Question

Give an account of the expansion of democracy in the world after 1980.

Answer 1

(i) Democracy got a big push after 1980. The disintegration of the Soviet Union accelerated this process. Soviet Union controlled many of its neighbouring communist countries in Eastern Europe. Poland and several other countries became free from the control of the Soviet Union during 1989-90.
(ii) They chose to become democracies. Finally the Soviet Union itself broke down in 1991. The Soviet Union comprised 15 republics. All the constituent republics emerged as independent countries. Most of them became democracies.
(iii) In India's neighbourhood, major changes took place during this period. Pakistan and Bangladesh made a transition from army rule to democracy in 1990s. In Nepal, the King gave up many of his powers to become a constitutional monarch to be guided by elected leaders.
(iv) However, these changes were not permanent. In 1999 General Musharraf brought back army rule in Pakistan. In 2005 the new King of Nepal dismissed the elected government and took back political freedoms that people had won in the previous decade.
(v) In Pakistan, democracy has been fully restored now. In 2008, a democratically elected government, with Asif Ali Zardari as President, came to power to govern the country's administration. Similarly, in Nepal too monarchy has been abolished completely and the country has become democratic again.
(vi) Thus, more and more countries have been turning to democracy. By 2005, about 140 countries were holding multi-party elections. More than 80 previously non-democratic countries have made significant advances towards democracy since 1980.