unit 8 KT

Al Qaeda

a network of Islamic terrorist organizations, led by Osama bin Laden, that carried out the attacks on the US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998, the USS Cole in Yemen in 2000, and the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001

Apartheid

South African social policy and racial segregation involving political and economic and legal discrimination against non-whites; ended c. 1994

Cold War

A sometimes physical but also ideological conflict between the US and the Soviet Union lasting c. 1945-1992. The nations never directly confronted each other on the battlefield but they did issue deadly threats and conduct proxy wars; capitalism vs. communism

Containment Theory

The US theory that stated, if Communism in Asia could be contained in the area the system would eventually die out.

Cultural Revolution

(1966-1976) Political policy in China started by Mao Zedong to eliminate his rivals and train a new generation in the revolutionary spirit that created communist China; an attack on traditional Chinese cultural values. It resulted in beatings, terror, mass jailing, and the deaths of thousands.

Domino Theory

The US theory that stated, if one country would fall to Communism then they all would.

Glasnost

A policy of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev which called for more openness with the nations of West, and a relaxing of restraints on Soviet citizenry.

Great Leap Forward

economic and social plan used in China from 1958 to 1961 which aimed to use China's vast population to rapidly transform the country from an agrarian economy into a modern industrial society; resulted in famine and the deaths of more than 45 million people

Ho Chi Minh

1950s and 60s; nationalist communist leader of North Vietnam; fought against French colonization of Vietnam, used guerrilla warfare to fight anti-communist, American-funded attacks under the Truman Doctrine; strategy drew out war and made it unwinnable for the US

Imperial metropoles

"mother city"; many people from former colonies moved to these locations; maintained cultural and economic ties between the colony even after the dissolution of empires; examples: South Asians to Britain, Algerians to France, Filipinos to the United States

Indian National Congress

A movement and political party founded in 1885 to demand greater Indian participation in government. Its membership was middle class (high caste), and its demands were modest until World War I. Led after 1920 by Gandhi, appealing to the poor.

Iron Curtain

Winston Churchill's term for the Cold War division between the Soviet-dominated East and the U.S.-dominated West.

Land Redistribution

A policy by which land is taken from those who own large amounts and redistributed to those who have little or none; a popular practice among Communist nations who seek to gain the support of lower class citizens who had historically been denied property ownership; occurred in China, Mexico, USSR, Vietnam, Ethiopia, White Revolution Iran.

Mao Zedong

(1893-1976) Leader of the Communist Party in China that overthrew the Nationalists.

Marshall Plan

A plan that the US came up with to revive war-torn economies of Europe. This plan offered $13 billion in aid to western and Southern Europe; meant to improve economies so that communism would not sound appealing.

Martin Luther King Jr.

U.S. Baptist minister and civil rights leader. A noted orator, he opposed discrimination against blacks by organizing nonviolent resistance and peaceful mass demonstrations. He was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968.

Mohandas Gandhi

Leader of the Indian independence movement and advocate of nonviolent resistance. After being educated as a lawyer in England, he returned to India and became leader of the Indian National Congress in 1920; opposed British rule in India and wanted a united India for both Muslims and Hindus.

Muslim League

An organization formed in 1906 to protect the interests of India's Muslims, which later proposed that India be divided into separate Muslim and Hindu nations (Pakistan and India); led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah from 1913 until creation of Pakistan in 1947.

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization; an alliance of capitalist nations made to defend one another if they were attacked by any other country; included US, England, France, Canada, and Western European countries.

Nelson Mandela

South African Nationalist Leader of the African National Congress (ANC); arrested for opposing white S. African rule and apartheid; used nonviolent means of protest; released from prison to become the South Africa's first democratically elected president in 1994.

Non-Alignment Movement

A group of states which are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc of the Cold War; didn't want to take sides in the war; examples include: Sukarno in Indonesia and Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana.

Partition of India

After gaining independence from Great Britain in 1947, India was separated into two countries Pakistan for Muslims and India for Hindus; led to conflict as well as population displacement and resettlement.

Perestroika

A policy initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev that involved restructuring of the social and economic status quo in communist Russia towards a market based (capitalist) economy and society.

Proxy War

A war in which the powers in conflict use third parties as substitutes instead of fighting each other directly; happened often during the Cold War including the Korean War, Angolan Civil War, and the Sandinista-Contras conflict in Nicaragua.

Truman Doctrine

1947, President Truman's policy of providing economic and military aid to any country threatened by communism or totalitarian ideology, mainly helped Greece and Turkey.

United Nations

An international organization formed after WWII to promote international peace, security, and cooperation.

Warsaw Pact

An alliance between the Soviet Union and other communist Eastern European nations; formed in response to NATO.

White Revolution

Occurred in Iran in 1962, the Shah's attempt to appease the Iranian citizens; called for economic and political reforms: created land reform, profit sharing, and women's right to vote.