Solved CBSE Sample Papers for Class 12 Political Science Set 1

[Time Allowed : 3 hrs.]                                                                                   [Maximum Marks] : 100

General Instruction:

  1. All Questions are compulsory.
  2. Question numbers 1-5 are of 1 mark each. The answers to these questions should not exceed 20 words each.
  3. Question numbers 6-10 are of 2 marks each. The answers to these questions should not exceed 40 words each.
  4. Question numbers 11-16 are of 4 marks each. The answers to these questions should not exceed 100 words each.
  5. Question numbers 17-21 are of 5 marks each. The answers to this question should not exceed 150 words.
  6. Question numbers 22-27 are of 6 marks each. The answers to this question should not exceed 150 words.

Question.1. Is NAM neutral?
Answer. Non-alignment cannot be referred to as Neutrality because neutrality refers to a policy of staying of war. NAM is a concept opposed to belligerency.

  • It is a concept aiming at an independent foreign policy and peaceful co-existence.

Question.2. Mention any two core values of a country.
Answer.

  • The core values of a country comes under the scope of security
  • It is concerned with preventing, limiting and ending the wars.
  • Another value is related to the existence of human life.

Question.3. What was the immediate outcome of the “Two Nation Theory”?
Answer. The immediate outcome of “Two Nations Theory” initiated by M.A. Jinnah in 1940 was the partition of British into two nation states

  • India
  • Pakistan
    The drawing of the border demarcating the territory of each country marked the culmination of political developments.

Question.4. Which period of Indian politics has been referred to as ‘dangerous decade’?
Answer. The 1960s were labelled as the “dangerous decade” because of some unsolved problems like poverty, inequality, communal and regional divisions, etc.

Question.5. Was the Anti-Arrack movement a women’s movement? Give one argument to support . your answer.
Answer. The Anti-Arrack movement was the movement of rural women from the state of Andhra Pradesh because it was a spontaneous mobilisation of women demanding a ban on the sale of alcohol in their neighbourhoods. ,

  • Moreover the Anti-Arrack movement provided a platform to discuss private issues of domestic violence.

Question.6. What is SAARC?
Answer. SAARC-Stands for South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. It has seven members and its aim is to encourage collective self reliance, mutual trust and understanding between the member-nations.

Question.7. Give any two examples of the American hegemony as a soft power.
Answer.

  • The U.S. Hegemony as a soft power implies class ascendancy in the social and political and particularly ideological spheres.
  • Soft power is the third sense of hegemony which is about the capacity to manufacture consent.

Question.8. Why do we need international organizations?
Answer.

  • The need of the international organization is very much justified with the quotation of the UN’s Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold that “The International Organisation was not created to take humanity to heaven but to save it from hell”
  • International organisation plays very significant role in the world full of antagonism, differences and conflicts. It helps with the matter of war and peace.

Question.9. Which two challenges are the newly independent countries of Asia and Africa facing?
Answer. The nearly independent third world countries of Asia and Africa are facing the following challenges;

  • The new countries face the prospect of military conflict with neighbouring countries.
  • Internally, these countries are worried about threats from “Separatist movement” which wants to form independent countries based on language and religion.

Hence for the newly independent third world i.e. Asian-African countries “external war” with neighbours and “Internal wars” posed a serious challenge to their security.

Question.10. Mention any two reasons due to which Janata Party won the elections of 1977.
Answer. The result of the 1977 election took every one by surprise. For the first time since independence the Congress Party was defeated and Janata Party came into power at centre.

  • Basically, the most valid reason for the success of the Janata Party was the people’s verdict which was decisively against the emergency. The Janata Party fought the election on the slogan of “Save Democracy”.
  • Most importantly north India had experienced some long term changes in nature of political competition. The’middle classes from north India were beginning to move away from the Congress and the Janata Party became a platform for many of these section to come together.
    Thus, the elections of 1977 were not merely about the emergency but other factors also.

Question.11. When and why was ‘Operation Enduring Freedom’ launched?
Answer. The “Operation Enduring Freedom” was launched in 2001 in the response to 9/11 attacks in USA.

  • The US response to 9/11 was swift and ferocious. The then President Bush had a much harder view of us interests and of the means by which to advance them.
  • As a part of its global war of terror the US launched Operation Enduring Freedom against all those suspected to be behind this attack, mainly Alqaeda and the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
  • The US forces made arrests all over the world, often without the knowledge of the government of the persons across countries and detained them in secret prison.
  • Some of the prisoners were kept at Guantanamo Bay, a US naval base in Cuba where prisoners did not enjoy the protection of International law.

Question.12. Mention any four factors that led to the rise of the Chinese economy.
Answer. The factors that led to the rise of the Chinese economy are as follows;

  • Economic Reforms of 1978. China emerged as the third alternative since its economic reforms of 1978. China has been the fastest growing economy since the reforms first began there.
  • Economic Integration. Its economic integration into the region makes it the driver of East Asian growth, there by giving it enormous influence in regional affairs.
  • Market Economy. China introduced its open market economy by the privatization process of agriculture and industry in 1982-1998.
  • Special Economic Zones. To remove the trade barrier and to open the economy for foreign investors, China set “Special Economic Zones” i.e. SEZs.

Question.13. What are the reasons for growing concerns about the environment? .
Answer. Although environmental concerns have a long history, awareness of the environmental
consequences of economic growth acquired an increasingly special concern from 1960
onwards because of following reasons:

  • Depletion of Natural Resources: Throughout the world cultivable area is barely expanding any more and a substantial portion of existing agricultural land is losing fertility, grasslands have overgrazed and fisheries overharvested.
  • Pollution of Water bodies: Water bodies have suffered extensive depletion and pollution due to disposal of toxic affluent of industries severely restricting aquatic food production.
  • Loss of Biodiversity. Natural forest which help stabilise the climate, moderate water
    supplies and harbour a majority of the plant biodiversity on land are being cut down and people are being displaced.
  • Depletion of ozone: A steady decline in the total amount of ozone in the earth’s stratosphere poses a real danger to ecosystems and human health, hence included in the arena of global politics for environmental concerns.

Question.14. What kinds of difficulties were involved in the process of partition?
Answer. The process of partition started in 1940 where the Muslim League propounded the “Two-nation
Theory”. The principle of partition presented all kinds of difficulties such as:

  • Problems of East and West : There was no single belt of Muslim majority areas of British India. There were two areas of concentration, one in the west and one in the east.
  • Merger of NWFP : On the partition move not all muslim majority areas wanted to be in Pakistan. Even Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, the undisputed leader of the North Western Frontier provinces was staunchly opposed to the two nation theory. But ultimately the NWFP was made to merge with Pakistan.
  • Difficulties related to Punjab and Bengal : These provinces had very large areas where the non-muslims were in majority. Thus it was decided that these two provinces would be bifurcated according to the religious majority. These caused deepest trauma.
  • Communal zones : Amritsar and Kolkata became communal zones because Muslims avoided going into an area where mainly Hindus and Sikhs lived. Similarly the Hindus and Sikhs stayed away from areas of Muslim predominance.

Question.15. “Governments that are perceived to be anti-democratic are severely punished by the
voters.” Explain the statement with reference to the emergency period of 1975-77.
Answer.

  •  “Government that are perceived to be anti-democratic are severely punished by the voters”. This was very much proved during the emergency period through people’s verdict.
  • The result of the 1977 election took every one by surprise. For the first time since
    independence, the Congress Party was defeated and opposition came to power at the centre.
  • In the backdrop of arrests of thousands of persons and the censorship of the press the public opinion was against the Congress.
  • The Janata Party made this election a referendum on the emergency. Its campaign focussed on the non-democratic character of the rule and on the various excesses that took place during this period.
  • Moreover, most importantly north India had experienced some long term changes in the nature of political competition. The middle classes from north India were beginning to move away from the Congress and Janata Party became a platform for many of these sections to come together.
    Thus, the emergency of 1975-77 at once brought out both the weaknesses and the strengths of India’s democracy. The very first lesson we learnt was that it is extremely difficult to do away with democracy in India.

Question.16. Who were Dalit Panthers ? What did they stand for ?
Answer. Dalit Panthers was militant organisation of the Dalit youth. It was formed in 1972 in Maharashtra.

  1. Dalit Panthers addressed various issues: These groups were mainly fighting against the perpetual caste based inequalities and material injustices that the Dalits faced in spite of constitutional guarantees of equality and justice.
  2. Dalits faced collective atrocities over minor symbolic issues of caste pride. So effective implementation of reservations and other such policies of social justice was their main demand.

Dalit Panthers resorted to mass action for assertion of Dalit’s rights. They took this step due following reasons.

  1. Legal mechanisms proved inadequate to stop the economic and social oppression of Dalits.
  2. The Republican party of India supported by Dalits was no successful in electoral politics.
  3. These parties faced split as well.
    Therefore, the Dalit Panthers resorted to mass action and their activities were mostly centred around fighting increasing atrocities on Dalits in various parts of the state.

Question.17. Read the passage given below carefully and answer the following questions:
We have a Muslim minority who are so large in numbers that they cannot, even if they want, go anywhere else. That is a basic fact about which there can be no argument. Whatever the provocation from Pakistan and whatever the indignities and horrors inflicted on non-Muslims there, we have got to deal with this minority in a civilized manner. We must give them security and the rights of citizens in a democratic State. If we fail to do so, we shall have a festering sore which will eventually poison the whole body politic and probably destroy it.
Jawaharlal Nehru, Letter to Chief Ministers, 15 October 1947
Give an account of the background in which the letter was written and explain the challenge that Jawaharlal Nehru is referring to in it?
Answer. In the above given passage Nehru had expressed his feeling about the accommodation of minority. In his letter he is referring the challenge related to Muslim minority that if not accommodated properly can lead to destruction of democratic ideals.

  1. Because Muslim minority in India were large in numbers, it is their right to go anywhere and settle. In a democratic set up everyone is given equal opportunity.
  2. J.L. Nehru argued that we must give the Muslim minority security and the rights of citizens in a democratic state. Apart from ethical and sentimental reasons, there are some prudential reasons which helped India to realise its- long charised goals and principles such as socialism, equality, liberty and fraternity.
  3. If we fail to provide security and rights to minorities, it affect the basic nature of democratic system and is also against the secular principle of India. It may eventually affect not only India’s foreign policy and also threaten other minorities in India. It may lead to disintegration of Indian states.

Question.18. Read the passage given below carefully and answer the following questions:
One of India’s major concerns has been the composition of the Security Council, which has remained largely static while the UN General Assembly membership has expanded considerably. India considers that this has harmed the representative character of the Security Council. It also argues that an expanded Council, with more representation, will enjoy greater support in the world community.
Critically examine India’s concerns and arguments about the composition of the Security Council.
Answer. India has supported the restructuring of the UN to make it more representative. One of the major concerns has been the composition of the Security Council which has remained largely static.

  • India agrees that an expanded council, with more representation will enjoy greater support in the world community.
  • India also supports that developing countries as the members of the Generaly Assembly should also have a role in shaping the decisions in the Security Council which affect them.
  • Besides, India argues an increase in the number of both permanent and non-permanent members because the success of the Security Council’s actions depends upon the political support of the international community.
    The security council thus needs to be restructured and expanded. It must shed its static image by expansion.

Question.19. Read the passage given below carefully and answer the following questions:
While the Cold War was an outcome of the emergence of the US and the USSR as two superpowers rival to each other, it was also rooted in the understanding that the destruction caused by the use of atom bombs is too costly for any country to bear. The logic is simple yet powerful. When two rival powers are in possession of nuclear weapons capable of inflicting death and destruction unacceptable to each other, a full-fledged war is unlikely. 
Explain the cold war scenario and reasons behind it not turning out to be a full-fledged war?
Answer. The arenas of the Cold War refers to the areas where crisis and war occurred or threatened ‘ to occur between the alliance systems but did not cross certain limits.

  • We begin with the Cuban missile crises which was only one of the several crises that
    occurred during the Cold War but fortunately both sides, US and USSR decided to avoid war.
  • The Cold War also led to several shooting wars between the two superpowers which were poised for direct confrontation in
  • Korea(1950-53)
  • Berlin crisis (1958-62)
  • The Congo Crisis (1960s)
    Crises deepened as neither of the parties involved was willing to back down, but it is important to note that these crises and wars did not lead to another World War.
  • A great many lives were lost in some of these arenas like Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan, but the world was spared a nuclear war and global hostilities.
  • In some cases, huge military buildups were reported. In many cases, diplomatic communication between the super powers could not be sustained and contributed to the misunderstandings.
  • Sometimes, countries outside the two blocs, for example the non-aligned countries, played a role in reducing Cold War conflicts and averting some grave crisis.
    In this way, as the Cold War rolled from one arena to another, the logic of restraint was
    increasingly evident.

Question.20. Study the picture given below carefully and answer the following questions:
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  1. Which event does the picture refer to?
  2. Who is the lady in the picture? Why does she look so pleased?
  3. Identify the man wearing the garland.

Answer.

  1. The picture refers to the Presidential Election 1969.
  2. The lady in the picture is India Gandhi. She looks so pleased because her supporter V.V.Giri won the Presidential election.
  3. The man wearing the garland is V.V.Giri.

Question.21. Study the map carefully and answer the questions given below.

  1. Name the seven sisters in the north-east region of India.
  2. What is the problem against outsiders in this region?
  3. Name the two states where the secessionist movements started.
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Answer.

1. The seven sisters of North-Eastern region of India are;

  1. Assam
  2. Nagaland
  3. Meghalaya
  4. Manipur
  5. Mizoram
  6. Arunachal Pradesh
  7. Tripura

2.

  • The problem against outsiders in this region is very acute as it continues to be a live
    issue in the polities of Assam. This movement was against outsiders to maintain the- cultural integration of Assam and other North eastern regions.
  • They felt the resources would be drained out of the state without any commensurate benefit to the people of this region.

3. The secessionist movements started in Tripura and Mizoram.

Question.22. What were the key controversies regarding development in India?
Or
Why did the Indian National Congress dominate the first three General Elections after independence?
Answer. As the concept of “development has varied scope and complex nature” so any discussion on development is bound to generate contradictions, conflicts and debates.
The first decade after independence witnessed a lot of debate around this question of development. It was common then, as it is even now, for people to refer to the “West” as the standard for measuring development.
Development was about becoming more modern and was about becoming more like the industrialised countries of the West. It was believed that every country would go through the process of “modernisation of the West” which involved the breakdown of traditional social structures and the rise of capitalism and liberalism.
Modernisation was also associated with the ideas of growth, material progress and scientific rationality.
On the eve of independence, India had two models of modern development
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Hence, there was a debate on the selection of model for our economy. There were some communist leaders, members of the socialist party and leaders like Nehru who supported the “Socialist model”. This reflected a broad consensus that had developed during the national movement.
All these made it clear that the task of poverty alleviation and social and economic redistribution was being seen primarily as the responsibility of the government. But at the same time there were debates among them like:

  1. For some Industrialisation seemed to be the preferred path.
  2. For others, the development of agriculture and, in particular, alleviation of rural poverty was the priority.
    ” ‘ Or

Answer. Factors for domination of political scene by the Congress:

  1. Congress is the oldest party in India. It started in 1885 and was the major party that struggled to get India independence. It produced many great leaders like Gandhi, Nehru, Rajaji, Vallabhbhai Patel, Subhas Chandra Bose and many others, It provided strong leadership to the Indian masses.
  2. Congress sacrificed in all possible forms to achieve independence. One can rightly say that Congress wholeheartedly fought for India’s independence.
  3. Gandhiji (Father of Nation) lived like an ordinary Indian and propagated ideologies of truth, non-violence, swaraj, trusteeship which the people of India thoroughly appreciated. He was the first man to launch a national movement as mass movement by bringing women, peasants and students to participate on a large scale.
  4. The Congress after India’s independence, not only tried to solve the problems but also faced the challenges before the nation. It is not that independence meant that we had achieved everything. There were many challenges such as poverty, unemployment, low production in agriculture, industry, problem of integration of states and very importantly the refugees. It was a tough time for Congress and it managed to overcome these problems slowly but steadily.
  5. There was no strong political party to replace the Congress and the policies of the Congress and our relations with the neighbours favour Congress to become the dominant political party.
  6. Indian masses thus were totally impressed by the role of Congress party and having faith in the Congress they voted for it for more than four decades. The able leadership of Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Narashimha Rao led India on the path of success even though some leaders fell victim to terrorism (Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv Gandhi were assassinated).

Question.23. ‘There is a difference in the approach towards environment between the countries of the North and the South’. Explain the statement with reference to the Earth Summit (1992) and the Kyoto Protocol (1997)?
Or
How has globalization affected India and what has been India’s response?
Answer. It is very significant that compromise and accommodation are the two essential policies required by states to save planet Earth. But there is a difference in the approach to environment between the countries of the North and the South. We can throw light on the ongoing negotiations between the North and South on environmental issues in such a manner:

  • The developed countries of the north want to discuss the environment issue as it stands now and want everyone to be equally responsible for ecological conservation.
  • At the same time the developing countries of the South feel that much of the ecological degradation in the world is the product of industrial development undertaken by the developed countries.
  • And to the most if developed countries have caused more degradation they must also • take more responsibility for ongoing damage now.
    On the other side the developing countries are in the process of industrialization and they must not be subjected to the same restrictions which apply to the developed countries.
  • However, the special needs of the developing countries must be taken into account in the development, application and interpretation of rules of International Environmental Law. And this argument was accepted in the Rio Declaration at the “Earth Summit in 1992 under the principle of common but differentiated responsibility.
  • The Kyoto Protocol, also accorded among its members to protect the climatic septum on the basis of equity.
    Or

Answer. The impact of Globalisation in India is far reaching like:

  • Globalisation in India has led to the setting up of production units by many foreign companies in the areas of automobiles, information technology, electronics and food processing industries.
  • There is enormous growth in the telecommunication sector. Due to globalisation the use of computers and other modern technologies have increased tremendously.
    Now India is playing a crucial role among developing countries regarding trade and commerce. But there are some areas in which Globalisation is not beneficial such as:
  • Employment generation
  • Agriculture
  • Sufficient employment opportunities on a large scale.
    Simultaneously, India started a gradual response to globalisation in the 1980s. It was in the 1990s that India undertook serious reforms to integrate itself with the international community. It was only in 1991 that the Narasimha Rao government took the bold step of liberalisation of Indian Economy and promoting foreign direct investment.
    In the stepping year India embarked on a programme of economic reforms that has sought increasingly to de-regulate various sectors including trade and foreign investment.
    Trade policy reform : This reform sought to dismantle the earlier licensing system. It proposed heavy scaling down or removal of tariffs and reforms on quantitative restriction on imports.
    Industrial Policy Reform : It sought abolition of industrial licensing except for a few specified industries.
    Financial Reforms : Private sector banks including foreign joint venture banks came to be permitted to undertake and expand their operations. A policy regime for private non-banking finance companies came to be established.
    Now India’s economy is open to all the nations in order to promote the principles of globalisation.

Question.24. “India should not give up its policy of non-alignment and align with the United States.” Give arguments in support or against this statement.
Or
Mention the areas of cooperation and disagreement between India and Bangladesh.
Answer. India should not give up its policy of non-alignment. Non-alignment as a strategy evolved in the Cold War context, but the end of “Cold War” and a Unipolar world did not see the end of the non-alignment.
Non-alignment still contains some core values and end-using ideas.

  1. Its emphasis has shifted from ^pdlitical issues to economic issues”.
    Liberalisation of third world economies for rapid development of the countries of south now remains the main concern of NAM.
  2. Issue like democracy, disarmaments, human rights and neo-colonialism are as relevant
    today as earlier.
    With the disintegration of the erstwhile USSR, there is only one super power therefore, it is very essential for NAM to make sincere efforts to check USA from taking unilateral decisions.
  3. Now its emphasis has also shifted towards poverty alleviation, New International Economic Order based on equality, equity, justice and promotion of industrialisation.
    Or

Answer. The governments of India and Bangladesh have had “differences over several issues” like

  • The sharing of the Ganga and Brahmaputra river waters.
  • Problem of illegal immigration to India.
  • Bangladesh’s support for anti-Indian Islamic fundamentalist groups.
  • Bangladesh’s refusal to allow Indian troops to move through its territory to northeastern
    India.
  • Above all Bangladesh’s decision not to export natural gas to India also became one of the bone of contention.
    Areas of Cooperation
    Despite their difference, India and Bangladesh do cooperate on many issues like:
  • In economic areas both countries have improved their economic relations in the last ten years.
  • Bangladesh is the main link of “India’s Look East policy” that wants to link up with South East Asia via Myanmar.

Question.25. Evaluate the lessons that have been learnt from the popular movements in India along with examples.
Or
“After the elections in 1989 an era of coalitions started in which political parties are
not aligning or realigning on the basis of ideologies.” Explain the statement.
Answer.

  1. The history of the popular movement helps us to understand better the nature of democratic politics.
  2. The non-party movements are neither sporadic in nature nor are these a problem.
  3. These movements came up to solve some problems in the functioning of party politics and should be seen as an integral part of our democratic politics.
  4. They represented new social groups whose economic, and social problems were not fulfilled by the electoral politics.
  5. They ensured effective representation of diverse groups and their demands. This reduced the possibility of deep social conflict and disaffection of these groups from democracy.
  6. They also suggested new forms of active participation and thus expanded the idea of participation in Indian Democracy.
  7. The popular movements revised legitimate demands of the people and have involved large scale participation of cititzen. Examples: Chipko movement, anti-arack movement; the activities and programmes of Bharatiya Kisan Union, etc.
  8. It should be noted that the groups mobilised by these movements are poor, social and economically disadvantaged sections of the society.
  9. The frequency and methods used by them suggest that the regular functioning of democracy did not have enough space for the voices of these social groups.
  10. These movements led to the growth of consensus among political parties over implementation of these policies.
    Or

The above statement is justified because in the new era of coalition politics, the emphasis of political parties is on pragmatic considerations rather than on ideological positions and political alliance without ideological agreement. For instance :

  1. Coalition politics has shifted the focus of political parties from ideological differences to power sharing arrangements.
  2. Thus most parties of the NDA did not agree with the ‘Hindutva’ ideology of the BJP, yet they came together to form a government and remained in power for a full term.
    Condusion-Thus with the elections of 1989 a long phase of coalition parties began in India. Since then there have been nine governments at the centre, all of which have either been coalition governments or minority governments supported by other parties. In this new phase any government could be formed only with the participation or support of many regional parties without aligning on the basis of ideologies.

Question.26. Why was Gorbachev forced to initiate reforms and how did it lead to the disintegration
of the Soviet Union?
Or
Explain how did the Cuban Missile Crisis drive the world on the brink of a nuclear war?
Answer. Mikhail Gorbachev who had become General Secretary of the state Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1985 sought to reform this system. Hence, the following factors forced Gorbachev to initiate the reforms in the USSR.

  • The very first factor was to keep the USSR abreast of the information and technological revolutions taking place in the west.
  • Secondly to reform the Soviet economy, catch up with the west and to loosen the administrative system also forced Gorbachev to initiate the reforms.
  • Lastly, to improve and normalise relations with the west along with democratising the Soviet Union were also the focussed factors to introduce the reform policies. (Any two)
    As the question is very complicated in itself, so the answer to this question becomes more controversial in nature like :
  • The most basic answer seems to be that when Gorbachev carried out his reforms and loosened the system, he set in motion forces and expectations that few could have predicted. These become virtually impossible to control.
  • There were sections of Soviet society which felt that Gorbachev should have moved much faster and were disappointed and impatient with his methods. They did not benefit in the way they had hoped or they benefitted too slowly.
  • Others, especially members of the Communist Party, and those who were served by this system, took exactly the opposite view. They felt that their power and privileges were eroding and that Gorbachev was moving too quickly.

Hence, in this tug-of-war Gorbachev lost support on all sides and divided public opinion. Even those who were with him became disillusioned as they felt that he did not adequately defend his own policies.
Or

  1. Cuba was an ally of Soviet Union, received both displomatic and financial aid from it. In 1961, the leaders of the then USSR were worried that USA might invade Cuba and overthrow President Fidel Castro. During such a situation, the leader of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev decided to convert Cuba into a Russian base. In 1962, he had set up nuclear missiles in Cuba. These missiles could be at close range to the US and even reach upto Canada.
  2. Americans became aware only after three weeks that Soviet Union had placed nuclear weapons in Cuba. Kennedy ordered American warships to stop and check any Soviet ship moving towards Cuba as a way of warning to the USSR.
  3. It was also feared that Cuba might have learnt the technology behind nuclear weapons
    that would be anytime danger to the US prosperity.
  4. The Cuban crisis also led US to suspect all Soviet-aided countries and forced it to set up military blocs in different parts of the world as NATO, SEATO and CENTO.
    The installation of nuclear weapons put the US, for the first time, under fire from close range. The US President John F. Kennedy was not willing to do anything that might lead to full-scale nuclear war between the two countries. A clash seemed imminent in what came to be known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. The prospects of a clash made the whole world nervous for it would have been no ordinary war.
  5. Eventually, to the world’s great relief, both sides decided to avoid war. Thus, the Cuban Missile Crisis was a high point of what come to be known as the Cold War.

Question.27. What was the ‘new world order’ and how did it lead to the First Gulf War?
Or
What makes the European Union a highly influential regional organization?
Answer. With the disintegration of USSR the end of the cold war left open only two possibilities like
either the remaining superpower would dominate and create a “unipolar system”.
Different countries or groups of countries could become important players in the international system, thereby bringing in a ‘multipolar system’ where no one power could dominate.
The US Hegemony was established to show the overwhelming superiority of its military power. In absolute terms, the US today has military capabilities that can reach any point on the planet accurately and easily.
The US Hegemony led to the emergence or beginning of the new world order. The process for the establishment of US hegemony started in August 1990 when Iraq invaded Kuwait. It was rapidly occupied and subsequently made a part of it.
The United Nations tried its all diplomatic avenues to convince Iraq to quit its aggression but failed. Henceforth, UN mandated the liberation of Kuwait by force. This step of UN was very much guided by the dramatic decision of the US. Therefore, a massive coalition force of 660,000 troops from 34 countries fought against Iraq and defeated it. This war is popularly known as the “First Gulf War.” and UN operation was called “Operation Desert Storm.” But this was overwhelmingly an American attempt because nearly 75 per cent of the coalition forces were from the US.
Or
‘European Union’ was established in 1992 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The European Union was started as an Economic Union but over time it has evolved from Economic Union to increasingly political one. Hence, the EU now has started to act more as a nation-state.
(a) It has tried to expand areas of cooperation while acquiring new members, especially from the erstwhile Soviet bloc.
(b) Besides, European Union has its own flag, anthem, founding date and currency.
(c) Its has also some form of a common foreign and security policy in its dealings with other nations.
(d) It currency Euro can pose threat to American dollar in term of value.
(e) European Union’s share international trade is three times more than US.
(f) Two member countries of European Union, Britain and France are the permanent member of UN Security Council and possess about 550 nuclear warheads.
(g) European Union has second largest army in the world after US. Its defence budget is at par with US.
(h) Its gross domestic product is more than that of US.

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