Cultural Tensions & Modernization Practice Flashcards

Vocabulary terms and definitions focusing on the major leaders and events related to modernization and cultural shifts in China, Turkey, and Iran.

Mao Zedong

Leader of the Chinese Communist Party who united workers and peasants and established a "people's democratic dictatorship" in 1949.

Cultural Revolution

A campaign launched by Mao Zedong (1966-1976) to eliminate traditional elements and capitalist thoughts from Chinese society.

Little Red Book

A form of propaganda used during the Cultural Revolution to spread Mao Zedong's ideas and remove capitalist influences.

Deng Xiaoping

The Chinese leader who introduced economic reforms and modernization following the era of Mao Zedong.

Tiananmen Square protests

1989 demonstrations by students and workers demanding more freedoms, which resulted in government violence and the deaths of hundreds of civilians.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

The leader who formed the Republic of Turkey and introduced westernizing reforms to modernize the country rapidly.

Secularization in Turkey

The process of reducing religious influence on government, including adopting the Latin alphabet and removing Islam as the state religion.

Pahlavi dynasty

The Iranian leadership from 1925 to 1979 that promoted modernization, expanded women's rights, and introduced free education.

Ayatollah Khomeini

The leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution who reversed modernization efforts and established a theocratic government.

Theocracy

A system of government based on religious law, established in Iran after the 1979 revolution.

Islamic Law of Retribution

A legal code introduced after the Iranian Revolution that enforced traditional punishments and conservative social codes.

Westernization

The adoption of Western practices, such as the Latin alphabet and secular legal codes, used by Atatürk to modernize Turkey.