AP World: Unit 7 & 8 - Chapters 11 & 12

World War 1

The “Great War” (1914–1918), in essence a European civil war with a global reach that was marked by massive casualties, trench warfare, and mobilization of entire populations. It triggered the Russian Revolution, led to widespread disillusionment among intellectuals, and rearranged the political map of Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

total war

War that requires each country involved to mobilize its entire population in the effort to defeat the enemy.

Treaty of Versailles

The 1919 treaty that officially ended World War I; the immense penalties it placed on Germany are regarded as one of the causes of World War II.

Russian Revolution (1917-1922)

Massive revolutionary upheaval in 1917 that overthrew the Romanov dynasty in Russia and ended with the seizure of power by communists under the leadership of Lenin.

collectivization of agriculture

Communist policies that ended private ownership of land by incorporating peasants from small family farms into large-scale collective farms. Implemented forcibly in the Soviet Union (1928–1933), it led to a terrible famine and 5 million deaths; a similar process occurred much more peacefully in China during the 1950s.

Great Depression

Worldwide economic contraction that began in 1929 with a stock market crash in the United States and continued in many areas until the outbreak of World War II.

Benito Mussolini (1883 -1945)

Charismatic leader of the Italian Fascist Party who came to power in 1922 and ruled until his death.

Adolf Hitler (1889 –1945)

Leader of the German Nazi Party and Germany’s head of state from 1933 until his death.

Revolutionary Right (Japan)

Also known as Radical Nationalism, this was a movement in Japanese political life during the Great Depression that was marked by extreme nationalism, a commitment to elite leadership focused around the emperor, and dedication to foreign expansion.

World War II in Asia

A struggle to halt Japanese imperial expansion in Asia, fought by primarily Chinese and American forces.

World War II in Europe

A struggle to halt German imperial expansion in Europe, fought by a coalition of allies that included Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States.

The Holocaust (1941-1945)

Name commonly used for the Nazi genocide of Jews and other “undesirables” in German society.

Communism in East Europe

Expansion of post–World War II communism to Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria, imposed with Soviet pressure rather than growing out of domestic revolution.

Chinese Revolution of 1949

An event that marks the coming to power of the Chinese Communist Party under the leadership of Mao Zedong, following a decades-long struggle against both domestic opponents and Japanese imperialism.

Mao Zedong (1893–1976)

Chairman of China’s Communist Party and de facto ruler of China from 1949 until his death.

Guomindang

The Chinese Nationalist Party led by Chiang Kai-shek that governed from 1928 until its overthrow by the communists in 1949.

European Economic Community (EEC)

An alliance formed in 1957 by six Western European countries dedicated to developing common trade policies and reduced tariffs; it gradually developed into the larger European Union.

Marshall Plan

Huge U.S. government initiative to aid in the post–World War II recovery of Western Europe that was put into effect in 1948.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

A military alliance formed in 1949 consisting of North American and European countries aimed at collective defense against aggression, particularly during the Cold War era.

Great Leap Forward (1958-1960)

Communist push for collectivization that created “people’s communes” and aimed to mobilize China’s population for rapid development.

Decolonization

Process in which many African and Asian states won their independence from Western colonial rule, in most cases by negotiated settlement and in some cases through violent military confrontations.

Indian National Congress

The political party led by Mahatma Gandhi that succeeded in bringing about Indian independence from Britain in 1947.

Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

Often known as “Great Soul,” the political leader of the Indian drive for independence from Great Britain; rejected the goal of modern industrialization and advocated nonviolence.

Muslim League

Political group formed in response to the Indian National Congress in India’s struggle for independence from Britain; the League’s leader, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, argued that regions of India with a Muslim majority should form a separate state called Pakistan.

Deng Xiaoping (1904–1997)

Leader of China from 1978 to 1997 whose reforms dismantled many of the distinctly communist elements of the Chinese economy. (pron. dung shee-yao-ping)

Mikhail Gorbachev (1931–2022)

Leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991 whose efforts to reform the USSR led to its collapse. (pron. GORE-beh-CHOF)

Belt and Road Initiative

An early twenty-first-century initiative of the Chinese government to create a global infrastructure of roads, railways, port facilities, and energy pipelines. Sometimes called a New Silk Road.

Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Struggle between the Jewish state of Israel and the adjacent Palestinian Muslim territories that has generated periodic wars and upheavals since 1948.

Iranian revolution

Establishment of a radically Islamist government in Iran in 1979; helped trigger a war with Iraq in the 1980s.

Syrian Civil War

Conflict beginning in 2011 that generated over 12 million refugees and asylum seekers by mid-2016 and engaged both regional and world powers on various sides of the conflict.

Great Leap Forward (1958-1962)

A socio-economic campaign initiated by the Chinese Communist Party aimed at rapidly transforming the country from an agrarian society into a socialist society through rapid industrialization and collectivization, which led to widespread famine and millions of deaths.

Cultural Revolution

A socio-political movement initiated by Mao Zedong in China from 1966 to 1976 aimed at preserving and enforcing communist ideology by removing capitalist, traditional, and cultural elements from Chinese society, leading to widespread chaos, persecution, and disruption.

Warsaw Pact

A military alliance established in 1955 among the Soviet Union and seven Eastern European countries as a response to NATO; it aimed to consolidate military power and support collective defense against external threats until it was dissolved in 1991.

Cuban Missile Crisis

A 13-day confrontation in October 1962 between the United States and the Soviet Union over the deployment of nuclear missiles in Cuba, which brought the two superpowers to the brink of nuclear war, ultimately resulting in a U.S.-Soviet agreement to withdraw missiles from the region.

Cold War

A period of geopolitical tension between the Soviet Union and the United States from the end of World War II until the early 1990s, characterized by ideological, military, and economic rivalry without direct large-scale conflict between the two superpowers.

Globalization of Democracy

The process by which democratic ideals and practices spread worldwide, influenced by international organizations, economic integration, and the promotion of human rights. This phenomenon aims to enhance political participation and governance across nations.