A look at why Gorbachev's reforms failed in the former Soviet Union Term Paper

A look at why Gorbachev's reforms failed in the former Soviet Union while Deng Xiaoping's reforms succeeded in China - Term Paper Example His policy of Glasnost or openness was also an integral part of his restructuring as well. The essence of these reforming exercises was largely the movement towards economic liberalization and plausible democratic transparency – to the extent as it augured well with the need for necessary change (Kessler, 1988, 651). Indeed, what Deng could foresee in 1978, Gorbachev and erstwhile Soviet political stalwarts took yet another eight years to conceive! China’s journey to realizing need for globalization began with Deng’s very first visit to United States for meeting President Carter. When USSR started with restructuring economy and polity, China was already way ahead in this process. Does it mean that Deng was better entrenched in the corridors of power in China than Gorbachev in Soviet Union? There can be quite few reasons behind this apparent ‘back bencher’ attitude of the Soviet Union. Despite other international political designs, China was not so globally involved with the cold war mutual vilifications and indirect fighting with the United States (US). The Soviet Union had to waste a lot of her resources and energy in the cold war with US. In view of Soviet involvement in Afghanistan and tremendous pressure upon it during cold war and dà ©tente, USSR’s weal ec onomy could not really bear the burden of a so-called socialist polity and economy – largely closed to the outside world. However, in order to critically analyze and compare both Perestroika and Deng’s reforms it is required to know the major aspects of both these perspectives. First, main aspects of Perestroika may be pointed out: The Gorbachev leadership, however, regarded its reforms in the USSR as a development of socialism, a â€Å"modernization,† as it were, of socialism to bring it up to date in the modern epoch. The policy of perestroika has †¦. The proposals of the reform movement