Contemporary World Politics

Chapter 1 of Class 12 Political Science (Contemporary World Politics) examines the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Soviet-led Second World, tracing the Soviet system's structure, the causes of the USSR's disintegration in 1991, the painful shock therapy transitions to capitalism that followed, and what it all meant for India's foreign policy.

• 1The Berlin Wall, built in 1961 to separate East and West Berlin, was more than 150 km long, stood for 28 years, and was broken by the people on 9 November 1989, marking the beginning of the end of the communist bloc and the unification of Germany.
• 2The USSR was founded after the 1917 Russian Revolution on socialist principles: state ownership of land and productive assets, a centrally planned economy, and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union as the sole political party with no opposition allowed.
• 3Mikhail Gorbachev, General Secretary from March 1985, introduced perestroika (restructuring) and glasnost (openness) to modernise the system; he also withdrew Soviet troops from Afghanistan and Eastern Europe and helped unify Germany, but his reforms unleashed nationalist forces he could not control.
• 4In December 1991, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus declared the Soviet Union disbanded by annulling the 1922 founding treaty; the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was formed, and Russia inherited the USSR's seat in the UN Security Council and all its international commitments.
• 5The Soviet economy stagnated due to the enormous cost of the arms race, maintaining satellite states in Eastern Europe and the five Central Asian Republics, the 1979 invasion of Afghanistan, rampant corruption, and a Communist Party that was unaccountable to the people for over 70 years.

Chapter 2 of Contemporary World Politics examines how the European Union, ASEAN, and China emerged as alternative centres of political and economic power after the collapse of the Cold War's bipolar structure in the early 1990s. It analyses their institutions, economic influence, and the India–China relationship in the context of a shifting global order.

• 1The EU was formally established by the Maastricht Treaty on 7 February 1992, evolving from the European Economic Community (EEC) created in 1957 by the Treaty of Rome signed by six countries: France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.
• 2ASEAN was founded in 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand through the Bangkok Declaration; it later grew to ten members and established the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in 1994 for security and foreign policy coordination.
• 3The 'ASEAN Way' describes a form of interaction among ASEAN members that is informal, non-confrontationist, and cooperative, with respect for national sovereignty as a core principle — contrasting with the EU's supranational approach.
• 4China's economic reforms began with Deng Xiaoping's 'open door' policy in 1978; agriculture was privatised in 1982 and industry in 1998, with Special Economic Zones (SEZs) created to attract foreign investment, leading China to become the most important destination for FDI globally.
• 5China is projected to overtake the US as the world's largest economy by 2040 and joined the WTO in 2001 as part of its deeper integration into the world economy.

This chapter explores Contemporary South Asia — covering the political systems, democratic experiences, bilateral conflicts, and regional cooperation efforts of the seven countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. It analyses how conflict and cooperation coexist in the region, from the India-Pakistan dispute over Kashmir to the formation of SAARC and SAFTA.

• 1South Asia comprises seven countries — Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka — bounded by the Himalayas in the north and the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, and Bay of Bengal on three sides.
• 2India and Sri Lanka have maintained democracy since independence, while Pakistan and Bangladesh have experienced both civilian and military rule; Nepal abolished its monarchy in 2008 and adopted a new constitution in 2015.
• 3Pakistan's failure to build stable democracy is attributed to the social dominance of the military, clergy, and landowning aristocracy, repeated military coups, and the lack of genuine international support for civilian rule.
• 4Bangladesh gained independence in December 1971 after India supported the Bengali people's struggle against Pakistani military repression; it established a constitution based on secularism, democracy, and socialism.
• 5The Nepal monarchy was abolished in 2008 after massive pro-democracy protests in April 2006 led by the Seven Party Alliance (SPA), Maoists, and social activists forced the king to restore the House of Representatives.

Chapter 4, 'International Organisations', examines why organisations like the United Nations are essential for global cooperation, traces the UN's founding in 1945 and its post-Cold War reform debates, and explores India's push for a permanent Security Council seat alongside other key trans-national bodies such as the IMF, World Bank, WTO, and IAEA.

• 1International organisations help nations resolve disputes peacefully and cooperate on global problems — such as disease eradication and climate change — that no single country can solve alone.
• 2The UN was founded on 24 October 1945 (UN Day) as the successor to the League of Nations; the Charter was signed by 51 founding states; India joined on 30 October 1945.
• 3The UN General Assembly gives every member one vote; the Security Council has five permanent members — the US, Russia, the UK, France, and China — each holding veto power, plus ten non-permanent members serving two-year terms.
• 4The veto power means any single permanent member can block a Security Council resolution with a negative vote, even if all other members support it; proposals to abolish the veto face resistance since permanent members are unlikely to agree.
• 5Post-Cold War reforms demanded by the 1992 General Assembly resolution include expanding Security Council membership to better represent Asia, Africa, and South America and ensuring its decisions do not reflect only Western values.

Chapter 5 of Class 12 Political Science (Contemporary World Politics) examines what 'security' means in the modern world by contrasting traditional conceptions — focused on military threats to state sovereignty — with non-traditional conceptions that broaden security to include threats to individuals and humanity from terrorism, poverty, health epidemics, and environmental degradation. It also outlines India's four-component security strategy.

• 1Security relates only to extremely dangerous threats that could damage core values beyond repair if left unaddressed.
• 2Traditional security focuses on military threats from other states and involves deterrence, defence, balance of power, and alliance-building as policy tools.
• 3Alliance-building means a coalition of states that coordinate to deter or defend against military attack; alliances shift with national interests (e.g., US support for Afghan militants in the 1980s reversed after 9/11).
• 4Arms control instruments discussed include the 1972 ABM Treaty, SALT II, START, and the 1968 NPT; disarmament instruments include the 1972 BWC (155+ states) and the 1997 CWC (193 states).
• 5Non-traditional security introduces 'human security' (protection of individuals from violence, hunger, disease) and 'global security' (cooperation on global warming, terrorism, epidemics).

Chapter 6 of Class 12 Political Science (Contemporary World Politics) examines how environmental degradation and competition over natural resources have become central issues in world politics, covering the 1992 Earth Summit, the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, the Kyoto Protocol, resource geopolitics, global environmental movements, and the rights of indigenous peoples.

• 1Environmental awareness became politically significant from the 1960s; the Club of Rome published Limits to Growth in 1972, dramatising potential resource depletion against rapidly growing world population.
• 2The 1992 Earth Summit (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development) in Rio de Janeiro was attended by 170 states, thousands of NGOs, and many multinational corporations, and produced conventions on climate change, biodiversity, and forestry, along with Agenda 21 and the concept of sustainable development.
• 3Global commons — the earth's atmosphere, Antarctica, the ocean floor, and outer space — are areas outside the sovereign jurisdiction of any state and require common governance by the international community.
• 4The principle of 'common but differentiated responsibilities,' accepted in the 1992 Rio Declaration, holds that developed countries bear greater responsibility for ecological degradation because of their historical and current greenhouse gas emissions.
• 5The Kyoto Protocol (agreed in 1997 in Kyoto, Japan) set binding targets for industrialised countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions; China, India, and other developing countries were exempted because their per capita emissions were still relatively low.

Chapter 7 of Contemporary World Politics explains globalisation as worldwide interconnectedness created by flows of ideas, capital, commodities, and people, and analyses its political, economic, and cultural consequences alongside India's experience and resistance to it.

• 1Globalisation fundamentally deals with flows of ideas, capital, commodities, and people, creating 'worldwide interconnectedness'.
• 2It is a multidimensional concept with political, economic, and cultural dimensions — not purely an economic phenomenon.
• 3Technology — the telegraph, telephone, and microchip — is a critical, though not sole, cause of contemporary globalisation.
• 4Politically, globalisation erodes the welfare state and elevates the market, but also gives states enhanced surveillance technologies that can increase their power over citizens.
• 5Economically, globalisation has increased cross-border trade and capital flows; however, developed countries tightly restrict the movement of people through visa policies.