Asia and the Middle East to the Present Regents Review

Vocabulary flashcards covering the historical context, key figures, and major events in Asia and the Middle East, including wars, revolutions, and independence movements.

Republic of Korea

A democratic-based government established in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula following the Japanese surrender in $1945$.

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

A communist-style government set up in the northern half of the Korean Peninsula after $1945$.

Korean War ($1950-1953$)

A conflict where US and UN troops fought alongside South Korea to defend against an invasion from North Korea.

Korean War Armistice

A $1953$ agreement that reached a ceasefire and divided Korea along a demilitarized zone at the $38\text{th}$ parallel.

38th parallel

The line of latitude used as the demilitarized zone to divide North and South Korea following the $1953$ armistice.

South Korea

An anti-communist economic powerhouse known for exporting high-priced goods such as automobiles and computers.

Kim Jong-un

The communist leader of North Korea who spends large sums of money on the military.

North Korea military

An organization that possesses one of the world’s largest standing armies under communist leadership.

Vietminh

A communist group that fought the Japanese during World War II in Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh

The leader of the Vietminh and communist forces who declared Vietnam free.

1954 Geneva Convention

The meeting that led to the division of Vietnam into a communist north and a noncommunist south.

Vietnam War ($1955-1975$)

A conflict in which the United States sent troops and advisors to support South Vietnam against communist forces.

Ngo Dinh Diem

The leader of South Vietnam who was supported by United States troops and advisors.

Domino theory

The United States fear that if one country fell to communism, neighboring countries would also fall, leading to US involvement in Vietnam.

Vietnam War outcome

South Vietnam could not defeat the communist forces, and the country was eventually reunited under communist control.

Sino-Japanese War

A conflict that revealed China’s internal weakness and led to increased foreign influence.

Boxer Rebellion

A push or uprising aimed at removing westerners from China.

Sun Yat-sen

A leader who wanted to end foreign domination, form a representative government, and create economic security for the Chinese people.

Three Principles of the People

The core focused values of Sun Yixian: nationalism, democracy, and economic security for everyone.

Chinese Republic

Established in $1911$ with Sun Yixian named as president after ending the previous dynastic rule.

Mao Zedong

A leader who gained power after the Long March and led China’s Communist Revolution.

Long March

The event that preceded Mao Zedong's rise to power in the Chinese Communist Party.

Mao Zedong’s peasant reforms

A set of policies that promised land reform, increased literacy, and provided healthcare to the population.

Great Leap Forward

Mao’s call for an increase in agricultural production and industrial output through the creation of communes.

Communes

Large collective farms created during the Great Leap Forward that had high production quotas.

Cultural Revolution

A movement initiated to reestablish people’s loyalty to communism by attacking traditional elements and those seen as disloyal.

Red Guards

Groups of students during the Cultural Revolution who attacked professors, government officials, factory managers, and skilled workers.

Deng Xiaoping

The leader who succeeded Mao and implemented the Four Modernizations and market-based economic reforms.

Four Modernizations

Deng Xiaoping's plan to improve farming, industry, science and technology, and defense systems.

Tiananmen Square

Location of $1989$ demonstrations where students demanded political rights and freedoms, resulting in a violent military crackdown.

GDP (Gross Domestic Product)

The total value of all of the goods and services produced in a country.

China's Nominal GDP in $1952$

The total value of goods and services produced by the People’s Republic of China which was valued at $67.9\text{ billion}$ RMB yuan.

China's Nominal GDP in $2005$

The total value of goods and services produced by the People’s Republic of China reaching $18232.1\text{ billion}$ RMB yuan.

Shenzhen SEZ

A Special Economic Zone introduced under Deng Xiaoping to encourage economic growth and foreign investment.

WTO entry

The World Trade Organization accession that was part of China’s market-based economic reforms toward international trade.

Mohandas Gandhi

Leader of the Indian independence movement who used civil disobedience and nonviolent protests to end British control.

Civil disobedience

The use of nonviolent protests and passive resistance to show dislike for government policies, as practiced by Gandhi.

Salt March

A protest where Gandhi and his followers walked to the sea to collect salt, defying British laws that claimed all natural resources belonged to Britain.

Partition of India

The division of the Indian subcontinent into two separate nations: India for Hindus and Pakistan for Muslims.

Muslim League

An organization led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah that demanded a separate state for Muslims in India.

Muhammad Ali Jinnah

The leader of the Muslim League who advocated for the creation of Pakistan.

Pakistan

The independent state created specifically for the Muslim minority during the partition of India.

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

The leader who helped westernize Turkey to prevent it from being taken over by European countries.

Westernization (Turkey)

The process of adopting Western schools, language, and dress codes led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Reza Shah Pahlavi

The leader of Iran who attempted to modernize and westernize the country similar to Ataturk's reforms in Turkey.

Ayatollah Khomeini

The leader who rose to power during the Iranian Revolution, ending westernization and establishing a theocracy.

Iranian Revolution

A movement that replaced the Shah's government with a theocratic system based on Islamic Fundamentalism.

Theocracy

A system of government in which religious leaders rule in the name of God or a god, established in Iran after the revolution.

Islamic Fundamentalism

A religious movement characterized by a return to strict adherence to fundamental Islamic principles, which rose during the Iranian Revolution.

Jewish claim to Palestine

The belief that Jewish people are entitled to the land based on having ruled it $3000$ years ago.

Palestinian Arab claim to Palestine

The belief that Palestinian Arabs are entitled to the land because they have lived there since Roman times.

1947 UN Partition Plan

A plan to partition Palestine into a separate Arab state and a Jewish state, which was accepted by Jews but not by Arabs.

Arab-Israeli Wars

A series of conflicts initiated by Arab nations vowing to drive Jews out following the creation of Israel in $1948$.

French Indochina context

The historical period starting in the mid-$1800s$ when Vietnam was ruled by the French.

Sun Yixian (Sun Yat-sen) 1913

The year the first president of the Chinese Republic stepped down, leading to economic collapse and civil war.

Guomintang

The nationalist party in China that fought a civil war against the Communist Party.

Market-based economic reforms

Changes introduced since $1978$ in China, primarily under Deng Xiaoping, favoring free markets over political freedoms.

Indian Imperialism resources

Natural resources including gems and cotton that Great Britain extracted for wealth during its control of India.

Partition violence

The conflict and religious-based killings that occurred as people moved between India and Pakistan during the partition.

Modernization of Iran

The efforts by Reza Shah Pahlavi to update Iranian infrastructure and culture which were later overturned by the Iranian Revolution.