Cold War, Decolonization, and Conflicts Flashcards

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts related to the Cold War, decolonization, and various conflicts.

United Nations

An international organization of sovereign nations created after WWII to promote international law, security, human rights, and economic and social progress.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

A declaration adopted by the UN in 1948 that states the 30 basic human rights all humans should have at all times.

World Bank

International financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programs.

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Organization of 188 countries fostering global monetary cooperation, promoting high employment, and reducing poverty.

European Union (EU)

An organization uniting Europe to allow free movement of goods, services, and workers among member countries, fostering economic stability after WWII.

Marshall Plan

U.S. plan from 1948-1951, initiated by George Marshall, to aid in the economic recovery of Europe after World War II.

Truman Doctrine

U.S. foreign policy established in 1947 by President Harry S. Truman, providing economic and military aid to countries resisting communism.

Domino Theory

The theory that if one country in a region becomes communist, surrounding countries would follow.

Iron Curtain Speech

Speech by Winston Churchill in 1946 in Fulton, Missouri, describing a metaphorical division of Europe and calling for action against the spread of communism.

Berlin Blockade

An attempt in 1948 by the Soviet Union to limit France, Great Britain, and the U.S. access to their sectors of Berlin.

Berlin Airlift

A U.S. operation that delivered supplies and relief to West Berlin during the Soviet blockade.

NATO

Political and military alliance formed in 1949 connecting North America with Europe for collective defense, crisis management, and cooperative security.

Warsaw Pact

Military alliance of communist East European countries, headed by the Soviet Union in 1955, designed as a response to NATO.

Berlin Wall

A barrier constructed by East Germany starting in 1961, cutting off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and East Berlin.

Destalinization

When Nikita Khrushev called out Stalin for his reign of terror and satellite states saw this as a weakening of Soviet control and demanded more political independence.

Nuclear Arms Race

Competition for nuclear supremacy between the USSR and the United States during the Cold War.

MAD

The concept is Mutually Assured Destruction.

SALT I

First series of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, placing limits and restraints on armaments.

Detente

easing of hostility, especially between countries

Non-Alignment

International policy of a sovereign state to not align with any power blocs, while actively participating in world affairs to promote peace and cooperation.

Korean War

War triggered by Communist North Korean troops marching into South Korea across the 38th parallel.

Batista

Military dictatorship friendly to US interests led by Batista.

Cuban Revolution

A revolution motivated by socialists ideas like redistribution of the land and nationalization of the resources of the country.

Bay of Pigs

U.S. attempt to overthrow Castro in Cuba that was unsuccessful.

Cuban Missile Crisis

The USSR installed missiles in Cuba which leads to 13 tense days of negotiations, The USSR withdraws its missiles in Cuba and the US withdraws missiles in Turkey.

Decolonization in Africa

Following the example of Gandhi and Nehru in India (1947), the Gold Coast under the leadership of Nkrumah became the first independent African colony in Sub-Saharan Africa (1957).

Rwandan Genocide

Violence against the Tutsi that led to the killing of hundreds of thousands of people.

Chilean Coup of Allende

US military coup led by Augusto Pinochet against Allende because he was a communist in the process of nationalizing important sectors of the Chilean economy

Iranian Revolution of 1979

A reaction to the failure of Shah Reza Pahlavi to meet the social and political needs of the people. This led to the rise of the conservative religious government known as the Islamic Republic under the Ayatollah Khomeni

Vietnam War

Struggle between nationalist forces attempting to unify Vietnam under a communist government and the United States attempting to prevent the spread of communism.

Ho Chi Minh

Revolutionary nationalist leader who organized Vietnamese opposition to foreign occupation and led the war to unify the country.

Pol Pot

Leader of Khmer Rouge whose main goal was to turn Cambodia back into an agrarian society.

Mikhail Gorbachev

Head of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991, whose reforms led to the collapse of Communist governments in eastern Europe.

Glasnost

Policy of openness initiated by Gorbachev in the 1980s that provided increased opportunities for freedom of speech, association and the press in the Soviet Union.

Perestroika

Restructuring, replaced centralized government planning with a greater reliance on market forces