Period 4 Terms B

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

US aid to Western Europe after WWII to help recover and prevent communist inroads.

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization; a US-led alliance including Western Europe, Canada, and Turkey.

Warsaw Pact

Soviet response to NATO.

European Union

Final name of the Common Market; an economic and political movement in Europe for free markets.

New feminism

A wave of women's rights agitation re-emerging in the 1960s, advocating for job opportunities and civil rights.

Solidarity

Trade union movement in Poland that became a political pressure group supporting reforms.

Nikita Khrushchev

Leader of the USSR after Stalin; criticized abuses and was removed after the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Sputnik

First manned spacecraft launched in 1957, initiating a space race with the US.

Party of the Industrialized Revolution (PRI)

Political party in Mexico that dominated during the 20th century.

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

Non-tariff trade policy between the US, Canada, and Mexico starting in the 1990s.

Ernesto 'Che' Guevara

Militant Argentine revolutionary who assisted Castro in Cuba and attempted a revolt in Bolivia.

Fidel Castro

Communist dictator of Cuba since 1959 who overthrew Batista and inspired revolts in Latin America.

Good Neighbor Policy

US policy toward Latin America, begun in the 1930s, promising less intervention.

Neocolonialism

Continued dominance of new nations by their former rulers.

Muslim Brotherhood

Egyptian religious and nationalist movement founded in 1928, influencing later fundamentalist movements.

Gamal Abdul Nasser

Leader of Egypt following a 1952 military coup; formed a state-directed reforming regime.

Jawaharial Nehru

First leader of independent India, focused on social reform, economic development, and civil liberties.

Green Revolution

Agricultural transformation increasing production through improved practices to support rising populations.

Ayatollah Khomeini

Religious leader of Iran post-1979 revolution, advocating for Islamic reform and anti-Western policies.

Apartheid

Afrikaner policy of racial segregation in South Africa aimed at exploiting the African majority.

African National Congress (ANC)

Political organization founded in 1912 to defend African interests, became ruling party in 1994.

Nelson Mandela

ANC leader imprisoned by the Afrikaner regime, became South Africa's president in 1994.

F.W. de Klerk

Prime minister who worked with Mandela to dismantle apartheid and promote democracy.

Great Leap Forward

Economic policy of Mao Zedong (1958) that resulted in economic disaster.

Cultural Revolution

Initiated by Mao in 1965 to restore dominance by targeting bureaucrats and intellectuals.

Ho Chi Minh (Nguyen Ai Quoc)

Leader who presided over the defeat of France and US intervention in Vietnam.

Ngo Dinh Diem

President of South Vietnam supported by the US, overthrown by the military.

Viet Cong

Communist guerrilla movement in southern Vietnam during the war.

Mikhail Gorbachev

Leader of the USSR (1985-1991) who introduced reforms leading to the Cold War's end.

Glasnost

Gorbachev's policy for economic rebuilding through private ownership and decentralization.

Boris Yeltsin

Successor to Gorbachev; struggled to reform the economy and succeeded by Vladimir Putin.

Globalization

The increasing interconnectedness of the world, opposed by environmental and social justice groups.