unit 8 vocab - whap

Marshall Plan
a u.s. economic program (1948-1952) that provided over $13 billion to help rebuild western european economies after wwii, aiming to prevent the spread of communism by fostering economic stability.
→ basically, the u.s. was like, "we’re rich, you’re poor, take this money so you don’t become communist." it was lowkey a political bribe with good pr.

Great Leap Forward
mao zedong’s economic and social campaign (1958-1962) in china aimed at rapidly transforming the country into a socialist society through collectivization and industrialization; led to a massive famine and millions of deaths.
→ mao really said "let’s make china an industrial superpower overnight" and then accidentally caused one of the worst famines in history. big "this is fine" meme energy.

Cultural Revolution
a sociopolitical movement (1966-1976) launched by mao zedong to reinforce communist ideology by eliminating capitalist and traditional elements; resulted in mass persecution, violence, and economic disruption.
→ mao’s version of "out with the old, in with the new," except the "new" was chaos, book burnings, and turning teenagers into violent political fanatics.

Cold War
a geopolitical tension (1947-1991) between the u.s. and the soviet union, characterized by ideological conflict, nuclear arms race, proxy wars, and political struggles for global influence.
→ imagine two kids on the playground glaring at each other, flexing their muscles, and daring the other to throw the first punch, but instead of fists, it’s nukes.

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
a military alliance formed in 1949 among western nations, led by the u.s., to counter soviet influence and ensure mutual defense against aggression.
→ basically, the "no new friends" club for democratic nations who wanted to team up against communists.

Warsaw Pact
a military alliance (1955-1991) of the soviet union and its eastern european satellite states, created in response to nato to solidify communist bloc unity.
→ the soviet union saw nato and went, "bet, we’ll make our own squad," but spoiler alert: it didn’t last.

Cuban Missile Crisis
a 13-day confrontation (october 1962) between the u.s. and the soviet union over soviet nuclear missiles in cuba, bringing the world to the brink of nuclear war before a negotiated resolution.
→ the u.s. and the ussr had the tensest staring contest ever, except the stakes were nuclear war and not just bragging rights.

Decolonization
the process by which former colonies, primarily in africa and asia, gained independence from european powers after wwii, often through political negotiations or armed resistance.
→ europe finally realized that colonization was a bad look, and countries were like, "yeah, we’re taking our independence, thanks."

Indian National Congress
a major political party in india, founded in 1885, that led the independence movement against british rule and later became one of the dominant parties in independent india.
→ the og "we want out" squad in india, making moves against british rule before it was cool.

Mohandas Gandhi
a leader of india’s independence movement who advocated for nonviolent resistance (satyagraha) against british colonial rule; his efforts contributed to india gaining independence in 1947.
→ the definition of "peaceful protest goals"—his whole thing was "violence is cringe, civil disobedience is the move."

Muslim League
a political organization in british india that advocated for the interests of muslims and, under the leadership of muhammad ali jinnah, played a crucial role in the creation of pakistan in 1947.
→ india was about to get independence, but religious tensions were wild, so the muslim league said, "we want our own country," and boom—pakistan happened.

Mao Zedong
the founding leader of the people’s republic of china (1949-1976), responsible for major policies like the great leap forward and the cultural revolution, which significantly shaped china’s political and economic landscape.
→ china’s most intense ceo ever—his big ideas either reshaped the country or completely backfired. no in-between.

Deng Xiaoping
a chinese leader (1978-1997) who introduced economic reforms, shifting china towards a market-oriented economy while maintaining political control under the communist party.
→ mao did the most, and deng was like, "what if we did capitalism… but didn’t say it out loud?" and suddenly, china’s economy started booming.

Mikhail Gorbachev
the last leader of the soviet union (1985-1991), known for policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring), which ultimately contributed to the collapse of the ussr.
→ gorbachev tried to fix the soviet union with some light democracy and economic reforms, but instead, the whole thing fell apart.

Syrian Civil War
an ongoing conflict (since 2011) between the syrian government, rebel factions, and extremist groups, with foreign powers intervening, leading to one of the worst humanitarian crises of the 21st century.
→ a brutal, messy war where different groups + outside countries are all fighting, and millions of people have been displaced.

Iranian Revolution
the 1979 overthrow of the pahlavi monarchy, leading to the establishment of an islamic republic under ayatollah khomeini, shifting iran from a western-aligned state to a theocratic regime.
→ iranians went from a shah (king) who was tight with the west to a religious leader in charge, and the country changed overnight.

Truman Doctrine
a u.s. foreign policy (1947) that pledged to provide military and economic aid to countries resisting communism, marking the beginning of america’s containment strategy against soviet expansion.
→ basically, "we’ll pay you to not be communist"—the u.s. was handing out cash like it was an anti-communist stimulus check.

Iron Curtain
a metaphorical and physical division between democratic western europe and the communist-controlled eastern europe during the cold war, symbolizing ideological and political separation.
→ if the cold war was a reality tv show, the iron curtain was the "do not cross" line between the u.s. squad and the soviet squad.

Prague Spring
a period of political liberalization in czechoslovakia in 1968, led by alexander dubček, which was crushed by soviet and warsaw pact forces to maintain communist control.
→ czechoslovakia tried to have a "chill communism" era, and the soviet union immediately said, "nah, not happening."

Proxy War
a conflict in which major powers support opposing sides but do not directly engage, such as the korean war, vietnam war, and soviet-afghan war, commonly seen during the cold war.
→ when the u.s. and the soviet union were too scared to fight each other directly, so they funded different teams like it was an esports tournament.

Jomo Kenyatta
a key figure in kenya’s independence movement and the country’s first prime minister and president (1963-1978), who promoted economic modernization and political stability.
→ the guy who helped kenya break free from british rule and then ran the place, making sure it stayed strong.