TN History Textbook: World Today | Old & New NCERTs for IAS Preparation (Must Read) - UPSC PDF Download

 Page 1


361 360
Domestically, Gorbachev implemented economic reforms    that
he hoped would improve living standards and worker productivity as
part of his Perestroika program. This new Economic Policy
permitted private ownership.
All these reforms led to revolutionary changes in the U.S.S.R.
On 8
th
 December 1991, the leaders of the Russian, Ukrainian, and
Byelorussian republics issued a declaration that the Soviet Union was
dissolved and replaced by the Commonwealth of Independent States
(CIS). Gorbachev became president without a country. On 25
th
December 1991, he resigned as president of the U.S.S.R. and returned
the powers of his office over to Boris Yeltsin. The next day, the
Supreme Soviet voted to dissolve itself and repealed the declaration
written in 1922 that had officially established the U.S.S.R. Thus, the
collapse of the Soviet Union took place. 
German Reunification
 After the Second World War, Germany was divided into two
separate nations. East Germany was fully under the control of the
U.S.S.R. West Germany was supported by the U.S.A. and her allies.
A wall was erected across Berlin to separate these two German
territories. It was the famous Berlin Wall. But with the collapse of
U.SS.R, the German reunification took place on October 3, 1990.
The areas of the former German Democratic Republic (East
Germany) were incorporated into the Federal Republic of Germany
[FRG] (West Germany). After the GDR’s first free elections on 18
th
March 1990, negotiations between the GDR and FRG culminated in
a Unification Treaty.
Nuclear Disarmament
In the history of warfare, nuclear weapons have been used
only twice on 6
th
 and 8
th
  of August 1945, when the United States
dropped atom bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and
New World Order
The Year 1945 is a landmark in the history of modern world. It
marked the end of multi-polar world and balance of power. The World
saw the emergence of bi-polar world and the rise of Super Powers,
the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R. In the 1990s the collapse of Soviet
Union once again changed the existing world order. The New World
Order is witnessing a Uni-polar world, Globalisation, new technologies,
age of information and also global terrorism. 
Fall of Soviet Union
Mikhail Gorbachev became the President of
the Soviet Union in March 1985. He instituted a
number of political reforms under the name of
“glasnost”. However, Gorbachev’s relaxation of
censorship and attempts to create more political
openness had the unintended effect of re-awakening
long suppressed nationalist and anti-Russian feelings
in the Soviet Union’s constituent republics.
LESSON 35
WORLD TODAY
Learning Objectives
Students will acquire knowledge about
1. The emerging New World Order.
2. The Nuclear Disarmament.
3. The process of Globalization and the WTO.
4. The menace of Terrorism.
5. The environmental issues facing the world today.
MIKHAIL GORBACHEV 
Page 2


361 360
Domestically, Gorbachev implemented economic reforms    that
he hoped would improve living standards and worker productivity as
part of his Perestroika program. This new Economic Policy
permitted private ownership.
All these reforms led to revolutionary changes in the U.S.S.R.
On 8
th
 December 1991, the leaders of the Russian, Ukrainian, and
Byelorussian republics issued a declaration that the Soviet Union was
dissolved and replaced by the Commonwealth of Independent States
(CIS). Gorbachev became president without a country. On 25
th
December 1991, he resigned as president of the U.S.S.R. and returned
the powers of his office over to Boris Yeltsin. The next day, the
Supreme Soviet voted to dissolve itself and repealed the declaration
written in 1922 that had officially established the U.S.S.R. Thus, the
collapse of the Soviet Union took place. 
German Reunification
 After the Second World War, Germany was divided into two
separate nations. East Germany was fully under the control of the
U.S.S.R. West Germany was supported by the U.S.A. and her allies.
A wall was erected across Berlin to separate these two German
territories. It was the famous Berlin Wall. But with the collapse of
U.SS.R, the German reunification took place on October 3, 1990.
The areas of the former German Democratic Republic (East
Germany) were incorporated into the Federal Republic of Germany
[FRG] (West Germany). After the GDR’s first free elections on 18
th
March 1990, negotiations between the GDR and FRG culminated in
a Unification Treaty.
Nuclear Disarmament
In the history of warfare, nuclear weapons have been used
only twice on 6
th
 and 8
th
  of August 1945, when the United States
dropped atom bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and
New World Order
The Year 1945 is a landmark in the history of modern world. It
marked the end of multi-polar world and balance of power. The World
saw the emergence of bi-polar world and the rise of Super Powers,
the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R. In the 1990s the collapse of Soviet
Union once again changed the existing world order. The New World
Order is witnessing a Uni-polar world, Globalisation, new technologies,
age of information and also global terrorism. 
Fall of Soviet Union
Mikhail Gorbachev became the President of
the Soviet Union in March 1985. He instituted a
number of political reforms under the name of
“glasnost”. However, Gorbachev’s relaxation of
censorship and attempts to create more political
openness had the unintended effect of re-awakening
long suppressed nationalist and anti-Russian feelings
in the Soviet Union’s constituent republics.
LESSON 35
WORLD TODAY
Learning Objectives
Students will acquire knowledge about
1. The emerging New World Order.
2. The Nuclear Disarmament.
3. The process of Globalization and the WTO.
4. The menace of Terrorism.
5. The environmental issues facing the world today.
MIKHAIL GORBACHEV 
363 362
India and Globalization
The economic policy of India since 1991 proved to be a turning
point in the history of Indian economy. In 1991 Indian government
introduced a series of reforms to liberalize and globalize the Indian
economy. These economic reforms move towards the market economy
and globalization. These policies of economic reforms were intended
to integrate the Indian economy with the world economy.
World Trade Organization (WTO)
The origin of World Trade Organization could be traced from
the Bretton Woods Conference of 1944. In this conference, it
was proposed for the creation of an International Trade Organization
to establish rules and regulations for trade between countries. It finally
succeeded in creating the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade (GATT). Seven rounds of negotiations occurred under the
GATT. The eighth round - known as the Uruguay Round — which
began in 1986 and concluded in 1995 established the WTO. The main
aim of WTO is to increase international trade by promoting lower
trade barriers and providing a platform for the negotiation of trade.
The World Trade Organization sets the rules for the global
trading system and resolves disputes between its member states. The
WTO headquarter is  located in Geneva, Switzerland. There are 149
members in the organization with Vietnam set to join in January, 2007.
The General Council of the WTO is highest decision-making body.
This meets regularly to carry out the functions of the WTO.
One of the criticisms against the WTO is that it favours rich
countries and multinational corporations which affect the smaller
states. Another criticism is the introduction of Trade-Related Aspects
of the Intellectual Property Rights [TRIPs]  into the WTO rules and
regulations.
Nagasaki. Since then, nuclear weapons have been detonated on over
two thousand occasions for testing and demonstration purposes. The
countries known to have detonated such weapons are the United
States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, France, People’s Republic of
China, India, Pakistan, and North Korea.
In order to minimize the risk of future nuclear war the Non-
Proliferation Treaty (NPT) was proposed. The NPT is the most
extensive inspection and control system ever devised to prevent the
diversion of nuclear material form civilian nuclear programmes for
weapon purposes. The idea of Nuclear Weapon Free Zone (NWFZ)
was mooted to convince the countries refusing to join NPT club. The
concept of nuclear weapon free zone means that countries without
nuclear weapons should agree not to produce nuclear weapons and
declare their region free from nuclear weapons. It was followed by
the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) to tighten the control
over nuclear weapons programme. 
Globalisation
Globalisation has become an important issue in the national
and international economic field. Globalisation has assumed great
importance in the recent changes in global business environment.
Now business has global-orientation and the whole world has become
just like a global village. Globalisation implies integration of economy
of one nation with the rest of the world economy and liberalising the
rules and regulations for foreign investment in economy. Broadly
speaking the term Globalisation means integration of economies and
societies through cross-country flows of information, ideas,
technologies, goods, services, capital, finance and people. Cross
border integration can have several dimensions- cultural, social,
political and economic.
Page 3


361 360
Domestically, Gorbachev implemented economic reforms    that
he hoped would improve living standards and worker productivity as
part of his Perestroika program. This new Economic Policy
permitted private ownership.
All these reforms led to revolutionary changes in the U.S.S.R.
On 8
th
 December 1991, the leaders of the Russian, Ukrainian, and
Byelorussian republics issued a declaration that the Soviet Union was
dissolved and replaced by the Commonwealth of Independent States
(CIS). Gorbachev became president without a country. On 25
th
December 1991, he resigned as president of the U.S.S.R. and returned
the powers of his office over to Boris Yeltsin. The next day, the
Supreme Soviet voted to dissolve itself and repealed the declaration
written in 1922 that had officially established the U.S.S.R. Thus, the
collapse of the Soviet Union took place. 
German Reunification
 After the Second World War, Germany was divided into two
separate nations. East Germany was fully under the control of the
U.S.S.R. West Germany was supported by the U.S.A. and her allies.
A wall was erected across Berlin to separate these two German
territories. It was the famous Berlin Wall. But with the collapse of
U.SS.R, the German reunification took place on October 3, 1990.
The areas of the former German Democratic Republic (East
Germany) were incorporated into the Federal Republic of Germany
[FRG] (West Germany). After the GDR’s first free elections on 18
th
March 1990, negotiations between the GDR and FRG culminated in
a Unification Treaty.
Nuclear Disarmament
In the history of warfare, nuclear weapons have been used
only twice on 6
th
 and 8
th
  of August 1945, when the United States
dropped atom bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and
New World Order
The Year 1945 is a landmark in the history of modern world. It
marked the end of multi-polar world and balance of power. The World
saw the emergence of bi-polar world and the rise of Super Powers,
the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R. In the 1990s the collapse of Soviet
Union once again changed the existing world order. The New World
Order is witnessing a Uni-polar world, Globalisation, new technologies,
age of information and also global terrorism. 
Fall of Soviet Union
Mikhail Gorbachev became the President of
the Soviet Union in March 1985. He instituted a
number of political reforms under the name of
“glasnost”. However, Gorbachev’s relaxation of
censorship and attempts to create more political
openness had the unintended effect of re-awakening
long suppressed nationalist and anti-Russian feelings
in the Soviet Union’s constituent republics.
LESSON 35
WORLD TODAY
Learning Objectives
Students will acquire knowledge about
1. The emerging New World Order.
2. The Nuclear Disarmament.
3. The process of Globalization and the WTO.
4. The menace of Terrorism.
5. The environmental issues facing the world today.
MIKHAIL GORBACHEV 
363 362
India and Globalization
The economic policy of India since 1991 proved to be a turning
point in the history of Indian economy. In 1991 Indian government
introduced a series of reforms to liberalize and globalize the Indian
economy. These economic reforms move towards the market economy
and globalization. These policies of economic reforms were intended
to integrate the Indian economy with the world economy.
World Trade Organization (WTO)
The origin of World Trade Organization could be traced from
the Bretton Woods Conference of 1944. In this conference, it
was proposed for the creation of an International Trade Organization
to establish rules and regulations for trade between countries. It finally
succeeded in creating the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade (GATT). Seven rounds of negotiations occurred under the
GATT. The eighth round - known as the Uruguay Round — which
began in 1986 and concluded in 1995 established the WTO. The main
aim of WTO is to increase international trade by promoting lower
trade barriers and providing a platform for the negotiation of trade.
The World Trade Organization sets the rules for the global
trading system and resolves disputes between its member states. The
WTO headquarter is  located in Geneva, Switzerland. There are 149
members in the organization with Vietnam set to join in January, 2007.
The General Council of the WTO is highest decision-making body.
This meets regularly to carry out the functions of the WTO.
One of the criticisms against the WTO is that it favours rich
countries and multinational corporations which affect the smaller
states. Another criticism is the introduction of Trade-Related Aspects
of the Intellectual Property Rights [TRIPs]  into the WTO rules and
regulations.
Nagasaki. Since then, nuclear weapons have been detonated on over
two thousand occasions for testing and demonstration purposes. The
countries known to have detonated such weapons are the United
States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, France, People’s Republic of
China, India, Pakistan, and North Korea.
In order to minimize the risk of future nuclear war the Non-
Proliferation Treaty (NPT) was proposed. The NPT is the most
extensive inspection and control system ever devised to prevent the
diversion of nuclear material form civilian nuclear programmes for
weapon purposes. The idea of Nuclear Weapon Free Zone (NWFZ)
was mooted to convince the countries refusing to join NPT club. The
concept of nuclear weapon free zone means that countries without
nuclear weapons should agree not to produce nuclear weapons and
declare their region free from nuclear weapons. It was followed by
the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) to tighten the control
over nuclear weapons programme. 
Globalisation
Globalisation has become an important issue in the national
and international economic field. Globalisation has assumed great
importance in the recent changes in global business environment.
Now business has global-orientation and the whole world has become
just like a global village. Globalisation implies integration of economy
of one nation with the rest of the world economy and liberalising the
rules and regulations for foreign investment in economy. Broadly
speaking the term Globalisation means integration of economies and
societies through cross-country flows of information, ideas,
technologies, goods, services, capital, finance and people. Cross
border integration can have several dimensions- cultural, social,
political and economic.
365 364
As a result both buildings collapsed. A third plane was crashed into
the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia. In this terrorist attack
2,973 people died. They belonged to many countries.
India has been witnessing terrorist violence since 1980, first in
Punjab and then in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of India. 
Nearly 20,000 people have been killed in terrorist violence in Jammu
and Kashmir, involving both shootings and bombings. In the Jammu
and Kashmir India is experiencing cross border terrorism.
The 1992 serial bomb blasts in Bombay were one of the major
incidents of terrorism in India in recent years. The bomb blast in
Lajpat Nagar in Delhi in 1996 had also resulted in a large number of
civilian causalities. There have been many more incidents of bomb
blasts in different parts of the country. An Indian Airlines aircraft
was hijacked to Kandahar, the headquarters of the Taliban.  178
innocent passengers were held hostage there for a week.  Indian
government had to make a very difficult decision. It was forced to
release three terrorists from Indian  prisons to secure the safety of
the hostages. On 13
th
 December, 2001 there was an attack on the
Indian Parliament. Hence, India along with U.N. has condemned
terrorism because it violates the human rights  of the innocent 
citizens. 
Environmental Threats
Today the world is much more worried about the environmental
changes that are taking place around the globe. The major threats
identified are: Global warming, Green House Effect and Ozone
depletion. There is awareness among the educated public as well as
general population to reduce the environmental pollution and make
the earth a safe place to live.
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community (EEC) was an
organization established (1958) by the treaty between Belgium,
France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany,
known informally as the Common Market. The EEC was the most
significant of the three treaty organizations that were consolidated in
1967 to form the European Community. It is known as the European
Union since 1993. The European Union or EU is an
intergovernmental and supranational union of 25 European countries,
known as member states.
Global Terrorism
The term terrorism means politically motivated violence carried
out against mostly unarmed civilian population by a group of terrorists.
The term international terrorism means
terrorism involving citizens of more than
one country. Today, terrorism is
globalised. Hence, the UN Security
Council, on 28
th
 September 2001 passed
a resolution against terrorism. The UN
Resolution condemned all forms of
terrorism such as political, ideological,
ethnic, religious or any other form.
 There are several acts of terrorism committed all over the
world. The most violent terrorist attack was made on the Twin Towers
of the World Trade Centre, New York on September 11, 2001 in the
U.S.A. On the morning of September 11, 2001, nineteen terrorists
affiliated with al-Qaeda terrorist organization hijacked four
commercial passenger jet planes in U.S.A. Each team of hijackers
included a trained pilot. The hijackers crashed two of the planes into
the World Trade Center in New York City, one plane into each tower.
WTC ATTACK SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 
Page 4


361 360
Domestically, Gorbachev implemented economic reforms    that
he hoped would improve living standards and worker productivity as
part of his Perestroika program. This new Economic Policy
permitted private ownership.
All these reforms led to revolutionary changes in the U.S.S.R.
On 8
th
 December 1991, the leaders of the Russian, Ukrainian, and
Byelorussian republics issued a declaration that the Soviet Union was
dissolved and replaced by the Commonwealth of Independent States
(CIS). Gorbachev became president without a country. On 25
th
December 1991, he resigned as president of the U.S.S.R. and returned
the powers of his office over to Boris Yeltsin. The next day, the
Supreme Soviet voted to dissolve itself and repealed the declaration
written in 1922 that had officially established the U.S.S.R. Thus, the
collapse of the Soviet Union took place. 
German Reunification
 After the Second World War, Germany was divided into two
separate nations. East Germany was fully under the control of the
U.S.S.R. West Germany was supported by the U.S.A. and her allies.
A wall was erected across Berlin to separate these two German
territories. It was the famous Berlin Wall. But with the collapse of
U.SS.R, the German reunification took place on October 3, 1990.
The areas of the former German Democratic Republic (East
Germany) were incorporated into the Federal Republic of Germany
[FRG] (West Germany). After the GDR’s first free elections on 18
th
March 1990, negotiations between the GDR and FRG culminated in
a Unification Treaty.
Nuclear Disarmament
In the history of warfare, nuclear weapons have been used
only twice on 6
th
 and 8
th
  of August 1945, when the United States
dropped atom bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and
New World Order
The Year 1945 is a landmark in the history of modern world. It
marked the end of multi-polar world and balance of power. The World
saw the emergence of bi-polar world and the rise of Super Powers,
the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R. In the 1990s the collapse of Soviet
Union once again changed the existing world order. The New World
Order is witnessing a Uni-polar world, Globalisation, new technologies,
age of information and also global terrorism. 
Fall of Soviet Union
Mikhail Gorbachev became the President of
the Soviet Union in March 1985. He instituted a
number of political reforms under the name of
“glasnost”. However, Gorbachev’s relaxation of
censorship and attempts to create more political
openness had the unintended effect of re-awakening
long suppressed nationalist and anti-Russian feelings
in the Soviet Union’s constituent republics.
LESSON 35
WORLD TODAY
Learning Objectives
Students will acquire knowledge about
1. The emerging New World Order.
2. The Nuclear Disarmament.
3. The process of Globalization and the WTO.
4. The menace of Terrorism.
5. The environmental issues facing the world today.
MIKHAIL GORBACHEV 
363 362
India and Globalization
The economic policy of India since 1991 proved to be a turning
point in the history of Indian economy. In 1991 Indian government
introduced a series of reforms to liberalize and globalize the Indian
economy. These economic reforms move towards the market economy
and globalization. These policies of economic reforms were intended
to integrate the Indian economy with the world economy.
World Trade Organization (WTO)
The origin of World Trade Organization could be traced from
the Bretton Woods Conference of 1944. In this conference, it
was proposed for the creation of an International Trade Organization
to establish rules and regulations for trade between countries. It finally
succeeded in creating the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade (GATT). Seven rounds of negotiations occurred under the
GATT. The eighth round - known as the Uruguay Round — which
began in 1986 and concluded in 1995 established the WTO. The main
aim of WTO is to increase international trade by promoting lower
trade barriers and providing a platform for the negotiation of trade.
The World Trade Organization sets the rules for the global
trading system and resolves disputes between its member states. The
WTO headquarter is  located in Geneva, Switzerland. There are 149
members in the organization with Vietnam set to join in January, 2007.
The General Council of the WTO is highest decision-making body.
This meets regularly to carry out the functions of the WTO.
One of the criticisms against the WTO is that it favours rich
countries and multinational corporations which affect the smaller
states. Another criticism is the introduction of Trade-Related Aspects
of the Intellectual Property Rights [TRIPs]  into the WTO rules and
regulations.
Nagasaki. Since then, nuclear weapons have been detonated on over
two thousand occasions for testing and demonstration purposes. The
countries known to have detonated such weapons are the United
States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, France, People’s Republic of
China, India, Pakistan, and North Korea.
In order to minimize the risk of future nuclear war the Non-
Proliferation Treaty (NPT) was proposed. The NPT is the most
extensive inspection and control system ever devised to prevent the
diversion of nuclear material form civilian nuclear programmes for
weapon purposes. The idea of Nuclear Weapon Free Zone (NWFZ)
was mooted to convince the countries refusing to join NPT club. The
concept of nuclear weapon free zone means that countries without
nuclear weapons should agree not to produce nuclear weapons and
declare their region free from nuclear weapons. It was followed by
the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) to tighten the control
over nuclear weapons programme. 
Globalisation
Globalisation has become an important issue in the national
and international economic field. Globalisation has assumed great
importance in the recent changes in global business environment.
Now business has global-orientation and the whole world has become
just like a global village. Globalisation implies integration of economy
of one nation with the rest of the world economy and liberalising the
rules and regulations for foreign investment in economy. Broadly
speaking the term Globalisation means integration of economies and
societies through cross-country flows of information, ideas,
technologies, goods, services, capital, finance and people. Cross
border integration can have several dimensions- cultural, social,
political and economic.
365 364
As a result both buildings collapsed. A third plane was crashed into
the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia. In this terrorist attack
2,973 people died. They belonged to many countries.
India has been witnessing terrorist violence since 1980, first in
Punjab and then in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of India. 
Nearly 20,000 people have been killed in terrorist violence in Jammu
and Kashmir, involving both shootings and bombings. In the Jammu
and Kashmir India is experiencing cross border terrorism.
The 1992 serial bomb blasts in Bombay were one of the major
incidents of terrorism in India in recent years. The bomb blast in
Lajpat Nagar in Delhi in 1996 had also resulted in a large number of
civilian causalities. There have been many more incidents of bomb
blasts in different parts of the country. An Indian Airlines aircraft
was hijacked to Kandahar, the headquarters of the Taliban.  178
innocent passengers were held hostage there for a week.  Indian
government had to make a very difficult decision. It was forced to
release three terrorists from Indian  prisons to secure the safety of
the hostages. On 13
th
 December, 2001 there was an attack on the
Indian Parliament. Hence, India along with U.N. has condemned
terrorism because it violates the human rights  of the innocent 
citizens. 
Environmental Threats
Today the world is much more worried about the environmental
changes that are taking place around the globe. The major threats
identified are: Global warming, Green House Effect and Ozone
depletion. There is awareness among the educated public as well as
general population to reduce the environmental pollution and make
the earth a safe place to live.
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community (EEC) was an
organization established (1958) by the treaty between Belgium,
France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany,
known informally as the Common Market. The EEC was the most
significant of the three treaty organizations that were consolidated in
1967 to form the European Community. It is known as the European
Union since 1993. The European Union or EU is an
intergovernmental and supranational union of 25 European countries,
known as member states.
Global Terrorism
The term terrorism means politically motivated violence carried
out against mostly unarmed civilian population by a group of terrorists.
The term international terrorism means
terrorism involving citizens of more than
one country. Today, terrorism is
globalised. Hence, the UN Security
Council, on 28
th
 September 2001 passed
a resolution against terrorism. The UN
Resolution condemned all forms of
terrorism such as political, ideological,
ethnic, religious or any other form.
 There are several acts of terrorism committed all over the
world. The most violent terrorist attack was made on the Twin Towers
of the World Trade Centre, New York on September 11, 2001 in the
U.S.A. On the morning of September 11, 2001, nineteen terrorists
affiliated with al-Qaeda terrorist organization hijacked four
commercial passenger jet planes in U.S.A. Each team of hijackers
included a trained pilot. The hijackers crashed two of the planes into
the World Trade Center in New York City, one plane into each tower.
WTC ATTACK SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 
367 366
MODEL QUESTIONS
I. Choose the correct answer.
1. The proposal for an International Trade Organization was made
at the
(a) Washington Conference
(b) Vienna Conference
(c) U N Conference
(d) Breton Woods Conference
II. Fill in the blanks.
1. The New York Twin Towers of the World Trade Center was
attacked by the terrorists  in  the year ….
2. The headquarters of the WTO is located in ……
III. Match the Following
1. Gorbachev                     a. Environmental threat
2. NPT                             b.1958
3. EEC                             c. Perestroika
4. Green House Effect       d. Nuclear disarmament
IV. Find out the correct statement. One statement alone is
right.
a) Michael Gorbachev became the President of the Soviet Union
in 1990.
b) Gorbachev’s economic policy criticized private ownership.
c) He instituted a number of political reforms under the name
‘Glasnost’.
Learning Outcome
After learning this lesson the students will be able to explain
1. The dissolution of the Soviet Union and the emerging New
World Order.
2. The Efforts taken to control the proliferation of Nuclear
Arms.
3. The Process of Globalization and its impact on the
contemporary world.
4. The growth of terrorism and its impact on India.
5. The environmental issues that affect the life on earth.
Page 5


361 360
Domestically, Gorbachev implemented economic reforms    that
he hoped would improve living standards and worker productivity as
part of his Perestroika program. This new Economic Policy
permitted private ownership.
All these reforms led to revolutionary changes in the U.S.S.R.
On 8
th
 December 1991, the leaders of the Russian, Ukrainian, and
Byelorussian republics issued a declaration that the Soviet Union was
dissolved and replaced by the Commonwealth of Independent States
(CIS). Gorbachev became president without a country. On 25
th
December 1991, he resigned as president of the U.S.S.R. and returned
the powers of his office over to Boris Yeltsin. The next day, the
Supreme Soviet voted to dissolve itself and repealed the declaration
written in 1922 that had officially established the U.S.S.R. Thus, the
collapse of the Soviet Union took place. 
German Reunification
 After the Second World War, Germany was divided into two
separate nations. East Germany was fully under the control of the
U.S.S.R. West Germany was supported by the U.S.A. and her allies.
A wall was erected across Berlin to separate these two German
territories. It was the famous Berlin Wall. But with the collapse of
U.SS.R, the German reunification took place on October 3, 1990.
The areas of the former German Democratic Republic (East
Germany) were incorporated into the Federal Republic of Germany
[FRG] (West Germany). After the GDR’s first free elections on 18
th
March 1990, negotiations between the GDR and FRG culminated in
a Unification Treaty.
Nuclear Disarmament
In the history of warfare, nuclear weapons have been used
only twice on 6
th
 and 8
th
  of August 1945, when the United States
dropped atom bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and
New World Order
The Year 1945 is a landmark in the history of modern world. It
marked the end of multi-polar world and balance of power. The World
saw the emergence of bi-polar world and the rise of Super Powers,
the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R. In the 1990s the collapse of Soviet
Union once again changed the existing world order. The New World
Order is witnessing a Uni-polar world, Globalisation, new technologies,
age of information and also global terrorism. 
Fall of Soviet Union
Mikhail Gorbachev became the President of
the Soviet Union in March 1985. He instituted a
number of political reforms under the name of
“glasnost”. However, Gorbachev’s relaxation of
censorship and attempts to create more political
openness had the unintended effect of re-awakening
long suppressed nationalist and anti-Russian feelings
in the Soviet Union’s constituent republics.
LESSON 35
WORLD TODAY
Learning Objectives
Students will acquire knowledge about
1. The emerging New World Order.
2. The Nuclear Disarmament.
3. The process of Globalization and the WTO.
4. The menace of Terrorism.
5. The environmental issues facing the world today.
MIKHAIL GORBACHEV 
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India and Globalization
The economic policy of India since 1991 proved to be a turning
point in the history of Indian economy. In 1991 Indian government
introduced a series of reforms to liberalize and globalize the Indian
economy. These economic reforms move towards the market economy
and globalization. These policies of economic reforms were intended
to integrate the Indian economy with the world economy.
World Trade Organization (WTO)
The origin of World Trade Organization could be traced from
the Bretton Woods Conference of 1944. In this conference, it
was proposed for the creation of an International Trade Organization
to establish rules and regulations for trade between countries. It finally
succeeded in creating the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade (GATT). Seven rounds of negotiations occurred under the
GATT. The eighth round - known as the Uruguay Round — which
began in 1986 and concluded in 1995 established the WTO. The main
aim of WTO is to increase international trade by promoting lower
trade barriers and providing a platform for the negotiation of trade.
The World Trade Organization sets the rules for the global
trading system and resolves disputes between its member states. The
WTO headquarter is  located in Geneva, Switzerland. There are 149
members in the organization with Vietnam set to join in January, 2007.
The General Council of the WTO is highest decision-making body.
This meets regularly to carry out the functions of the WTO.
One of the criticisms against the WTO is that it favours rich
countries and multinational corporations which affect the smaller
states. Another criticism is the introduction of Trade-Related Aspects
of the Intellectual Property Rights [TRIPs]  into the WTO rules and
regulations.
Nagasaki. Since then, nuclear weapons have been detonated on over
two thousand occasions for testing and demonstration purposes. The
countries known to have detonated such weapons are the United
States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, France, People’s Republic of
China, India, Pakistan, and North Korea.
In order to minimize the risk of future nuclear war the Non-
Proliferation Treaty (NPT) was proposed. The NPT is the most
extensive inspection and control system ever devised to prevent the
diversion of nuclear material form civilian nuclear programmes for
weapon purposes. The idea of Nuclear Weapon Free Zone (NWFZ)
was mooted to convince the countries refusing to join NPT club. The
concept of nuclear weapon free zone means that countries without
nuclear weapons should agree not to produce nuclear weapons and
declare their region free from nuclear weapons. It was followed by
the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) to tighten the control
over nuclear weapons programme. 
Globalisation
Globalisation has become an important issue in the national
and international economic field. Globalisation has assumed great
importance in the recent changes in global business environment.
Now business has global-orientation and the whole world has become
just like a global village. Globalisation implies integration of economy
of one nation with the rest of the world economy and liberalising the
rules and regulations for foreign investment in economy. Broadly
speaking the term Globalisation means integration of economies and
societies through cross-country flows of information, ideas,
technologies, goods, services, capital, finance and people. Cross
border integration can have several dimensions- cultural, social,
political and economic.
365 364
As a result both buildings collapsed. A third plane was crashed into
the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia. In this terrorist attack
2,973 people died. They belonged to many countries.
India has been witnessing terrorist violence since 1980, first in
Punjab and then in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of India. 
Nearly 20,000 people have been killed in terrorist violence in Jammu
and Kashmir, involving both shootings and bombings. In the Jammu
and Kashmir India is experiencing cross border terrorism.
The 1992 serial bomb blasts in Bombay were one of the major
incidents of terrorism in India in recent years. The bomb blast in
Lajpat Nagar in Delhi in 1996 had also resulted in a large number of
civilian causalities. There have been many more incidents of bomb
blasts in different parts of the country. An Indian Airlines aircraft
was hijacked to Kandahar, the headquarters of the Taliban.  178
innocent passengers were held hostage there for a week.  Indian
government had to make a very difficult decision. It was forced to
release three terrorists from Indian  prisons to secure the safety of
the hostages. On 13
th
 December, 2001 there was an attack on the
Indian Parliament. Hence, India along with U.N. has condemned
terrorism because it violates the human rights  of the innocent 
citizens. 
Environmental Threats
Today the world is much more worried about the environmental
changes that are taking place around the globe. The major threats
identified are: Global warming, Green House Effect and Ozone
depletion. There is awareness among the educated public as well as
general population to reduce the environmental pollution and make
the earth a safe place to live.
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community (EEC) was an
organization established (1958) by the treaty between Belgium,
France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany,
known informally as the Common Market. The EEC was the most
significant of the three treaty organizations that were consolidated in
1967 to form the European Community. It is known as the European
Union since 1993. The European Union or EU is an
intergovernmental and supranational union of 25 European countries,
known as member states.
Global Terrorism
The term terrorism means politically motivated violence carried
out against mostly unarmed civilian population by a group of terrorists.
The term international terrorism means
terrorism involving citizens of more than
one country. Today, terrorism is
globalised. Hence, the UN Security
Council, on 28
th
 September 2001 passed
a resolution against terrorism. The UN
Resolution condemned all forms of
terrorism such as political, ideological,
ethnic, religious or any other form.
 There are several acts of terrorism committed all over the
world. The most violent terrorist attack was made on the Twin Towers
of the World Trade Centre, New York on September 11, 2001 in the
U.S.A. On the morning of September 11, 2001, nineteen terrorists
affiliated with al-Qaeda terrorist organization hijacked four
commercial passenger jet planes in U.S.A. Each team of hijackers
included a trained pilot. The hijackers crashed two of the planes into
the World Trade Center in New York City, one plane into each tower.
WTC ATTACK SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 
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MODEL QUESTIONS
I. Choose the correct answer.
1. The proposal for an International Trade Organization was made
at the
(a) Washington Conference
(b) Vienna Conference
(c) U N Conference
(d) Breton Woods Conference
II. Fill in the blanks.
1. The New York Twin Towers of the World Trade Center was
attacked by the terrorists  in  the year ….
2. The headquarters of the WTO is located in ……
III. Match the Following
1. Gorbachev                     a. Environmental threat
2. NPT                             b.1958
3. EEC                             c. Perestroika
4. Green House Effect       d. Nuclear disarmament
IV. Find out the correct statement. One statement alone is
right.
a) Michael Gorbachev became the President of the Soviet Union
in 1990.
b) Gorbachev’s economic policy criticized private ownership.
c) He instituted a number of political reforms under the name
‘Glasnost’.
Learning Outcome
After learning this lesson the students will be able to explain
1. The dissolution of the Soviet Union and the emerging New
World Order.
2. The Efforts taken to control the proliferation of Nuclear
Arms.
3. The Process of Globalization and its impact on the
contemporary world.
4. The growth of terrorism and its impact on India.
5. The environmental issues that affect the life on earth.
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NATIONAL MOVEMENT
TIME LINE
1 Unit!"!10 Years
1880
1885 - Foundation of the Indian National Congress
1890
1900
1905 - Partition of Bengal / Swadeshi Movement
1906 - Establishment of the Muslim League
1907 - Surat Split
1910
1895
d) He resigned as the President of the USSR in 1995.
V. State whether the following statements are True or False
1. In 1991 Indian government introduced a series of reforms to
liberalize and globalize the Indian economy.
2. On 13
th
 December, 2000 there was an attack on the Indian
Parliament.
VI. Write short notes (Any three points).
1. Nuclear Disarmament
2. World Trade Organization
3. Global Terrorism
VII. Answer briefly (100 words).
1. Discuss the events that led to the fall of the Soviet Union.
2. Describe the reunification of Germany.
3. State the main features of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
VIII. Answer in detail (200 words).
1. Explain the process and impact of Globalization.
2. Examine the role of WTO in the regulation of global trading
system.
3. Evaluate the impact of Global Terrorism.