Cold War Hot Spots and Decolonization

(Cuba and Soft Power)

First world

industrialized capitalist countries: North America, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand

Second world

the former communist block consisting of the Soviet Union and some countries in eastern Europe

Third world

term for the developing countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America

deep causes

underlying, fundamental, or hidden reasons for a problem or event

intermediate causes

a factor in a chain of causes that links an initial cause to a final effect

precipitating causes

the specific event or "last straw" that immediately triggers an incident

decolonization

the process where colonies become independent

Cuban revolution

an armed revolt led by Fidel Castro that overthrew the U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista

Ché Guevara

Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, and guerrilla leader who played a key role in the Cuban Revolution

nationalization

the process where a government takes over privately owned assets, turning them into public property under state control

nuclear weapons

a device that creates an immense explosion

M.A.D.

Mutually Assured Destruction

Nikita khrushchev

leader of the USSR

Cuban Missile crisis

a 13 day stand off between the US and Soviet union

United Nations

an international organization aimed at maintaining global peace

Peace corps

a U.S. government program that sends American volunteers to work with communities in other countries for two years

JFK

35th U.S. president, established the Peace Corps, navigated the Cuban Missile crisis

Robert McNamara

U.S. Secretary of Defense

Robert F. Kennedy

U.S. Attorney General

Maxwell Taylor

U.S. Army general

Dean Acheson

primary architect of Cold War foreign policy

Dean Rusk

U.S. Secretary of State

Adlai Stevenson

Ambassador to the United Nations

Curtis LeMay

Strategic Air Command

U.S.A.I.D.

gives non-military aid to other countries

promise

a pledge

soft power

influencing other countries without military use