Unit 9: Cold War

Containment

The action or policy of preventing the expansion of a hostile country or influence

Detente

The easing of hostility or strained relations, especially between countries.

Domino Theory

The theory that a political event in one country will cause similar events in neighboring countries

Partition of India

The change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj

Berlin Airlift

The US and UKs response to being blockaded from Berlin by the USSR

Sputnik

The first satellite ever placed into orbit by the Soviet Union.

Iron Curtain

A political metaphor used to describe the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas

Apartheid

A policy or system of segregation or discrimination on grounds of race

NATO

A political and military alliance established by the USA and other allied states

Guerrillas

A member of a small independent group taking part in irregular fighting, typically against larger regular forces.

38th Parallel

The line dividing communist North Korea from the non-communist Republic of Korea in the south

Hutus and Tutsis

The class divisions in South Africa that became seen as ethnic designations

Warsaw Pact

A political and military alliance established by the USSR and other Eastern Bloc states

Berlin Wall

A barrier that surrounded West Berlin and prevented access to it from East Berlin

Glasnost

A Soviet policy permitting open discussion of political and social issues and freer dissemination of news and information

Rwandan Genocide

A period of around 100 days where members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group were killed by armed Hutu militias

Proxy War

A war instigated by a major power which does not itself become involved.

Collectivization

The act or policy of joining several private farms, industries, etc. together so that they are controlled by the community or by the state

Perestroika

A political reform movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)

A principle of deterrence founded on the notion that a nuclear attack by one superpower would be met with an overwhelming nuclear counterattack