Cold War and Post-Cold War Global History

Vocabulary flashcards focusing on key Cold War figures, international treaties, and geopolitical conflicts ranging from 1917 to the post-9/11 era.

Salvador Allende

The democratically elected socialist president of Chile (1970–1973) who was overthrown in a military coup on September 11, 1973, after trying to nationalize major industries like copper.

Marshall Plan

A U.S. economic aid program announced in 1947 and implemented in 1948 to rebuild Western Europe, designed to make capitalism attractive and stop the spread of communism.

Anwar Sadat

The president of Egypt (1970–1981) who shifted Egypt away from Soviet influence, negotiated the 1978 Camp David Accords, and signed the 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty.

Viet Minh

A Vietnamese nationalist and communist-led independence movement founded in 1941 by Ho Chi Minh that fought against Japanese occupation and French colonial rule.

Tutsis

The major ethnic group in Rwanda that was targeted by Hutu extremists during the 1994 genocide, resulting in the murder of approximately $800,000$ people.

Douglas MacArthur

The U.S. general who oversaw the occupation of Japan (1945–1951) and commanded UN forces in the Korean War before being fired by Truman for criticizing the limited-war strategy.

George Kennan

A U.S. diplomat known for writing the Long Telegram (1946) and the ‘X Article’ (1947), which established the policy of containment against the Soviet Union.

Balfour Declaration

A 1917 British statement supporting the creation of a ‘national home for the Jewish people’ in Palestine, which contributed to long-term conflict in the region.

No-Fly Zones in Iraq

Air-exclusion zones enforced by the U.S., Britain, and France (1991–2003) to prevent Saddam Hussein from using air power against Kurds in the north and Shi’a in the south.

Extraordinary Rendition

The secret capture and transfer of suspected terrorists to foreign countries or secret sites without normal legal process, used extensively during the George W. Bush administration.

Tet Offensive

A coordinated 1968 attack by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces that, while a military loss for the communists, caused a political disaster for the U.S. and turned public opinion against the war.

Jacobo rbenz

The democratically elected president of Guatemala (1951–1954) whose land reforms threatened the United Fruit Company, leading to his overthrow in a CIA-backed coup.

Dien Bien Phu

The decisive 1954 battle where the Viet Minh defeated French forces, leading to the end of French colonial rule and the temporary division of Vietnam at the $17^{th}$ parallel.

Gamal Abdel Nasser

The president of Egypt (1956–1970) and leader of Arab nationalism who promoted nonalignment and nationalized the Suez Canal in 1956.

Nixon Doctrine

A 1969 policy stating that U.S. allies should take more responsibility for their own defense, providing the justification for the ‘Vietnamization’ of the war.

Pentagon Papers

A secret Department of Defense study leaked by Daniel Ellsberg in 1971 that revealed multiple U.S. administrations had misled the public about the Vietnam War.

Perestroika and Glasnost

The mid-to-late 1980s reforms introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev to modernize the Soviet system through economic ‘restructuring’ and political ‘openness.’

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini

The Shi’a Muslim cleric who led the 1979 Iranian Revolution, overthrowing the Shah and establishing an anti-American Islamic Republic.

Dayton Agreement

The 1995 deal negotiated in Ohio that ended the Bosnian War, keeping Bosnia and Herzegovina as one country while dividing it internally by ethnic entities.

Zero-Zero Option

A 1981 proposal by Ronald Reagan to eliminate an entire class of intermediate-range nuclear missiles from Europe, which became the basis for the 1987 INF Treaty.

Boris Yeltsin

The first president of the Russian Federation (1991–1999) who famously resisted the 1991 hardline communist coup and led Russia through a chaotic economic transition.

Yalta Conference

A February 1945 meeting between Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin to discuss the postwar order, including the division of Germany and the creation of the United Nations.

Bay of Pigs

A failed 1961 invasion of Cuba by U.S.-backed exiles in Brigade 2506 meant to overthrow Fidel Castro, which pushed Cuba closer to the Soviet Union.

Baruch Plan

A 1946 U.S. proposal for international control of atomic energy and nuclear weapons that failed because the U.S. wanted to maintain its monopoly during the transition.

Partial Test Ban Treaty

A 1963 agreement between the U.S., USSR, and Britain that banned nuclear testing in the atmosphere, underwater, and outer space while still allowing underground tests.

Truman Doctrine

A 1947 declaration that the U.S. would provide aid to governments resisting communism, first applied to help Greece and Turkey.

Manuel Noriega

The military ruler of Panama (1983–1989) who was removed from power during the 1989 U.S. invasion, known as Operation Just Cause, for drug trafficking and corruption.