The collapse of the second world of the Soviet Union and the socialist systems in eastern Europe had profound consequences for world politics. Three broad kinds of enduring changes that resulted from it. Each of these had a number of effects.

The collapse of communism was followed in most of these countries by a painful process of transition from an authoritarian socialist system to a democratic capitalist system. The model of transition in Russia, Central Asia and east Europe that was influenced by the World Bank and the IMF came to be known as ‘shock therapy’. Shock therapy varied in intensity and speed amongst the former second world countries, but its direction and features were quite similar.

How did the disintegration of the USSR affect power relations in world politics?

It created a unipolar system with the US as the sole superpower.

The disintegration of the USSR left the United States as the sole superpower, leading to a unipolar international system where no other power could dominate.

Consequences of the disintegration of the USSR:

The collapse of the second world of the Soviet Union and the socialist systems in eastern Europe had profound consequences for world politics. Three broad kinds of enduring changes resulted from it. Each of these had a number of effects.

First of all, it meant the end of Cold War confrontations. The ideological dispute over whether the socialist system would beat the capitalist system was not an issue any more. Since this dispute had engaged the military of the two blocs, had triggered a massive arms race and accumulation of nuclear weapons, and had led to the existence of military blocs, the end of the confrontation demanded an end to this arms race and a possible new peace.

Second, power relations in world politics changed and, therefore, the relative influence of ideas and institutions also changed. The end of the Cold War left open only two possibilities: either the remaining superpower would dominate and create a unipolar system, or 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. As it turned out, the US became the sole superpower. Backed by the power and prestige of the US, the capitalist economy was now the dominant economic system internationally. Institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund became powerful advisors to all these countries since they gave them loans for their transitions to capitalism. Politically, the notion of liberal democracy emerged as the best way to organise political life.

Third, the end of the Soviet bloc meant the emergence of many new countries. All these countries had their own independent aspirations and choices. Some of them, especially the Baltic and east European states, wanted to join the European Union and become part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). The Central Asian countries wanted to take advantage of their geographical location and continue their close ties with Russia and also to establish ties with the West, the US, China and others. Thus, the international system saw many new players emerge, each with its own identity, interests, and economic and political difficulties.