Global History and Ideological Movements Flashcards

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering global political movements, major conflicts, economic theories, and historical figures from the 18th to the 21st century as discussed in the lecture transcript.

Eugenics

Meaning “well-born,” this belief suggests that selective breeding based on classifications like race and wealth can improve humans, and was used in the 18th to 20th centuries to justify discrimination and sterilization of people of color, the poor, and the disabled.

Pseudoscientific Racism

The belief that humans are divided into biologically distinct races with inherent traits, making some races superior to others; used to justify systematic discrimination and colonization.

Maquiladoras

Foreign-owned assembly plants in Mexico, established in 1965 after the Bracero Program ended, that import raw materials and manufacture goods for export.

$$\text{Volume} \times \text{Velocity} = \text{Torque}$$

A metaphor used in the context of globalization where Volume represents the amount of things transported, Velocity represents speed, and Torque symbolizes the overall impact on globalization.

Bandung Conference

The first large-scale Afro-Asian conference held in Indonesia in 1955, involving 29 newly independent nations to promote economic cooperation and oppose colonialism.

Theodor Herzl

A Hungarian Jewish journalist and lawyer considered the father of modern political Zionism who formed the Zionist Organization.

Hundred Flowers Campaign (Let 100 Flowers Bloom)

A movement sparked by Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party encouraging citizens to openly express opinions of the regime, which eventually led to the punishment of critics.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

A foundational document adopted by the UN in 1948 outlining 30 articles on fundamental human rights inherent to all people regardless of race, gender, or nationality.

Treaty of Versailles

The primary peace agreement ending World War I that imposed severe penalties on Germany and established the League of Nations.

Pan-Arabism

A political and cultural movement advocating for the unification of all Arab people and nations, emerging in the 19th century and peaking in the 1950s and 1960s.

Non-Aligned Movement

A coalition of 120 developing nations established in 1961 that chose to remain neutral and not formally align with major global powers during the Cold War.

Globalization

The increasing global interconnectedness and interdependence driven by international trade, foreign investment, and technological advances.

Mao Zedong

Leader of the Chinese Communist Revolution and founder of the People’s Republic in 1949 who transformed China into a global power while also causing millions of deaths through his campaigns.

Satyagraha

A teaching of Gandhi that advocates for defeating injustice through peace, used during campaigns against British colonial rule in India.

Boxer Rebellion

A violent Chinese uprising against imperialism, colonialism, and Christianity that was backed by the Qing government but ultimately weakened the dynasty.

Crimes Against Humanity

Charges developed during the Nuremberg trials for inhumane crimes committed against any civilian population, which do not require the crimes to occur during wartime.

Nelson Mandela

The first Black head of state and first president of South Africa (1994–1999) who was a significant leader in the fight against apartheid.

Suez Crisis

A 1956 conflict involving Britain, France, and Israel invading Egypt, which marked the decline of Britain and France as imperial powers and the rise of the US and USSR as dominant powers.

Japan’s 21 Demands

A set of demands made by the Japanese Empire to China in 1915 to extend control, which sparked Chinese nationalism and the May 4th Movement.

Rape of Nanjing

The mass rape and murder of Chinese civilians by Imperial Japanese forces in 1937, serving as a symbol of Japanese imperial brutality.

Pan-Africanism

A global movement advocating for the unification of the African diaspora to combat slavery and colonialism and reclaim African identity.

Transvaal

An independent Boer republic in southern Africa where the discovery of gold led to an influx of British foreigners and contributed to the Boer War.

Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere

An imperialist propaganda concept created by Japan to promote the unification of Asian nations free from Western influence, used to justify brutal occupation during WWII.

Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution

A movement launched by Mao Zedong to purge capitalist elements, resulting in mass purges, destruction of cultural artifacts, and economic disruption.

Nauru

A tiny island nation in Micronesia that serves as an example of globalization's negative effects due to the massive exploitation of its phosphate resources.

Kibbutz

A collective community in Israel traditionally based on agriculture, where wealth, property, and labor are shared commonly.

OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries)

An organization founded in 1960 that shifted control of oil wealth to producing nations and utilized its power during the 1973 oil crisis.

Global North / Global South

Terminology dividing the world into wealthier industrialized nations (North) and developing, previously colonized nations (South).

Five Pillars of Islam

The core practices of Islam: declaration of faith, daily prayer, almsgiving, fasting during Ramadan, and the pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj).

Perestroika

An economic reform movement in the Soviet Union during the 1980s introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev, meaning “restructuring,” which accelerated the USSR's collapse.

Bolshevik Revolution

An uprising led by Vladimir Lenin that overthrew the provisional government, established the communist Soviet Union, and withdrew Russia from WWI.

Auschwitz

The largest Nazi concentration and extermination camp in occupied Poland where over 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, were murdered.

The White Man's Burden

A term from an 1899 Rudyard Kipling poem used as a racist justification for imperialism, suggesting white colonizers had a duty to “civilize” others.

Mandate System

A system established by the League of Nations after WWI that allowed Britain and France to administer former German and Ottoman territories.

Zionism

A Jewish nationalist movement advocating for a homeland in Palestine, leading to the founding of the State of Israel in 1948.

Iranian Revolution

The 1979 uprising that overthrew the Pahlavi monarchy and established an Islamic republic led by Ayatollah Khomeini.

Pogrom

An organized massacre of an ethnic or religious group, specifically the violent attacks against Jews in the Russian Empire that fueled early Zionism.

Albert Einstein

A theoretical physicist famous for the theory of relativity whose letter to President Roosevelt helped catalyze the Manhattan Project.

Fascism

A far-right political ideology characterized by dictatorial leadership and suppression of opposition, exemplified by Mussolini and Hitler.

Arab Nationalism

The ideology that Arabs constitute a single nation, promoting unity against Western and Ottoman influence.

Treblinka

An efficient Nazi extermination camp in occupied Poland where hundreds of thousands of Jews were murdered during the Holocaust.

Khmer Rouge

The communist regime led by Pol Pot in Cambodia (1975–1979) responsible for the deaths of 1.5 to 2 million people.

Balfour Declaration

A 1917 British statement supporting a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine.

Sigmund Freud

An Austrian neurologist and the father of psychoanalysis who popularized concepts like the unconscious mind and repression.

Kwame Nkrumah

The leader of Ghana’s independence movement and a major influential advocate of Pan-Africanism.

Apartheid

The institutionalized system of racial segregation and white supremacy enforced by the South African government from 1948 to 1994.

May 4th Movement

A 1919 anti-imperialist movement in China sparked by student protests against the Treaty of Versailles.

Great Leap Forward

An economic campaign by Mao Zedong (1958–1962) that led to the Great Chinese Famine and tens of millions of deaths.

Great Trek

The migration of Boers in the 1830s and 1840s to escape British colonial control in South Africa.

US Decision to Drop the Bomb

The decision by Harry S. Truman to use atomic weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to force Japan's surrender in 1945.

Orientalism

A concept popularized by Edward Said regarding the prejudiced way the West stereotypes Eastern cultures to justify imperialism.

Great Depression

The worldwide economic collapse of the 1930s sparked by the 1929 US stock market crash.

Meiji Restoration

An 1868 political event that restored imperial rule to Japan and triggered rapid modernization and industrialization.

Bob Marley

A Jamaican musician and global icon who used reggae music to promote themes of Pan-Africanism and social justice.

Anti-Rightist Campaign

A purge by Mao Zedong (1957–1959) targeting intellectuals and critics following the Hundred Flowers Campaign.

Manchuria

A resource-rich region in Northeast Asia whose invasion by Japan in 1931 showed the powerlessness of the League of Nations.

Civil Disobedience

The non-violent refusal to obey government laws, famously used by Mahatma Gandhi against British rule.

Boer War

A conflict (1899–1902) between the British Empire and Boer republics noted for Britain's use of scorched-earth tactics and concentration camps.

Harijans

A term meaning “Children of God,” used by Gandhi to refer to the “untouchable” caste in India.

Arab Spring

A series of anti-government uprisings across the Arab world beginning in 2010 that toppled several dictators.

Jawaharlal Nehru

The first Prime Minister of independent India and a key founder of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Neoliberalism

An economic philosophy advocating for free-market capitalism, privatization, and reduced government spending starting in the late 20th century.

World Bank

An international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries, often criticized for its structural adjustment policies.

Jus ad Bellum

Historical criteria determines when entering into a war is morally and legally permissible, codified in the UN Charter.

Winston Churchill

The UK Prime Minister during WWII known for his leadership against Nazi Germany and his staunch imperialist policies.

Sufi

A practitioner of the mystical branch of Islam which emphasizes an inward spiritual experience of God.

The Communist Manifesto

The 1848 pamphlet by Marx and Engels outlining the transition from capitalism to communism through class struggle.

The Wealth of Nations

Adam Smith’s 1776 book detailing the “invisible hand” and mechanics of free-market capitalism.

Anantomic Bomb

Developed by the Manhattan Project, this weapon was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, sparking a global nuclear arms race.

Hiroshima

A Japanese industrial city and the first target of a nuclear weapon in history on August 6, 1945, where 70,000–140,000 people died.

Benjamin Netanyahu

The longest-serving Prime Minister in Israel's history known for expanding West Bank settlements and a hardline stance against Iran.