the consciousness of the people the world over.
The changes in Eastern and Central Europe, as in the former Soviet Union, have not been
without problems, both economic and political.

Czechoslovakia had emerged as a new state after the First World War has broken up into
two independent states the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic.
In unified Germany, there have been many instances of violence by neo Nazis against
immigrants.

Bosnia
Developments of a tragic nature have taken place in Yugoslavia in recent years. Yugoslavia
which had emerged as a state after the First World War was ruled by a communist party since the
end of the Second World War. The communist government of Yugoslavia had kept itself free
from the Soviet Union almost from the beginning. Yugoslavia was one of the founders of the
Non-Aligned Movement. She was a federation of six republics. In four of these republics, the
rule of the communist parties came to an end in 1990. By 1992, Yugoslavia broke up into five
independent states the new state of Yugoslavia comprising
1. Serbia and Montenegro,
2. Croatia,
3. Macedonia,
4. Slovenia
5. Bosnia-Herzegovina
However, the problems of Yugoslavia did not end with its breakup. A large party of BosniaHerzegovina is under the control of Serbians and Croats. A bloody war has been going on

between Bosnian Croats, Bosnian Serbs and Bosnian Muslims, particularly between the latter
two, causing terrible sufferings to the people.
While these developments have taken place in one part of Europe, in another, Western, part
(including Germany), there had been a move towards European unity It consists in creating a
Europe without borders, with a common currency and unrestricted movement of goods and
people and ultimately a political union with a common parliament. Some steps have already been
taken in this direction. It may, however, be remembered that the concept of European unity at
present excludes all East European countries and some others.
In the next parts, well see
2. cold war, formation of military blocs (NATO, CEATO etc) and NAM
3. Independence of Asian countries after WW2 + Korean and Vietnam War.
4. Independence of Africa