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The Peaceful Revolution ((ドイツ語:Friedliche Revolution)) was the process of sociopolitical change that led to the end of the SED dominance of the German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) and the transition to a parliamentary democracy which enabled the reunification of Germany. This turning point was wholly created through the violence-free initiatives, protests and successful demonstrations, which decisively occurred between the local elections held in May 1989 and the GDR's first free parliamentary election in March 1990. These events were closely linked to the Soviet Union’s decision under the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev to abandon its hegemony in Eastern Europe as well as the reformist movements that spread through the region as a result. In addition to the Soviet Union’s shift in foreign policy – part of its glasnost and perestroika reforms – the flaws of the GDR's socialist planned economy and its lack of competitiveness within a increasingly global market as well as its sharply rising national debt hastened the destabilization of the SED's dictatorship and the success of the revolution. Those driving the reform process within the GDR included intellectuals and church figures, the significant amount of people attempting to flee the country – thus displaying a clear sign of the discontentment with the SED regime – as well as the rising number of peaceful demonstrators who were no longer willing to yield to the threat of violence and repression by the authorities. On account of its hostile response to the reforms implemented within its “socialist brother lands”, the SED leadership was already increasingly isolated within the Eastern Bloc by the time it finally decided to abstain from the use of force to suppress the ever-larger public demonstrations and permitted the opening of the border at the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989. Through a change in leadership and a willingness to talk with opponents, the SED initially attempted to win back the political initiative. However, due to the continued political instability and the threat of national bankruptcy, control of the situation increasingly lay with the West German government under Chancellor Helmut Kohl. From the start of December 1989, the GDR government of Prime Minister Hans Modrow was controlled from a Central Round Table, at which the dissolution of the suppressive state security service, the Stasi, was put into action and preparations were made for free elections. After a sweeping election win for the “Alliance for Germany” coalition, the political path within the GDR was now clear for a swift reunification of the two German states. ==Soviet policy toward the Eastern Bloc== A fundamental shift in the policy of the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev toward the Eastern Bloc nations was the background for large numbers of the East German population to show active dissent against SED regime in the GDR. Upon becoming elected General Secretary of the Soviet Union in 1985, Gorbachev abolished the Soviet claim of leadership over the internal developments of the "socialist brother lands". The Brezhnev Doctrine that had seen the Warsaw Pact invade Czechoslovakia in 1968 to quell the Prague Spring liberal reforms was replaced by the so-called Sinatra Doctrine; this policy announcement was in fact retrospective as the Soviet Union had already failed to militarily intervene – despite urging from the GDR leader Erich Honecker – during the Polish crisis of 1980–81. Gorbachev's decision largely stemmed from the lack of economic development within the Eastern Bloc in comparison to the western industrial nations due to the persistence of increasingly incompatible production structures and the failure to create service-orientated, micro-electronic or globalized industries. The Soviet Union therefore increasingly lacked the materials to continue the arms race with the Reagan-era United States – particularly with a drawn-out war in Afghanistan – and the resources to control Central and Eastern Europe. With his economic and sociopolitical reform program as well as his disarmament initiatives, Gorbachev therefore sought to take appropriate steps. Having initiated a policy of ''glasnost'' (openness) and emphasized the need for ''perestroika'' (economic restructuring), Gorbachev essentially permitted the six member states of the Warsaw Pact to now each take their own direction with their own reforms. While those reforms implemented the Soviet Union were met with broad approval by the peoples across the other Eastern Bloc nations – in particular amongst students and academics – the respective governments of the region reacted at first with reserve and later, in part, with rejection of the reforms. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「peaceful revolution」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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