Geopolitics of the Second Half of the Twentieth Century

Causes of the Cold War

  • Conflicting Ideologies:
    • US: Democratic capitalism.
    • Soviet Union: Authoritarian communism.
    • Both ideologies aimed to expand, leading to conflict.
  • Mutual Mistrust:
    • Disagreements over postwar world, especially Eastern Europe and Germany.
    • Soviets wanted a weak Germany, while Western powers wanted economic recovery.

Decolonization and the Non-Aligned Movement

  • Decolonization created new states that both the US and Soviet Union tried to influence.
  • The Non-Aligned Movement:
    • Started in 1955 with Indonesian president Sukarno.
    • 29 African, Asian heads of state resisted Cold War rivalry.
    • Maintained independence from both Soviet and US blocs.

Major Effects of the Cold War

  • Arms Race: Tension due to superpowers stockpiling nuclear weapons.
  • New Military Alliances:
    • NATO: Defensive alliance led by the US, joined by Western Europe.
    • Warsaw Pact: Soviet Union and its satellite states in Eastern Europe.
  • Proxy Wars:
    • Conflicts where the US and Soviet Union supported opposing sides without directly fighting each other.
    • Asia: Korean and Vietnam Wars (communist vs. anti-communist forces).
    • Latin America: Nicaragua (Sandinistas vs. Contras).
    • Africa: Angolan Civil War (communist vs. non-communist groups).

China's Communist Revolution

  • Causes:
    • Grievances over China's dependence on Western powers.
    • 1911 revolution established China as a republic.
    • Mao Zedong's communist forces defeated the Nationalist Party.
  • Mao's Communist Policies:
    • Collectivization of agriculture (relatively peaceful compared to the Soviet Union).
    • State control of the economy: Great Leap Forward attempted rapid industrialization, but failed, leading to mass starvation.

Socialist Movements

  • Egypt:
    • Gamal Abdul Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal in 1952.
    • Soviet support against British, French, and Israeli invasion.
  • Vietnam:
    • Communist government redistributed land from wealthy landowners to peasantry.

Decolonization Processes

  • Negotiated Independence: India
    • Indian National Congress petitioned for self-rule.
    • Mohandas Gandhi led nonviolent resistance.
    • British recognized India's independence in 1947.
    • Partition into India and Pakistan led to violence.
  • Armed Resistance: Algeria
    • Algerian Muslims formed the National Liberation Front in 1954.
    • War with France until 1962 when Algeria gained independence.

Redrawing Political Boundaries

  • Israel:
    • Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire before World War I, with a majority Muslim population.
    • Zionism led to increased Jewish migration.
    • United Nations partitioned Palestine into Jewish and Arab states.
    • Israel declared independence in 1948, leading to ongoing conflict.

Government Role in Economic Life

  • Egypt:
    • Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal in 1956.
  • Other examples: Indira Gandhi in India and Julius Nyerere in Tanzania.

Movements to Resist Oppressive Power Structures

  • Nonviolent Resistance:
    • Mohandas Gandhi: Homespun movement, Salt March.
    • Martin Luther King Jr.: Montgomery bus boycott, sit-ins.
    • Nelson Mandela: Strikes and boycotts; later endorsed violent resistance, jailed, and then became president.
  • Intensified Violence:
    • Augusto Pinochet in Chile overthrew Salvador Allende in a military coup with US support, leading to brutal dictatorship.

End of the Cold War

  • US Military Development: Ronald Reagan's massive military spending put pressure on the Soviet Union.
  • Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan: Failed invasion further depressed the Soviet economy.
  • Mikhail Gorbachev's Reforms:
    • Perestroika: Restructuring of the Soviet economy.
    • Glasnost: Openness, freedom of speech.
    • Gorbachev ended military intervention in Eastern Europe.
    • The Soviet Union dissolved in 1991.