Gorbachevmade an oratory history in the United Nation Congress in 1988. He directed his speech to the United Nations and his focus was to prove that the Soviet Union’s operations were transparent and it was prepared to manage the actions of international peace. Additionally, the UN’s General Assembly comprised major diplomats and political representatives. Due to good relations between the UN and U.S. Gorbachev, on behalf of his country, found it easier to convince the U.S. to develop relations with Soviet. The present essay examines key political changes in Gorbachev’s speech.
Gorbachev selected the United Nations because he understood the significance of bargaining such method to the world, thus acknowledging the presence of similar and diverse areas of interests. He statedthe need for de-idolizing relations among states. According to the speech, believing that the world existed through the conservation of ideologies suppressed the creativity that steered developmentandrestrainedindividual’s rights and freedoms. Gorbachev was against people forfeiting their customs and practices, and he did not want to overlook his own, as it could demonstrate the weakness of deserting their countries’ major treasures (Gorbachev). Every country has its distinctive source of facilities that are conserved differently. According to Gorbachev, sharing each nation’s traditional resources would be advantageous to other nations that could have been “struggle of ideology” (Gorbachev, 1988). The implication was that it would be a hindrance to developing a secure and safeguarded environment for individuals in the nations. Moreover, diverse shared values and customs would lead to misunderstandings among individuals of mutually linked states, resulting in the delay of major developments. Therefore, making such decisions required consideration of various factors that could accelerate key projects by promoting peaceful co-existence and eliminating any form of disagreement.
Gorbachev understood that the use of force was not good since it hindered social growth. He states that the Soviet Union had begun decreasing its armed forces. Gorbachev further asserted that two years after his speech, “their numerical strength will be reduced by 500, 000 persons, and the value of conventional arms will also be cut considerably” (Gorbachev, 1988). The implications included the Soviet Union losing armies in Eastern Europe and China. Additionally, a lot of money saved through transferring all the armies helped the poor in the society and facilitated other developments. Furthermore, the Soviet Bloc united, and the action of force triggered great progress. This marked the beginning of a peaceful and prosperous world.
Gorbachev thought that the superpowers had the responsibility of uniting in order to end wars, hostilities and local battles as well as political violence among others.Despite the authority of superpowers having certain restrictions, they offered a lot of assistance after the Cold World War(Grachev, 2013). He believed that there was a limit to everything and the powerful countries were not an exception. Gorbachev foresaw a contemporary state that would outshine in local and international undertakings and unite the world. He forecasted a fruitful relationship among the superpowers, which would conform to the laws and take over major responsibilities. Generally, Gorbachev was a good example of promoting peace that currently typifies significant elements of the international community. He realized the significance of having united superpowers. Gorbachev represents a poor man who worked hard and ended up making a difference in the world.
References
Gorbachev, M. (1988). Speech by Mikhail Gorbachev at the UN General Assembly. Moscow News supplement to issue, (51), 3351.
Gorbachev, M. (n.d.).Excerpts of Address.Presented at Gorbachev’s Speech to the U.N. December 7, 1988. Retrieved from: http://astro.temple.edu/~rimmerma/gorbachev_speech_to_UN.htm
Grachev, A. (2013). Gorbachev’s Gamble: Soviet Foreign Policy and the End of the Cold War. Oxford: Wiley.