Period 4: Terms List B

A collection of vocabulary flashcards related to key historical terms and concepts from the Cold War and post-colonial era.

Eastern Bloc

Soviet allies in Eastern Europe, including Bulgaria, Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Hungary.

Iron Curtain

Term coined by British P.M. Churchill to describe the political division of Europe during the Cold War.

Marshall Plan

U.S. aid to Western Europe after World War II that helped recovery and prevented Communist expansion.

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization; U.S.-led alliance with Western Europe, Canada, and Turkey against Soviet aggression.

Warsaw Pact

Soviet response to NATO, a collective defense treaty among the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries.

European Union

Economic and political movement in Europe that emerged from the Common Market; aimed for competition with the U.S. and forming a common government.

New Feminism

A wave of women’s rights activism in the 1960s, promoting job opportunities and civil rights for women.

Solidarity

Trade union movement in Poland that grew into a political pressure group demanding reforms from the Communist government.

Nikita Khrushchev

Leader of the U.S.S.R. after Stalin’s death, known for criticizing Stalin's regime and for backing down in the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Sputnik

First manned spacecraft launched in 1957, marking the beginning of the space race with the United States.

Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)

Political party in Mexico that dominated the country throughout the 20th century.

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

Non-tariff trade agreement among the U.S., Canada, and Mexico established in the 1990s.

Ernesto 'Che' Guevara

Militant Argentine revolutionary who aided Castro in Cuba and was killed while attempting a similar revolution in Bolivia.

Fidel Castro

Communist dictator of Cuba since 1959 who overthrew Batista and was supported by the Soviet regime.

Good Neighbor Policy

U.S. policy toward Latin America beginning in the 1930s that emphasized less intervention.

Neocolonialism

Continued dominance of newly independent nations by their former colonial powers.

Muslim Brotherhood

Egyptian religious and nationalist movement founded in 1928, serving as a model for later Islamic fundamentalist movements.

Gamal Abdul Nasser

Leader of Egypt post-coup in 1952, known for state-directed reform and the Suez Canal crisis.

Jawaharlal Nehru

First leader of independent India, committed to social reform and economic development.

Green Revolution

Agricultural revolution that increased crop production through improved techniques, helping support rising populations in Asia.

Ayatollah Khomeini

Religious leader of Iran after the 1979 revolution, who advocated for fundamentalist Islamic reforms.

Apartheid

Racial segregation policy in South Africa aimed at economic and political exploitation of the African majority.

African National Congress (ANC)

South African political organization founded in 1912 to defend the interests of Africans and later became the ruling party.

Nelson Mandela

ANC leader who was imprisoned for resisting apartheid, later elected as President of South Africa in 1994.

F.W. de Klerk

White South African prime minister who helped dismantle apartheid and facilitate a new democratic government.

Great Leap Forward

Mao Zedong's 1958 policy promoting small-scale industrialization within peasant communities, resulting in economic disaster.

Cultural Revolution

Initiated by Mao Zedong in 1965 to reassert his authority; involved purging of intellectuals and its eventual end in 1968.

Ho Chi Minh

Leader of North Vietnam who fought against U.S. intervention and French colonial rule.

Ngo Dinh Diem

President of South Vietnam supported by the U.S.; overthrown by military forces with U.S. approval.

Viet Cong

Communist guerrilla movement in Southern Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

Mikhail Gorbachev

Leader of the U.S.S.R. from 1985 to 1991 known for reforms that contributed to the disintegration of Communism.

Glasnost

Term for Gorbachev's policy of openness, allowing the criticism of the government.

Perestroika

Term for Gorbachev's economic restructuring policy designed to improve the U.S.S.R.'s economic system.

Boris Yeltsin

Succeeded Gorbachev as leader of Russia; noted for failing to reform the economy before Vladimir Putin took over.

Globalization

The increasing interconnectedness of global economies and cultures, often met with resistance from environmental and social groups.