Term Paper on "Comparative Government"

Term Paper 7 pages (2151 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Governments

The world is a different place than what it was after the Second World War. Tad Szulc writes great human and political movements exploded in the aftermath of World War II" (16). There was no way to predict in the fifty years since that humanity would undergo "transformations more overwhelming, dramatic, and enriching than during any other half century period in history" (Szulc, 19). As a result of the Second World War, the United Nations was invented to protect the world and promote peace. Introduction of new inventions and technologies fueled the fire for regrowth and America and Europe. Later the emergence of Information Technology would dominate the new century and bring the world closer as a community both economically and socially. Still why have some countries been more successful than other since the Second World War and the end of the Cold War? More specifically what has Germany been more successful than Russia since both countries have embraced democracy and capitalism as a way of life? One answer, Germany has been free and democratic for a longer period of time. Why have Germany's unification and leadership appeared seamless while Russia's has displayed problematic and growth for its economy and social reform? Why has Russia suffered from unrest? What has made each country's transition to democracy and free trade different? This paper will examine possible reasons. It will also examine Germany and Russia's journeys to democratization during two very different time periods in modern history. In many ways, Germany was fortunate to reinvent itself after World War II. The end of the war signifies a difficult time in Germany's history but it also represents rebirth. For Russia, the end of the Cold War marks a time of great change.

The paragraphs below will compare and contrast social, political and economic changes for similarities and differences between the two countries. With the fall of the Berlin Wall that for many years symbolized isolation and oppression and the Iron Curtain in shreds, a new reality has dawned on Europe. The new reality brings endless possibility. Are Germany and Russia ready?

Germany and Russia are not as different as one would think upon closer inspection. Both countries have struggled with the repercussions of war, a war both devastating to its people and economy. Both countries, Germany in the form of former East Germany, have been affected by Communist doctrine. For Russia, Communist rule began and bred there. Germany's story is slightly different.

Germany

According to a book called Germany: A Country Study edited by Eric Solsten, German unity has always been desired by its people but not at all attained. Evidently the country has spent much of its early and modern history struggling with this issue. This has been mainly because Germany was divided into many smaller states. Due to many social factors such as crop failure, city factory uprisings and unpredictable leadership, these states remained at odds with each other. It was not until Otto von Bismarck that national sentiment and pride became wide spread. It was not until 1871 that the Second Reich or Imperial Germany was established with immense popularity. It was under this rule "Germany experienced an economic boom immediately after unification" (Solsten, 43-44). Still despite industrial growth and slowly entering the globally market place as a leader, Germany was constantly at war and its political structure remained unstable.

It was no surprise that Hitler took advantage of a weak nation. After the war, Germany's people would feel a supreme amount of guilt for their participation in the atrocity. Solsten comments "Germans refer to the immediate aftermath of the war as the Strude Null or Zero Hour" (73). It was at this time, Germany ceased to exist as a state and the rebuilding began. Still these efforts were hampered by the beginnings of the Cold War. The Four Powers occupied Germany: the United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union. At this point, it was not a matter of unifying Germany but a need for sustenance and survival. This occupation provided "physical survival, rebuilding cities, fashioning a new economy and integrating millions of refugees" (Solsten, 73). The occupation divided Germany into East and West Germanys. The Soviets controlled East Germany and closed it off to the world.

While West Germany was benefiting from "the adoption of democratic politics" (Solsten, 73) and free trade, East Germany's economy became Socialistic and controlled by the state. One reason West Germany succeeded where Russia failed in economic growth and recovery was because the Germans invested in new technologies like pharmaceuticals, computers and plastics (Szulc, 16). This put West Germany on par with Japan as a world leader in resources. It also made Germany a banking leader. Its success can be attributed to democracy being introduced after the war and an open market of fair trade. With predictable political values, West Germany was strong enough to provide for its people.

Slowly political awareness has changed their social thinking. "Today traditional values are being questioned and challenged not necessarily by conscious or organized design but as a consequence of democracy taking roots" (Dornberg, 35). Dornberg also writes the true "test of any democracy is the willingness of its citizens to reject and protest injustice" (35). The West Germans had a voice of disgust when learning of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. Numerous anti-Soviet slogans were painted throughout West Berlin. Another social reform put into place because of the democratic process was a complete reformation of West Germany's educational system. This has resulted in a very liberal approach to focused and highly organized education across the board. This has resulted in a more relaxed, independent thinking student (Dornberg, 123).

Russia

With the Cold War came the Stalinist style of economic thinking. Simons comments that in order "to secure the area, the Soviets imposed the system that lay at hand" (109). It relied on Russian materials. In other words this system "created a dictatorship of party/state organs that aspired to direct, control, and dominate every aspect of political, economic, social, and cultural life from a simple center" (110) for a long as possible. Life in Russia meant that everything according to the state had to be believed and the state decided that everything should be political. The isolation from the West only intensified their ability for control. The market was closed only to doing business with other Soviet block countries (Simons, 117). The Cold War economy had advantages domestically for Russia because it gave the country a stronger national identity. Simons writes "it perpetuated the regimes' fiction that politics had actually been replaced by economics, the line of their revolutions were permanent because all political issues had been resolved" (121). Remarkably industry grew with a focus on homegrown products and continued to emphasis on the Communistic collective way.

Still the system was too unnatural to survive, even living in a vacuum and was not completely unaware of outside influences. If anything the environment built an air of paranoia in response to any crisis. It is because of this framework that Russia's economic and social growth seems stagnant even today. It is the lack of explore to the free world that has made Russia what it is today. Russia is behind in the times because of attitude. Face it, not many people deal well with change and something as monumental as democracy can be difficult to process. Unlike Germany, Russia was exposed to the freethinking that the democratic process creates. In many ways Russia is the newborn child while Germany is the parent. Germany is a stronger and more successful world power because has more experience in the free market structure. It had access to foreign investment at a time when aide was available. Germany knew about freedom for decades before Russia.

By the late 1980's Gorbachev's leadership had changed Russians fear of the state (Goldman, 2). The Cold War ending changed everything for Russia. In many ways, it was too much of a good thing. For so long, they had nothing and then almost overnight they are introduced to capitalism and democracy. Half the reason why Russia's economic growth and social reform failed is because of the country's reaction to change. "Russia as the successor to the Soviet Union was no longer a superpower" (Goldman, 3) and if anything was being compared to a Banana Republic. Its global influence had been reduced to nothing overnight. This social change to democracy proved to have a direct effect on the country's economy. "Whereas once everything in the Soviet Union was centrally controlled and stable, if not stagnant and reactionary, now almost everything seems to have become autonomous and decentralized" (Goldman, 3).

All of a sudden Russia's people had too many choices. Can one imagine the culture shock to discover one morning that your culture no longer exists? Even though they had lost their fear of authority and were able to actively voice their anger at Gorbbachev's failure, they were in unchartered territory without a guide. In… READ MORE

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