AP World History Unit 8: Cold War & Decolonization

Cold War

A sometimes physical but also ideological conflict between the US and the Soviet Union lasting c. 1945-1992. The nations never directly confronted each other on the battlefield but deadly threats and proxy wars; capitalism vs. communism

Non-Alignment Movement

a group of states which are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc of the Cold War; didn't want to take sides in the war; examples include: Sukarno in Indonesia and Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization; an alliance of capitalist nations made to defend one another if they were attacked by any other country; included US, England, France, Canada, and Western European countries

Warsaw Pact

An alliance between the Soviet Union and other communist Eastern European nations; formed in response to NATO

Proxy War

a war in which the powers in conflict use third parties as substitutes instead of fighting each other directly; happened often during the Cold War including the Korean War, Angolan Civil War, and the Sandinista-Contras conflict in Nicaragua

Mao Zedong

(1893-1976) Leader of the Communist Party in China that overthrew the Nationalists. Established China as the People's Republic of China and ruled from 1949 until 1976; led the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution to bring economic and cultural change to Communist China

Great Leap Forward

Mao Zedong's economic and social plan used in China from 1958 to 1961; goals = rapidly transform the country from an agrarian economy into a modern industrial society; resulted in famine and the deaths of more than 45 million people

Cultural Revolution

(1966-1976) Started in China by Mao Zedong to eliminate his rivals and train a new generation in the revolutionary spirit that created communist China; an attack on traditional Chinese cultural values; resulted in beatings, terror, mass jailing, and the deaths of thousands.

land redistribution

a policy by which land is taken from those who own large amounts and redistributed to those who have little or none; a popular practice among Communist nations who seek to gain the support of lower class citizens who had historically been denied property ownership; occurred in China, Mexico, USSR, Vietnam, Ethiopia, White Revolution Iran

White Revolution

occurred in Iran in 1962, the Shah's attempt appease the Iranian citizens; called for economic and and political reforms: created land reform, profit sharing, and women's right to vote

Indian National Congress

movement and political party founded in 1885 to demand greater Indian participation in government; membership was middle class (high caste), demands were modest until World War I. Led after 1920 by Gandhi, appealing to the poor.

Ho Chi Minh

1950s and 60s; nationalist communist leader of North Vietnam; fought against French colonization of Vietnam, used guerrilla warfare to fight anti-communist, American-funded attacks under the Truman Doctrine; strategy drew out war and made it unwinnable for the US

Muslim League

an organization formed in 1906 to protect the interests of India's Muslims, which later proposed that India be divided into separate Muslim and Hindu nations (Pakistan and India); led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah from 1913 until creation of Pakistan in 1947

Partition of India

After gaining independence from Great Britain in 1947, India was separated into two countries Pakistan for Muslims and India for Hindus; led to conflict as well as population displacement and resettlement

Imperial metropoles

"mother city"; many people from former colonies moved to these locations; maintained cultural and economic ties between the colony even after the dissolution of empires; examples: South Asians to Britain, Algerians to France, Filipinos to the United States

Nelson Mandela

South African nationalist Leader of the African National Congress (ANC); arrested for opposing white S. African rule and apartheid; used nonviolent means of protest; released from prison to become the South Africa's first democratically elected president in 1994

Apartheid

South African social policy and racial segregation involving political and economic and legal discrimination against non-whites; ended c. 1994

Al Qaeda

a network of Islamic terrorist organizations, led by Osama bin Laden, that carried out the attacks on the US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998, the USS Cole in Yemen in 2000, and the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001

Mohandas Gandhi

Leader of the Indian independence movement and advocate of nonviolent resistance. After being educated as a lawyer in England, he returned to India and became leader of the Indian National Congress in 1920; opposed British rule in India and wanted a united India for both Muslims and Hindus

Martin Luther King Jr.

U.S. Baptist minister and civil rights leader. A noted orator, he opposed discrimination against blacks by organizing nonviolent resistance and peaceful mass demonstrations. He was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968

Domino Theory

The US theory that stated, if one country would fall to Communism then they all would.

Containment Theory

stopping the spread of communism during the Cold War; the US theory stated: if Communism could be contained, the system would eventually die out

Marshall Plan

US plan to revive war-torn economies of Europe. Offered $13 billion in aid to western and Southern Europe; meant to improve economies so that communism would not sound appealing

Truman Doctrine

1947, President Truman's policy of providing economic and military aid to any country threatened by communism or totalitarian ideology, mainly helped Greece and Turkey

Glasnost

1986, a policy of Soviet leader Gorbachev which called for more openness and transparency in the Soviet gov't, and a relaxing of restraints on Soviet citizenry; less censorship and control of the media, greater contact between the USSR and Western states

Perestroika

A policy initiated Soviet leader Gorbachev that involved restructuring of the economy in the USSR towards a market based (capitalist) economy and society

Iron Curtain

Winston Churchill's term for the Cold War division between the Soviet-dominated East and the U.S.-dominated West.

United Nations

An international organization formed after WWII to promote international peace, security, and cooperation.