How does a government like the Soviet Union just collapse? What does that actually look like?

Question

I am having a hard time understanding how governments can just “collapse” like the Soviet Union, without any foreign threats. Wouldn’t an incompetent and dysfunctional government just keep up appearances and continue to operate in the background?

In: Economics

Answer 1

The second lecture of ‘Power and Politics in Today’s World’ goes over just that, actually. Link here: https://youtu.be/f5nbT4xQqwI