Decolonization Flashcards

Decolonization

• Fareed Zakaria Quote: When Britain left India, Mahatma Gandhi said that any chaos would be "our chaos."

• Theme of "Our Chaos": Empires broke up, and new countries formed. Sometimes these countries were small.

• Post-WWII Nationalism: After World War II, people really wanted their own countries and to make their own choices. This was fueled by a growing sense of national identity and a desire for self-determination, inspired by movements for independence around the world.

• New Countries: Lots of new countries popped up in Asia and Africa.

  • Some didn't have a long history as a country (like Bangladesh and Nigeria). These nations often faced challenges in establishing stable governments and cohesive national identities due to diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds.

  • Others had been fighting for their freedom for a long time (like Vietnam). Their struggles were often protracted and involved significant sacrifice, shaping their national narratives around resistance and resilience.

• European Independence: Some places that used to be controlled by big empires, like the Ottoman Empire, became free (for example, Croatia and Slovenia in 1991). This process of liberation sometimes led to conflicts and power vacuums, as different groups vied for control.

• Breakup of Versailles Treaty States: Czechoslovakia split into two countries: the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993. This dissolution highlighted the challenges of maintaining unity in multi-ethnic states and reflected broader trends of ethno-nationalism.

The Breakdown of Empires

• Peak of Empires: Around World War I, European countries had taken over lots of places in Africa, India, Southeast Asia, and even had power in China. The Ottoman Empire was in charge of the Middle East. This imperial dominance led to economic exploitation, political subjugation, and cultural disruption in colonized regions.

• Desire for Self-Government: People all over the world wanted to rule themselves, just like the colonies in the Americas did in the 1700s and 1800s, and Europe in the 1800s. The desire for self-government was rooted in principles of democracy, human rights, and national sovereignty.

• Impact of World Wars: The world wars made people hate empires even more.

  • World War I led to Austria-Hungary and Ottoman Turkey falling apart. These empires fragmented due to internal tensions, economic strains, and the rise of nationalist movements.

  • World War II made the other empires lose their colonies quickly. The war weakened the colonial powers and emboldened independence movements, leading to a rapid and often tumultuous transfer of power.

• Increase in Independent States: From 1945 to 2000, the number of free countries more than doubled (from about 75 to 190). This exponential growth in independent states reshaped the global political map and international relations.

• Challenges to National Unity: Many new countries had different groups of people who didn't have much in common. This made it hard to build a strong national identity. The absence of shared history, culture, or language often resulted in internal conflicts and political instability.

Indian Independence

• Indian National Congress: Indians started wanting to rule themselves in the 1800s. The Indian National Congress was formed, and Mohandas Gandhi became the leader in 1920. The INC played a pivotal role in mobilizing popular support for independence and advocating for political reforms.

• Gandhi's Influence: Gandhi was treated badly because of his race in South Africa. This made him want to use peaceful resistance to fight for what's right.

  • He inspired people like Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela. Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolent resistance became a guiding principle for civil rights and anti-apartheid movements around the world.

• Salt March (1930): Gandhi protested the British controlling salt by walking 240 miles to the sea and making salt illegally.

  • The police beat and arrested people (60,000 of them).

  • This made the British realize they couldn't control India so easily. The Salt March demonstrated the power of civil disobedience to challenge unjust laws and mobilize public opinion against colonial rule.

• Support for Independence: Both Hindus and Muslims wanted independence.

  • Even though they didn't agree on everything, they worked together to get rid of the British. The united front presented by Hindus and Muslims underscored the broad support for independence and put pressure on the British government to negotiate.

• Post-WWII Demands: Right after World War II, Indian leaders demanded independence.

• British Negotiations: Britain was willing to talk about giving independence to South Asia and West Africa. Economic constraints, political pressures, and changing geopolitical priorities led Britain to reconsider its colonial policies.

• Muslim Concerns: Muslims were worried about being a small group in a country mostly made up of Hindus. They wanted their own country (Pakistan), led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the Muslim League. The demand for a separate Muslim state reflected fears of marginalization and discrimination in a Hindu-majority India.

• Historical Distrust: Muslims and Hindus had been suspicious of each other for centuries. Deep-seated religious and cultural differences contributed to communal tensions and made it difficult to reach a consensus on power-sharing arrangements.

Partition and Conflict

• Division of Colonial India (1947): The British split India into two countries: India (mostly Hindu) and Pakistan (mostly Muslim).

  • India had about ten times more people than Pakistan. The demographic disparity between the two nations had significant implications for resource distribution, political representation, and regional power dynamics.

• Chaotic Partition: The split was messy and violent.

  • About ten million Hindus and Sikhs ran from Pakistan to India.

  • Over seven million Muslims ran from India to Pakistan.

  • Somewhere between 500,000 and 1 million people died. The mass displacement and communal violence resulted in immense suffering, loss of life, and lasting trauma.

• Assassination of Gandhi (1948): Gandhi was killed by a Hindu extremist who didn't like that Gandhi was trying to be fair to Muslims and wanted a government that included everyone. Gandhi's assassination underscored the deep divisions within Indian society and the challenges of promoting communal harmony.

• Creation of Bangladesh: Pakistan was made up of two parts (West and East) separated by India.

  • They spoke different languages: Urdu in West Pakistan, Bengali in East Pakistan.

  • In 1971, there was a civil war: Hundreds of thousands of people died, and millions fled to India.

  • East Pakistan became the independent country of Bangladesh. The secession of East Pakistan highlighted the importance of linguistic and cultural identity in shaping national boundaries.

• Indian-Pakistani Relations: Pakistan and India started to distrust each other.

  • India became a democracy, while Pakistan had different kinds of government.

  • They argued over Kashmir: A region on the border with mostly Muslims but a Hindu leader. Both countries claimed it, which led to fighting.

  • Nuclear weapons: Things got scarier when both countries developed nuclear weapons. The acquisition of nuclear weapons by both India and Pakistan raised the stakes in their ongoing conflict and increased the risk of nuclear confrontation.

• Gender Equality: Both India and Pakistan let women vote in 1947.

  • India elected its first female prime minister, Indira Gandhi (1966).

  • Pakistan elected its first female prime minister, Benazir Bhutto (1988). The election of female leaders in both India and Pakistan marked progress in women's political empowerment but also highlighted the challenges they faced in patriarchal societies.

• Emigration: Lots of people from Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh moved to London.

  • They were called "British Asians" and came in large numbers after World War II.

  • They worked as doctors, nurses, and did manual labor (on railroads, in factories, at airports). The influx of South Asian immigrants transformed British society, contributing to its cultural diversity and economic growth.

• Managed Migration: To keep too many people from South Asia from coming to Britain, the British government made stricter laws and a "managed migration" policy.

  • They let in skilled workers, temporary workers, and students.

  • Today: About 4% of the British population is British Asian. The implementation of managed migration policies reflected concerns about social cohesion and economic competitiveness in Britain.

Post-Colonial Struggles in Southeast Asia

• French Indochina: France controlled Vietnam (1860s) and Cambodia (1870s).

• Vietnamese Independence: After World War II, Vietnamese Communists, led by Ho Chi Minh, said they were independent. They combined the idea of nationalism (wanting their own country) with communism.

• War of Independence: France tried to take back control, which led to a war that lasted until 1954.

  • A peace treaty split the country into North and South Vietnam, with plans to have elections in 1956.

• Vietnam War: The US didn't like the Communists and thought Ho would win the election. No election was held. War broke out between the Communist North and the South, which the US helped with soldiers.

  • The US left in 1973, and the North won in 1975.

  • Vietnam became one Communist country again. Many South Vietnamese people ran away.

  • Over one million people died, including 58,000 Americans. The Vietnam War underscored the ideological divisions of the Cold War and had devastating consequences for the Vietnamese people.

• Economic Reforms: In the 1980s, Vietnam started using some market-based economic ideas.

• Reestablished Relations: Vietnam and the United States started trading and talking to each other again. The normalization of relations between Vietnam and the United States reflected a pragmatic shift in foreign policy and a recognition of mutual interests.

• Cambodian Independence: After World War II, Cambodia asked France to let them be independent, which happened in 1953.

  • The royal family stayed in charge and didn't take sides during the Cold War.

• Khmer Rouge Regime: After the Vietnam War, the Communist Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, took over the government and started a really harsh form of communism.

  • They killed anyone who was smart or disagreed with them. Over two million people died (one-quarter of the population).

  • There are mass graves called "killing fields." The Khmer Rouge regime committed genocide against its own people, leaving a legacy of trauma and devastation in Cambodia.

• Vietnamese Intervention: In 1977, Vietnamese soldiers invaded Cambodia to help people who were against Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.

  • The Vietnamese took control of the government and helped make the country more stable.

  • The Vietnamese left in 1989.

• Peace Agreement (1991): There was an agreement that allowed free elections, watched by the United Nations.

  • Prince Sihanouk became the king, but as a constitutional monarch (meaning he had to follow a constitution).

  • They created a democratic government with different political parties.

  • Economic reforms in the 1980s allowed some aspects of a market economy to develop.

Israelis and Palestinians

• Breakup of Ottoman Territory: After World War I, new countries were formed in the Middle East and the Balkans, but many were unstable.

• Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: A big problem that came out of the Ottoman Empire breaking up.

• Zionism: The idea of Zionism (creating a Jewish state) became popular in the 1890s after the Dreyfus Affair (a Jewish officer was wrongly accused of treason).

  • Theodore Herzl wanted a separate Jewish state and talked about it at the First Zionist Congress in 1897.

• Birth of Israel: Zionists wanted to create a new state in Palestine.

  • Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire and had mostly Arab people living there.

  • Zionists argued that Jews would be safe from persecution in a new state.

• Balfour Declaration (1917): The British government said they supported the idea of creating a "national home" for Jewish people in Palestine.

  • Promises to Arabs: T.E. Lawrence promised some Arabs an independent state if they fought against the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

• British Mandate: After World War I, Britain was given control over former Ottoman lands in the Middle East.

  • Zionist immigration: Zionists started moving to Palestine.

  • Arab protests: Arabs protested because they were losing land and their traditional Islamic way of life.

• UN Partition (1948): Britain asked the UN to decide what to do. The UN divided Palestine into Jewish and Arab sections.

  • Israel declared independence in 1948.

• Repeated Wars: War broke out between Israel and Palestinians, who were helped by nearby Arab countries.

  • Israeli victory: The Israeli army won, and a truce was called.

  • Palestinian refugees: About 400,000 Palestinians became refugees.

• Other Wars:

  • 1956: Israel, France, and Great Britain invaded Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

  • 1967 (Six-Day War): Israel took control of the Gaza Strip, West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Golan Heights.

  • 1973 (Yom Kippur War): Israel fought off a surprise attack by Egypt and Syria.

• Israeli-Egyptian Peace: The Camp David Accords (organized by U.S. President Jimmy Carter) led to a peace agreement between Israel and Egypt (1979).

• Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO): Led by Yasser Arafat, the PLO wanted the occupied lands back and an independent country of Palestine.

• Ongoing Violence: In the twenty-first century, the Palestinians split into two groups (Fatah in the West Bank, Hamas in Gaza).

  • Border controls: Israel put in place strict border controls because of security concerns, which hurt the Palestinian economy.

  • Violence: Palestinian groups attacked Israel, and Israel attacked back.

  • Between 2000 and 2014, there were 8,166 deaths related to the conflict, mostly Palestinian.

Egypt

• Nominal Independence (1922): Egypt became independent in 1922, but Britain still had some power.

• Anglo-Egyptian Treaty (1936): Egypt gained more control over itself, but Britain kept soldiers there to protect the Suez Canal.

• Arab League: Egypt helped start the Arab League in 1945.

• Nasser's Rise: In 1952, General Gamal Abdel Nasser and Muhammad Naguib overthrew the king and created the Republic of Egypt.

  • Naguib was the first president, and Nasser was the second.

  • Nasser wanted to unite all Arab countries.

• Domestic Policies: Nasser's policies combined Islam and socialism. He redistributed land and took control of important industries.

• Suez Crisis: Nasser took control of the Suez Canal, which caused a problem in 1956.

  • The canal was built by Egyptians and French people between 1859 and 1869.

  • Egyptians saw it as a symbol of being controlled by foreign powers.

  • Israel, Britain, and France invaded Egypt, but the US and the Soviet Union didn't like it.

• Resolution: Foreign soldiers left, and the canal became an international waterway controlled by Egypt. UN peacekeepers were sent to the Sinai Peninsula.

• Sadat and Peace with Israel:

  • President Anwar Sadat (1970-1981) helped create the Camp David Accords.

  • Egypt recognized Israel, and Israel agreed to leave the Sinai Peninsula.

  • This agreement was not popular with Palestinians and some Arab countries. It was also opposed by religious conservatives in Egypt.

• Assassination of Sadat (1981): Sadat was killed by an Egyptian army officer.

• US Aid to Egypt: To encourage Egypt to keep peace with Israel, the United States gave Egypt a lot of military aid.

• Arab Spring: The reform movement that started in 2011 led to the Egyptian government being overthrown.

Iran

• Historical Context: Iran comes from the Persian and Safavid empires.

  • In the late 1800s, it was controlled by foreign powers. Britain and Russia competed for control.

  • The discovery of oil in the early 1900s made the competition even greater.

• Shah Reza Khan:

  • Took power in 1921 and made himself shah (king).

  • He built new infrastructure, got rid of special rights for foreigners, and reduced the power of religious leaders.

  • He was forced to leave in 1941 after being friendly with Nazi Germany.

• Shah Muhammad Reza Pahlavi:

  • Was seen as controlled by Western powers.

  • Nationalization of oil: The Iranian parliament voted to take control of the oil industry in 1951.

  • He was forced to leave Iran because of a failed coup attempt but was brought back in 1953 with US help.

  • He made some good changes: Women could vote, there was a social welfare system, and education was modernized.

  • But he was also an authoritarian ruler: He used secret police to control people.

• Iranian Revolution (1979): The revolution got rid of the Shah and created a religious government under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

  • Guardian Council: A group of religious experts that make sure laws follow Islamic law.

  • Iran became strongly against Western countries and Israel.

• Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988): Iran had tense relations with its neighbors because it was different culturally (not Arab, Shia Muslim).

  • The war with Iraq didn't have a clear winner.

• Nuclear Program: There were fears that Iran would build nuclear weapons, which led to sanctions from the US and other countries.

  • 2016 agreement: Iran agreed to make it harder to build a nuclear bomb in exchange for the sanctions being lifted.

Turkey

• Secular Republic: Founded in 1923 under Mustafa Kemal.

  • The military was in charge of protecting the secular (non-religious) government.

  • The army intervened in 1960, 1971, 1980, 1997, and 2007.

• Relations with Europe: Turkey had close economic and political ties with Europe (joined NATO in 1955 and became part of the European Union in 1987).

• Complicated Relationships: Some things made Turkey's relationship with Europe difficult:

  • Religion: Turkey was a Muslim country with a growing religious movement, while Europe was becoming more secular.

  • Cyprus: Turkey recognized a Turkish region in Cyprus that had broken away.

  • Kurds: The Kurds are a minority group in eastern Turkey.

African Nationalism Following World War II

• Independence Movements: Became stronger in Africa after World War II.

  • Africans wanted to stop being controlled and exploited for their resources.

  • African newspapers and radio stations encouraged nationalism and independence.

• Communist Influence: Communist leaders said imperialism was bad and promoted independence and government-run economies.

  • African versions of socialism often kept some capitalist ideas.

Ghana

• Independence: Great Britain agreed to give independence to the Gold Coast, which became Ghana in 1957.

  • It was the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to become independent in the twentieth century.

  • Independence was achieved through talks led by the United Nations.

  Kwame Nkrumah:

  • First president of Ghana (1960).

  • Started public works and development projects, like hydroelectric plants.

  • Was accused of causing debt and corruption.

  • Took dictatorial powers in 1964 (one-party state).

• Pan-Africanism: Nkrumah strongly supported Pan-Africanism.

  • The idea of celebrating the shared culture and ideas of Africa.

  • Rejected interference from former colonial powers.

  • Founded the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in 1963.

• Overthrow of Nkrumah: Was overthrown in a military coup in 1966.

  • Many foreigners were forced to leave the country.

  • There was a peaceful transfer of power to a civilian government in 2000.

• Africa Union: In 2002, the OAU was replaced by the African Union (AU), which includes 53 African nations.

Algeria

• Similar Path to Ghana: Became independent but was taken over by a strong leader and became a single-party state.

  • Algeria had much more violence before becoming independent.

• Algerian War for Independence (1954):

  • Many Algerians had been wanting independence since World War II.

  • The French government thought Algeria was part of France.

  • National Liberation Front (FLN): Used guerrilla warfare against French forces.

  • Hundreds of thousands of Algerians died in the war. The film "The Battle of Algiers" shows the street-by-street battles.

• Divisions in France: The French Communist Party wanted independence. There was violence in cities.

• Charles De Gaulle: Planned how Algeria would become independent. He bypassed the French National Assembly and got approval in a referendum.

  • When independence came in 1962, war broke out again in Algeria.

• Refugee Crisis: Thousands of Algerians and settlers who supported France ran away.

  • This caused housing and employment problems and increased anti-immigrant feelings in France.

  • The FLN armies killed between 50,000 and 150,000 people.

• Military Coup (1965): The first president of Algeria was overthrown in a military coup.

  • The National Liberation Front stayed in power under different leadership.

  • They created a socialist authoritarian government that cracked down on people who disagreed with them.

  • They modernized industry and took control of agriculture.

• Algerian Civil War (1991-2002): Violence broke out because people didn't like the one-party rule.

  • The Islamic Salvation Front won the first round in an election that was then canceled.

  • The military state of emergency, which had been in place since 1992, was lifted in 2011.

Comparing Ghana and Algeria

• Growing Pains Under Military Rule: The main conflicts were between people who wanted multiple political parties and those who wanted single-party socialism.

• Ghana: A new constitution was written in 1992, which made it easier to transfer power between elected governments. Ghanaian leader Kofi Annan became UN Secretary General in 1997.

• Algeria: Religious tensions got worse. A growing right-wing Islamist movement challenged the power of mainstream Muslims.

  • An Islamist killed Algeria's president in 1992.

  • In 1997, Algeria banned political parties based on religion.

Kenya

• Diversity: Kenya has many Asians and tribal groups.

  • Many of the Asians were merchants and professionals.

  • Britain used to control Kenya, and Swahili and English are the official languages.

• Mau Mau Rebellion: Kenyans fought against white occupiers.

  • The Mau Mau carried out terror attacks in 1952.

  • There was a civil war, and the British eventually gave up the area, granting independence in 1963.

• Jomo Kenyatta: The first election made Jomo Kenyatta president (1964-1978). He had fought for independence and had been in prison for supporting the Mau Mau.

• Tribal Differences: Progress in Kenya was slowed by conflicts between the Kikuyu, Kuhya, and Luo tribes.

  • There were also tensions because of the large Asian community that had been there since colonial times.

• One-Party State: Independent Kenya had only one political party, the Kenyan African National Union (KANU).

• Daniel Moi: After Kenyatta died in 1978, Vice President Daniel Moi took over and ruled for 24 years. Kenya became less stable because of increasing corruption.

  • The International Monetary Fund (IMF) threatened to stop giving loans if the corruption continued.

• Tribal Violence: Violence between tribes was common, especially during elections.

  • After the 2007 presidential elections, violence caused deaths and displacement, which led to the formation of a coalition government that brought some peace.

Angola

• Independence (1975): Won independence in 1975 after 14 years of fighting.

• Ethnic Conflict: Had more ethnic conflict than Algeria or Vietnam.

  • The borders were created by colonial powers who didn't care about ethnic groups.

  • Angola had three main cultural groups that didn't get along.

  • Each group fought for independence and wanted to control the country's diamond mines. They were supported by different countries:

    • The Mbundu tribe: Supported by the U.S.S.R. and Cuba.

    • The Ovimbundu tribe: Supported by South Africa.

    • The Bankongo tribe: Supported by the United States.

• Civil War: Civil war broke out after independence. In 2002, after 27 years of fighting, the groups agreed to a cease-fire. But there were still threats of violence from militant separatist groups.

Nigeria

• Independence (1960): Gained independence from Britain in 1960.

  • It is the most populous country in Africa.

• Biafran Civil War (1967): Started when the Igbos tried to leave the northern-dominated government.

  • The Igbos' attempt to secede failed. They were granted amnesty, but civilian government did not return.

  • There were many military coups until Olusegun Obasanjo was elected in 1999.

• Federation of States: The government created a federation of 36 states and allowed states to vote for a legal system that included both secular law and shariah (Islamic law).

• Problems in the Niger River Delta: There was conflict because the national government was taking oil resources without giving the wealth back to the region. Companies also polluted the lands and rivers. Militants protested by setting fire to oil wells and pipelines.

Modern Mexican Culture and Politics

• Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI): Came to power after the Mexican Revolution and controlled Mexican politics for most of the twentieth century.

• Student Uprisings (1968): A fight after a soccer game led to a siege and the death of some students at the hands of riot police.

• Corporatist System: Promised favors, like education and jobs, to its supporters.

• 1938: Government Nationalized Oil Industry PEMEX became a big state-owned company.

• Cultural and Economic Trends: Poverty was still high. Many people immigrated to the United States (both legally and illegally). NAFTA: 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement. The Mexican economy was affected by the price of oil and global economic trends, like the 2007-2010 recession.

• Drug Cartels: Used violence against government officials and citizens.

Political Trends in Latin America

• Dependence on State-Run Industries: After World War II, Latin American governments ran industries (for example, airlines in Argentina, industries in Venezuela under Hugo Chavez, hydrocarbon industries in Bolivia under President Morales, and much of the oil industry in Ecuador).

• Hign Government Debt: The global economic recession and financial crisis of the 1980s caused many countries to have serious debt.

• Political Dictatorships: There were political dictatorships, like Augusto Pinochet who overthrew Salvador Allende.

• Debates over Land Reform: There were land reform programs, like in Venezuela.

• Reflecting on the Distribution of Wealth: Liberation Theology, which combined socialism with Catholicism, became popular in Latin America in the 1950s and 1960s.

  • Pope Francis Changed the Vatican's Mind About Liberation Theology.

  • Long-term changes in Latin America in the early twenty-first century were similar to those in East Asia and parts of Africa.

• ECONOMIC GROWTH IN LATIN AMERICA: 1950 TO 2000 GDP is a measure of a country's wealth.

Historical Perspectives: Why Are Some Countries Wealthy?

• Adam Smith: In 1776, Adam Smith wrote a book called The Wealth of Nations, which was the first detailed explanation of why some countries are richer than others.

  • He believed in free trade but also thought the government should play a role.

• Modernization: Western Europe and the United States became richer. Scholars in these regions studied why and came up with modernization theory.

  • They thought rich countries could help poor countries become rich by giving them money and technology.

• Self-Reliance: Some scholars disagreed with modernization theory.

  • They thought that former colonies were being taken advantage of in the international market. They believed the way to get out of poverty was to become self-reliant.

• Globalization: Some people see globalization as a chance for countries to become richer.

  • Linda McQuaig was criticized for only looking at the benefits of globalization without seeing how it hurt poor countries.

• Trade: Ha-Joon Chang studied how wealthy countries in Western Europe and the United States became rich.

  *He found that they used to have high tariffs and trade barriers to protect their industries

Decolonization and its Aftermath:

Overview: Post-World War II, the global landscape underwent significant transformation as empires dissolved and new nations emerged, particularly in Asia and Africa. This period was marked by both opportunities and challenges, with newly independent countries navigating issues of national identity, political stability, and economic development.

Key Events and Themes:

Indian Independence:

Leadership: Mahatma Gandhi championed peaceful resistance through the Indian National Congress, advocating for self-rule.

Partition: The division of British India in 1947 led to the creation of India and Pakistan, triggering mass migration and communal violence between Hindus and Muslims.

Southeast Asia:

Vietnam: A war for independence followed by the Vietnam War resulted in the establishment of a communist state, influenced by leaders like Ho Chi Minh.

Cambodia: The nation endured the Khmer Rouge regime, characterized by extreme violence and genocide, followed by Vietnamese intervention.

Middle East:

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: The dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and the creation of Israel sparked ongoing conflict, marked by repeated wars and territorial disputes.

Egypt: Key events included Gamal Abdel Nasser's rise to power, the Suez Crisis, and the pursuit of peace with Israel under Anwar Sadat.

Iran: The 1979 Iranian Revolution established a religious government, leading to tense relations with Western countries and involvement in the Iran-Iraq War.

Africa:

Ghana: Achieved independence through peaceful means under Kwame Nkrumah, who promoted Pan-Africanism