Effects of WWII in the Pacific

4 types of effects

1. Successes and failures of peacekeeping

2. Political repercussions

3. Territorial changes

4. Socio-economic impacts

What goes under peacekeeping?

• New treaties

• New organisations

What goes under political repercussions?

• Ideological changes

• New leaders

• Constitutional reform

What goes under territorial changes?

• Occupation

• Demilitarisation

• Loss of territory

What goes under socio-economic impacts?

• Demographic changes (social)

• Role of women (social)

• Loans, reparations, debt (economic)

• Inflation, economic recovery (economic)

Peacekeeping examples (5)

1. American occupation of Japan until the Treaty of the San Francisco (1951): two nations linked economically and militarily

2. UN formed in 1945: successes in overseeing decolonisation, ending the Korean War, defusing the Suez Crisis (1956) | failures in Kashmir, Palestine, Rwanda genocide (1994) and Iraq War (2001)

3. UN’s role in proxy wars (failures): Korean War broke out despite the UN division; UN voted against involvement in the Vietnam War

4. UN Charter & Declaration of Human Rights (success)

5. War tribunal (Tokyo Trial 1946-8): success in punishing war criminals

Political repercussion examples (5)

1. Cold War began between the USSR and the US: ideological conflict

2. 1947 Japanese Constitution: oversaw by the US: parliamentary democracy, men and women enfranchised, emperor the symbolic head of state, renunciation of war

3. Chinese Civil War & CCP revolution

4. Old colonial powers declined with decolonisation, creating vacuums (fuelling Cold War tensions)

5. Korean War (1950-53)

Territorial changes examples (5)

1. Japan occupied for nearly 7 years by the USA and lost colonial gains. Japan provided reparations to territories

2. Decolonisation of South-East Asia from 1946 to 1997 (Philippines in 1947, Vietnam by 1975 and eventually Hong Kong in 1997)

3. CCP took control of China in 1949 and nationalists set up government in Taiwan

4. Russia took control over Manchuria (and gave access to CCP) in 1945

5. Korea divided by UN in half along the 38th parallel; demilitarised zone after 1953

Socio-economic examples (5)

1. 100,000 US soldiers killed and 250,000 wounded. 1.7 million Japanese soldiers died and 4.5 mi injured

2. US economy strong after WWII and it stepped into world conflicts as new Cold War superpower

3. Mass unemployment in Japan, price inflation and general hunger; by 1952 Japan was economically stable due to US economic deals. Security Treaty 1952 aided ongoing growth

4. Women: US Women involved in WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots), WAC (Women’s Army Corps) over 300,000 involved in military service. Japanese women part of industry from 1943

5. Creation of IMF World Bank (1944) to help Europe and Japan rebuild after the war