Cold War and Decolonization Flashcards

Cold War and Decolonization

Cold War

• Begins: Shortly after World War II.
• Participants: The United States and the Soviet Union emerge as superpowers.
• Definition: A state of tension between powers without direct "pew pew and bang bang" combat, but with the constant threat of violence.

Causes of the Cold War

1. Conflicting Ideologies:
   • United States: Democratic capitalism.
   • Soviet Union: Authoritarian communism.
   • Both ideologies seek to expand, similar to universalizing religions.
2. Mutual Mistrust:
   • Disagreements over the postwar world, particularly Eastern Europe, where Stalin refused democratic elections.
   • Disagreements over how to treat Germany after World War II. Soviets wanted a weak Germany; Western powers wanted German economic recovery to avoid the rise of fascist powers.

Decolonization and the Non-Aligned Movement

• Decolonization led to the creation of new states.
• The US and the Soviet Union tried to influence these new states, leading to resistance.
• Non-Aligned Movement:
  • New states resisted getting caught up in the Cold War rivalry.
  • Began in 1955 with Indonesian President Akhmatsu Karno hosting a meeting of 29 African and Asian heads of state.
  • These states sought independence and formed a bloc separate from both the Soviet Union and the United States.

Major Effects of the Cold War

• Arms race, new military alliances, and proxy wars.

Arms Race

• The US and the Soviet Union spend vast amounts of money developing weapons, especially nuclear weapons.

Military Alliances

1. NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Alliance):
   • A defensive alliance started by the United States and joined by Western European states.
2. Warsaw Pact:
   • The Soviet Union's response to NATO, including the Soviet Union and its satellite states in Eastern and Central Europe.

Proxy Wars

• The US and the Soviet Union couldn't fight each other directly due to the risk of nuclear war, so they engaged in smaller conflicts that represented their ideologies.
• Examples:
  1. Asia (Korean and Vietnam Wars):
     • Countries split between communist and anti-communist forces.
     • The US backed anti-communist forces; the Soviet Union backed communist forces.
     • Both wars ended in stalemates.
  2. Latin America (Nicaragua):
     • In 1979, the Sandinistas (socialist revolutionaries) overthrew the Nicaraguan dictator and received support from Cuba and the Soviets.
     • The US supported the Contras to oust the Sandinistas.
     • The conflict ended in 1989 with a ceasefire and military demobilization agreement.
  3. Africa (Angolan Civil War):
     • The US and its allies supported non-communist groups.
     • The Soviets and its allies supported communist groups.
     • The communist forces eventually won.

The Rise of Communism in China

Causes of the Chinese Communist Revolution

• Grievances over China's dependence on Western powers.
• 1911 Revolution established China as a republic.
• Mao Zedong's communist forces defeated the Nationalist Party with aid from the Soviet Union.

Mao's Communist Policies

• Collectivization of Agriculture:
  • Similar to the Soviet Union but relatively peaceful due to widespread support among peasants.
• State Control of the Economy (Great Leap Forward):
  • An economic plan to rapidly industrialize China through heavy industry in rural areas.
  • The industrial goods were of poor quality, and combined with bad harvests, led to the starvation of 20-50 million Chinese people.

Other Socialist Movements

• Egypt:
  • Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal in 1952.
  • British and French invasion was stopped due to Soviet backing and US pressure.
• Vietnam:
  • A communist government was established and implemented land redistribution.

Decolonization Processes

Negotiated Independence (India)

• 1885: Formation of the Indian National Congress.
• Mohandas Gandhi led a nonviolent resistance movement after World War I.
• 1947: Britain recognized India's independence.
• Partition of India into India and Pakistan led to violence.

Armed Resistance (Algeria)

• Algeria was a French colony with many French settlers.
• 1954: Algerian Muslims formed the National Liberation Front and rebelled violently.
• 1962: French President Charles de Gaulle declared the end of the war, and Algeria gained independence.

Redrawing Political Boundaries and Conflicts

Israel

• Before World War I, Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire with a majority Muslim population.
• After World War I, Palestine was transferred to Britain under the mandate system.
• Zionism: A nationalistic ideology among Jews to have their own state in Palestine.
• Increased Jewish migration to Palestine led to Arab resistance.
• After World War II, the United Nations partitioned Palestine into two states.
• Jews declared independence in 1948, leading to conflict with Palestinians and neighboring Arab states.

Government Role in Newly Independent States' Economies

Egypt (Gamal Abdel Nasser)

• Nationalized the Suez Canal in 1956.
• Gained Soviet support to end the Western powers' invasion.

Other Examples

• Indira Gandhi's adoption of the Green Revolution in India.
• Julius Nyerere's modernization policies in Tanzania.

Movements to Resist Oppressive Power Structures

Nonviolent Resistance

1. Mohandas Gandhi (India):
   • Homespun movement: Protested Britain's economic dominance of India's cotton industry.
   • Salt March: Protested the British imperial salt tax.
2. Martin Luther King Jr. (United States):
   • Inspired by Gandhi, used civil disobedience to protest racial segregation laws.
   • Montgomery bus boycott, sit-ins.
   • The civil rights movement resulted in the Supreme Court overturning segregation laws and Congress passing anti-discrimination laws.
3. Nelson Mandela (South Africa):
   • Led the African National Congress in acts of nonviolent resistance against apartheid.
   • Eventually endorsed violent resistance and was jailed for over two decades.
   • Elected president in 1994, ending South African apartheid.

Intensified Violence

• Augusto Pinochet (Chile):
  • Led a military coup to overthrow Salvador Allende (Marxist).
  • With US help, set himself up as a brutal dictator.
  • Conducted raids, executions, and torture against political enemies.

End of the Cold War

• US military development.
• The Soviet Union's failed invasion of Afghanistan.
• The reform policies of Mikhail Gorbachev.

Reasons for the End of the Cold War

1. Advances in US Military and Technological Development:
   • Ronald Reagan's massive spending on military development put the Soviets at a disadvantage.
2. The Soviet Union's Failed Invasion of Afghanistan:
   • Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan in 1979 to support the communist regime.
   • Afghan rebels received support from the US, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan.
   • The Soviets lost the war, further depressing their economy.
3. Policies of Mikhail Gorbachev:
   • Perestroika: Restructuring of the Soviet economy with reduced central planning.
   • Glasnost: Openness, freedom of speech, and criticism of the government were more tolerated.
   • Gorbachev announced that the Soviet Union would no longer use military intervention to prop up communist governments in Eastern Europe.
   • In 1991, the Soviet legislature voted to dissolve the Soviet Union.