Cold War Balance of Power

Flashcards of vocabulary terms from Unit 3, Sections 1, 2, and 6.

Iron Curtain

An imaginary line dividing Europe into Soviet-dominated communist countries in the East and Western democracies led by the United States in the West after World War II.

Political Asylum

Protection from arrest or being returned to a dangerous political situation, guaranteed by Germany's constitution.

Disband

To stop existing as an organization, or to make something do this.

Cold War

A continuing state of tension and hostility between the superpowers (United States and Soviet Union), resulting from differences in political and economic thinking. Armed battle did not occur.

Truman Doctrine

An economic and military program established in March 1947, designed to help other nations resist Soviet aggression, based on the theory of containment.

Containment

Limiting communism to areas already under Soviet control.

Marshall Plan

A massive economic aid package proposed in 1947, designed to strengthen democratic governments and lessen the appeal of communism, helping Western European countries recover from World War II.

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a military alliance formed by Western European countries after the Berlin airlift and the division of West Germany from East Germany, pledging to support each other if any member nation was attacked.

Warsaw Pact

A defensive alliance formed by the Soviet Union in 1955 with seven of its satellites in Eastern Europe, promising mutual military cooperation.

Repression

Cruel and severe control of a large group of people.

Surrogate States

Representative states through which the United States and Soviet Union clashed during the Cold War, supporting opposing forces in many nations throughout the world without direct war.

Fidel Castro

A young lawyer who organized a guerrilla army and fought against Batista. He gained victory in 1959, and established a communist dictatorship in Cuba.

Cuban Missile Crisis

A confrontation in 1962 when U.S. President Kennedy demanded the removal of Soviet nuclear missiles from Cuba and ordered a naval blockade; resolved when the Soviet leader agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for a pledge by Kennedy not to invade Cuba.

Nonaligned Nations

Nations that chose not to ally with either side in the Cold War, remaining neutral to make economic progress and avoid involvement, such as India, Yugoslavia, and many African nations.

Developed Nations

Nations with modern agriculture and industries, advanced technology, and strong educational systems, such as the United States, the Soviet Union, Japan, and the countries of Western Europe after World War II.

Developing Nations

Nations with limited resources and without modern industrial economies.

Mixed Economy

An economy that uses elements of both market and command economies; developing nations, such as India and some nations of Africa, established mixed economies after 1945.

Fundamentalist

Someone who follows religious laws very strictly.

European Community (EC)/Common Market

An organization formed in 1957 by six European nations to expand free trade by ending tariffs and allowing labor and capital to move freely across borders.

European Union (EU)

An organization that expanded further and became the European Union with 12 members, a new currency, the euro, was introduced in 1999 but not all EU members use the euro. The EU aims to bolster Europe's trade position and its political and economic power in the world.

Balance of Trade

A country that has a favorable balance of trade exports more goods than it imports.

Pacific Rim

A group of nations in Asia and the Americas that border the Pacific Ocean.

OPEC

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. In 1960, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela formed OPEC, whose initials stand for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Other oil producers joined later, OPEC's goal was to control the oil industry by setting production levels and prices.

Détente

Lessening of tension between the United States and the Soviet Union, promoted by Richard Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev through arms control talks and treaties, cultural exchanges, and trade agreements.

Perestroika

Restructuring of the failing state-run command economy in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Gorbachev to stimulate economic growth and make industry more efficient, also backing free market reforms.

Glasnost

Policy of openness in the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev, ending censorship and encouraging people to discuss openly the problems in the Soviet Union.

Voice

To tell people your opinions or feelings about a particular subject.

Solidarity

An independent trade union organized by workers in Poland in the 1980s, led by Lech Walesa, calling for political change.