Global Resistance to Established Power Structures

8.7 Global Resistance to Established Power Structures

Essential Question: What were differing reactions to existing power structures after 1900?
The 20th century's conflicts impacted both newly independent and long-established states.
Challenges to existing order varied:
- Nonviolent resistance (e.g., Mohandas Gandhi).
- Violence against civilians (e.g., Shining Path in Peru).
- Military force to crush resistance (e.g., Francisco Franco in Spain).
The military-industrial complex, warned about by President Eisenhower, expanded as governments increased arms supplies and engaged in weapon trading.

Nonviolent Resistance as a Path to Change

Nonviolent movements brought about political change worldwide.
Three significant movements with visionary leaders:
- Mohandas Gandhi: Led nonviolent marches, boycotts, and fasts against British colonial rule in India. India gained independence in 1947.
- Martin Luther King Jr.: Led the African American civil rights movement in the U.S. in the 1950s and 1960s.
  - Tactics included:
    - Court decisions (e.g., Brown v. Board of Education) banning forced racial segregation in schools.
    - A year-long boycott of public buses in Montgomery, Alabama (1955-1956), which ended segregation in public transit.
    - Massive marches (e.g., the 250,000-person March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1964).
  - Successes included the Civil Rights Act of 1965.
- Nelson Mandela: Led black resistance to apartheid (racial segregation) in South Africa.
  - Initially supported sabotage but became known for nonviolent protests.
  - Victory over apartheid is described in Topic 9.5.

Challenges to Soviet Power in Eastern Europe

In the 1950s and 1960s, Eastern European satellites of the Soviet Union sought less Soviet domination.
The Soviets generally suppressed dissent.
- Poland (1956): Workers demonstrated against Soviet domination and demanded better living conditions.
  - Wladyslaw Gomulka became the new secretary of the Polish Communist Party and pursued an independent domestic policy while remaining loyal to the Soviet Union.
  - Forced collectivization of farms ended.
- Hungary (1956): Protesters convinced Imre Nagy to declare Hungary's freedom from Soviet control and demand the withdrawal of Soviet troops.
  - Nagy supported free elections with non-Communist parties, announced Hungary's neutrality, and withdrew from the Warsaw Pact.
  - The Soviets invaded, captured, and executed Nagy; many Hungarians fled to the West as refugees.
- Czechoslovakia: The Prague Spring of 1968 saw Alexander Dubcek increasing freedom of speech, the press, and travel, and democratizing the political system.
  - Soviet leaders feared the Prague Spring's independence and crushed it with Warsaw Pact armies.
  - The Brezhnev Doctrine (introduced in 1968 under Leonid Brezhnev) justified intervention in any member country that threatened other socialist countries.

1968: The Year of Revolt

1968 involved upheavals worldwide:
- Yugoslavia: Students marched against authoritarian government.
- Poland and Northern Ireland: Protests over religious issues.
- Brazil: Marchers demanded improvements in public education and fairer treatment of workers.
- Japan: Students protested university financial policies and government support for the United States in the Vietnam War.
University campuses saw protests due to increased access to higher education after World War II, leading to overcrowding and discontent.
Student grievances included civil rights, women's rights, workers' rights, and the war in Vietnam.
- France: Student movement in Paris involved hundreds of thousands of students, leading to violence and a general strike by 10 million workers.
  - President Charles de Gaulle called new elections and remained in office.
- United States: Protests for rights for women and African Americans, and against involvement in the Vietnam War.
  - The Ohio National Guard killed four unarmed students during an antiwar demonstration at Kent State University on May 4, 1970, leading to strikes at many colleges and universities.

An Age of Terrorism

Post-Cold War period: A decline in large-scale conflicts between sovereign states was observed.
Rise in terrorist acts by individuals/groups unaffiliated with governments in Western Europe, South America, the Islamic world, and the United States.
Terrorism involved intimidation and murder of civilians.
- Conflict in Northern Ireland: Conflict between Catholics (Irish Republican Army - IRA) and Protestants (Ulster Defence Association) intensified in the 1960s.
  - Catholics sought to join the Irish Republic, while Protestants wanted to remain part of the United Kingdom.
  - Between 1969 and 1994, approximately 3,500 people died.
  - The IRA engaged in acts of terrorism in England.
  - In 1994, a cease-fire was reached; later, the IRA renounced violence.
- Separatists in Spain: Basque Homeland and Freedom (ETA) sought independence for the Basque region in northern Spain.
  - ETA actions resulted in over 800 deaths.
  - In 1973, ETA killed Francisco Franco's hand-picked successor.
  - ETA declared cease-fires and, in 2011, an end to violent actions.
- Peru's Shining Path: A revolutionary organization led by Abimael Guzmán based on Mao Zedong and Khmer Rouge ideologies.
  - In 1980, commenced bombings and assassinations to overthrow the government.
  - Caused an estimated 37,000 deaths over 20 years.
  - Guzmán was arrested in 1992, and in 2011, Shining Path leaders admitted defeat and negotiated with the government.
- Islamic Terrorism: Several small groups employed a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam to justify terrorism.
  - Groups included Boko Haram, al-Shabaab, ISIL, and the Taliban.
  - Most victims were Muslims.
  - High-profile attacks occurred in European cities.
  - Al-Qaeda, financed by Osama bin Laden, carried out attacks in many countries, including the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, which killed over 3,000 people.
  - Focused efforts weakened al-Qaeda, and Bin Laden was killed in 2011.
- Terrorism in the United States: Acts of terrorism came from various sources, including domestic groups associated with white-nationalist or extreme right-wing views.
  - The bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995 by anti-government extremists killed 168 people.
  - Other attacks targeted Muslims, Jews, and blacks.

Response of Militarized States

States with military dictatorships responded to internal conflicts in ways that worsened them.
- Spain under Francisco Franco (1939-1975): Overthrew a popularly elected government.
  - Anti-communism led to executing, imprisoning, or sending political dissenters to labor camps.
  - After Franco's death, Spain transitioned to democracy.
- Uganda under Idi Amin (1971-1979): A brutal military dictator known as the "Butcher of Uganda."
  - Policies worsened ethnic tensions, denied human rights, and undermined economic stability.
  - Expelled 60,000 Asians from Uganda in 1972.
  - Responsible for up to 500,000 deaths.
  - Forced into exile by Ugandan nationalists and Tanzanian troops.

The Military-Industrial Complex

Fear and economic pressure intensified conflicts worldwide.
Countries like the United States and the Soviet Union built strong militaries for defense.
The international weapons trade expanded because many countries lacked weapon manufacturing facilities.
Cutting back on defense spending became difficult due to the reliance on defense industries for jobs.
In 1961, U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower warned about the military-industrial complex, a combination of government defense departments and private businesses supplying their demands, which he feared could threaten democracy.

Key Terms:

Government (Europe):
- Wladyslaw Gomulka
- Imre Nagy
- Prague Spring
- Alexander Dubček
- Brezhnev Doctrine
- Irish Republican Army (IRA)
- Ulster Defence Association
- Basque Homeland and Freedom (ETA)
Government (South America):
- Abimael Guzmán
- Shining Path
Society (Protests):
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Nelson Mandela
- Kent State University