WH Cold War, Decolonization, Non-Alignment Study Guide

Quit India Movement

(p 697) The Quit India Movement was launched by Mahatma Gandhi in 1942 to protest the British Raj sending Indian troops to fight in WWII and demanded immediate independence from Britain. Gandhi, Nery, and the majority of the Indian subcontinent envisioned a united Indian nation with a constitution that would mimic Britain but would be fully independent. As a result of the claims, most of the Indian National congress was imprisoned after Gandhi's call to action. The British refused to heed calls for independence, stating that it would be impossible until after the end of WWII. Ultimately, the Quit India Movement failed because of a lack of coordination and no decisive action taken against the British. The British, however, did end up leaving India after seeing how costly WWII had been and the troubles faced in India.

Military Dictatorship

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Nuclear weapons

A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that gets its destructive force from nuclear reactions such as fission or fusion. These bombs are known as weapons of mass destruction and release vasts amounts of energy from a relatively small amount of matter.

Mao Zedong

After WWII, China still remained as a peasant-based economy with few industrial resources. Mao was a Chinese communist revolutionary who bacame the founding father of the People's Republic of China and opened up fresh possibilities of development through the reinterpretation of Marxism, leading eventually to an abortive attempt at decentralized village industrialization. Mao formed a new People's Republic of China with his new Maoist vision of collectivist modernity. This movement came to be known as the "China has stood up movement," and through Mao, China had taken on the fight against imperialism with great pride.

Capitalism

An economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state. Communism: A political theory derived by Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs.

Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)

An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a guided ballistic missile designed for the delivery and detonation of nuclear weapons across continents. Among one of the major motives of the Cold War was not only to stockpile as many nuclear warheads as possible but also to develop and improve ICBM technology for rapid mobilization and delivery. The first ICBM was developed by the Soviet Union in 1957, and it was capable of reaching the American East Coast.

African National Congress

Apartheid was a system of social and legal segregation by race enforced by the South African government from 1948 to 1994. Throughout the 1950s, apartheid was internationally criticized as more and more black majority countires were decolonized, and despite the best efforts of the white government, South Africa withdrew from the British Commonwealth in 1961. A number of black political organizations, such as the African National Congress led by Nelson Mandela, campaigned for the ending of apartheid. By the 1980s, international boycotts and the ANC's political and guerilla tactics had gained momentum in the fight against apartheid. Amid the collapse of the Soviet Bloc, President Frederick Willem de Klerk began to dismantle apartheid. The ANC was legalized and became the largest political party of South Africa, and Mandela was released from prison. In 1991 all apartheid laws were repealed, in 1992 the constitution was updated to reflect equality for all races, and in 1994 the first multiracial elections were held, with Mandela becoming president.

Apartheid

Apartheid was a system of social and legal segregation by race enforced by the South African government from 1948 to 1994. Throughout the 1950s, apartheid was internationally criticized as more and more black majority countires were decolonized, and despite the best efforts of the white government, South Africa withdrew from the British Commonwealth in 1961. A number of black political organizations, such as the African National Congress led by Nelson Mandela, campaigned for the ending of apartheid. By the 1980s, international boycotts and the ANC's political and guerilla tactics had gained momentum in the fight against apartheid. Amid the collapse of the Soviet Bloc, President Frederick Willem de Klerk began to dismantle apartheid. The ANC was legalized and became the largest political party of South Africa, and Mandela was released from prison. In 1991 all apartheid laws were repealed, in 1992 the constitution was updated to reflect equality for all races, and in 1994 the first multiracial elections were held, with Mandela becoming president.

Nelson Mandela

Apartheid was a system of social and legal segregation by race enforced by the South African government from 1948 to 1994. Throughout the 1950s, apartheid was internationally criticized as more and more black majority countires were decolonized, and despite the best efforts of the white government, South Africa withdrew from the British Commonwealth in 1961. A number of black political organizations, such as the African National Congress led by Nelson Mandela, campaigned for the ending of apartheid. By the 1980s, international boycotts and the ANC's political and guerilla tactics had gained momentum in the fight against apartheid. Amid the collapse of the Soviet Bloc, President Frederick Willem de Klerk began to dismantle apartheid. The ANC was legalized and became the largest political party of South Africa, and Mandela was released from prison. In 1991 all apartheid laws were repealed, in 1992 the constitution was updated to reflect equality for all races, and in 1994 the first multiracial elections were held, with Mandela becoming president.

Arab socialism

Arab socialism developed in the Middle East as a result of colonialism and Western intervention into Middle Eastern affairs. The concept of Arab Socialism gained much traction with Egypt's Nasser. When he took power with the Free Officers, eliminated the power of large estates, and endorsed the Arab nationalistic cause. Garnering support from the Soviet Union, Nasser was able to remove all colonial powers and the Middle East and establish a pan-Arabism movement that advocated for an Arab world free from Western influence and to unify the Middle East.

Chiang K'ai-shek

Chiang K'ai-shek was Chinese Nationalist who had fought his whole life for the suppression of the Chinese Communist Party. Following the end of WWII, a brief alliance between the CCP and Chinese Nationalists ended and China was in the midst of a civil war. Mao and the CCP took Beijing, and Chiang fled to Taiwan where he established a new government.

Cold War

Cold War: The Cold War was a struggle between the United States and Soviet Union, including their respective allies, over ideologies of a capitalist democracy or communism. The United States and allies believed that communism inhibited personal freedoms and went directly against their values of democracy. The Soviet Union believed that capitalist democracy had been the cause for stagnation and dissent across countries and believed solely in communism as a governance system. The Cold War was fought through proxy states and spheres of influence, and soon involved into a space and missiles race as well.

Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro was a nationalist guerilla fighter opposed to the influence of American companies over the corrupt government in Cuba. Seizing power in 1959, his Cuba was a symbol of the Khrushchev government's openness toward the national liberation movement. Under Castro, the Soviet Union spent huge amounts of money developing the island's economy, and Castro ultimately embraced communism in 1960.

Space Race

Following the creation of the first ICBM by the Soviet Union in 1957, the Soviet Union launched the world's first orbiting satellite into space that year name Sputnik. In 1961, Russian scientists sent the world's first cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, into space. From the rapid Soviet advances in ICBMs and rocket technology, the Americans were frightened at the possibility of weapons descending from space with no way to be stopped. Politicians convinced Congress into accelerating the US missile and space program despite the risk of furthering the Cold War, and the space race had begun. By 1958, the United States successfully launched its first satellite, Explorer 1, and in the following year, its first ICBM, the Atlas.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

Following the shift in the Cold War to be more militaristic confrontation and the detonation of a Soviet nuclear bomb 4 years before anticipated, the United States formed a defensive alliance known as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949. the organization was established for three purposes (according to its own version of its founding), "deterring Soviet expansionism, forbidding the revival of nationalist militarism in Europe through a strong North American presence on the Continent, and encouraging European political integration."

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

Founded in 1947, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was an alternative means to overthrow left-leaning and socialist movements and governments around the globe. As an offshoot from the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) used during WWII, the CIA carried out a variety of covert operations including spy missions, electronic eavesdropping, photographs obtained by high-flying aircraft, and outright assassination plots.

Gamal Abdel Nasser

Gamal Abdel Nasser was an Egyptian officer in the war against Israel who led the Free Officers in a bloodless coup in July 1952. He declared himself president in 1956. Once in power, he realized that the Egyptian military was weak and needed improvement, and sought help from Krushchev. Nasser also sought support from the World Bank (US and Britain) for infrastructural improvements, such as a dam, but Britain and the US withdrew their support when Nasser pressured Jordan into dismissing a British commander. Nasser responded with the nationalization of the Suez Canal and the closure of the Strait of Tiran, which Israel, supported by France, took as an act of war. Although defeated militarily, British and French troops failed to occupy the Canal Zone quickly enough, and Nasser achieved a diplomatic victory and ended British and French imperialism.

Harry Truman

Harry Truman was the 33rd president of the United States that succeeded Franklin D. Roosevelt after serving as vice president. While in office, he implemented the Marshall Plan to rebuild the economy of Western Europe, established the Truman Doctrine, and formed NATO.

Ho Chi Minh

Ho Chi Minh was the leader of the Vietminh. With covert American support, he led the fight against Japanese occupiers using guerilla warfare, and in 1945 declared VIetnamese independence. Following that victory, they continued to fight against French forces in Indochina - however, the French convinced the USA that a Vietminh victory would result in the expansion of communism, and obtained US funding.

Hungarian Revolution of 1956

Hungary was heavily divided between reformers and Stalinists. Following the Polish uprising that resulted in Poland receiving limited autonomy from the Soviet Union, people took to the streets in a revolt. The Politburo lost control and Imre Nagy was appointed to lead the country; Nagy later announced a multiparty system and a withdrawal of Hungary from the Warsaw Pact. In response, Khrushchev unleashed Soviet troops to repress the grassroots revolution, ultimately crushing the rebelling and killing Nagy.

Korean War

In June 1950, North Korean communist troops invaded South Korea in an attempt at forcible unification. The UN Security Council subsequently branded North Korea as the aggressor, entitling South Korea to UN Intervention and allowing US troops to occupy the land and fight the war. The United States sent another fleet to the Chinese nationalists who had formed the Republic of China in Taiwan to protect it from newly communist China. Mao Zedong took threats of raiding Chinese supply bases on the North Korean border made by General Douglas MacArthur seriously, but Stalin opposed escalation and gave Mao only superficial support. In October 1950, communist Chinese troops launched a surprise counteroffensive against the UN forces on the Korean peninsula and pushed them back into deep South Korea. In 1953, the Eisenhower administration and the North Koreans agreed to an armistice to avoid the furthering of war and the use of nuclear weapons.

Zionism

In the time of the Cold War, Zionism was the movement for the establishment of a Jewish state. Following the end of WWII, Zionist guerilla forces in Palestine were protesting restrictions on Jewish immigration and land acquisitions. The British, however, were determined on retaining Palestine under their control due to its strategic advantages, especially in light of the Cold War. But with Britain unable to deal with the Palestinian-Zionist divide, Britain turned over the issue to the United Nations which developed a partition plan and allowed Israel to gain independence in 1948. From this independence came great controversy. Muslim countries saw Israel as a symbol of Western intervention into the Middle East and attacked in a series of small wars over the next few years. Israel had become a strong Amerian ally in the Middle East. Today, Zionism retains much importance.

Berlin Airlift

Irritated by the success of the Marshall Plan, the Soviet Union blockaded rail and highway transportation of food and supplies to Berlin. The United States and Britain, however, responded with the "Berlin Airlift" and demonstrated their technological prowess and humanitarian compassion. Over the course of a year, food, fuel, and other supplies were flown into Berlin until Stalin gave up the blockade effort.

Jawaharlal Nehru

Jawaharlal Nehru was India's first prime minister following independence. In that role, he worked to unify the subcontinent's decentralized ruling systems into a singular, centralized, and united government. Nehru worked to have local princes surrender their spheres of influence to the national government, but the instilled caste system and systemic social inequalities proved to be massive obstacles to unity. He adopted British parliamentary and court systems, and modified the economy for agricultural productivity and industrialization.

John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy '35 was the 35th president of the United States who ruled during the Cold War between the Soviet Union and United States. In Cuba, JFK inherited the initiative of overthrowing Castro and sanctioned the invasion fo Cuba by seemingly independent freedom fighters with no direct US military support. This invasion came to be called the Bay of Pigs Invasion of April 1961 which was easily defeated by Castro's forces and brought great embarrassment to Kennedy.

Jomo Kenyatta

Jomo Kenyatta advocated for independence from British colonialism in Kenya and founded the Kenya African National Union. British settlers in Kenya were reluctant to let go of economically beneficial land and political power. In response, the Mau Mau movement was formed, and resorted to terrorist attacks on British estates. Kenya gained independence in 1963, and Kenyatta was named as the republic's first president.

Josef Stalin

Joseph Stalin ruled the Soviet Union for more than two decades following the death of Vladimir Lenin, instituting a reign of death and terror while modernizing Russia and helping to defeat Nazism. Stalin industrialized the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, forcibly collectivized its agriculture, consolidated his position by intensive police terror, helped to defeat Germany in 1941-45, and extended Soviet controls to include a belt of eastern European states. Chief architect of Soviet totalitarianism and a skilled but phenomenally ruthless organizer, he destroyed the remnants of individual freedom and failed to promote individual prosperity, yet he created a mighty military-industrial complex and led the Soviet Union into the nuclear age.

Kwame Nkrumah

Kwame Nkrumah was a Ghanan African independence and pan-African unity activist. Backed by Britain, he rose to rule over Ghana with the stipulation that he would adopt a British style constitution. However, he quickly discarded that constitution for a new republican constitution, removed Ghana from the British Commonwealth, and began socialist state building. He began a heavy industrialization project beginning with the construction of a dam on the Volta River and changed the constitution once again to make Ghana a one-party nation with himself as leader for life. However, declining prices of cocoa out Nkrumah's nation into heavy debt, and in 1966, a CIA-backed army coup ousted Nkrumah.

Patrice Lumumba

Lumumba founded the National Congolese Movement, a group advocating for a centralized constitutionalist nationalism. He won the public election in 1960 as prime minister, with Kasa-Vubu, a man from the province of Katanga, as president. Once Lumumba came to power, the Belgians attempted to sabotage his rule, and as chaos broke out, Katanga declared its independence. The United Nations was able to restore order, but Belgium ensured Katanga would not rejoin the Congo, and Lumumba turned to the Soviet Union for support. Tensions between Lumumba and Kasa-Vubu allowed Mobuto Sese Seko to come to power, although he was known to be in the pay of the Belgians and the CIA. Mobuto promptly had Lumumba arrested, and Belgian agents executed Lumumba in Katanga in January 1961.

Mohandas K. Gandi

Mahatma Gandhi was an Indian lawyer revered for his nonviolent protests against British occupation of India. He was an anti-colonialist nationalist who advocated for an independent India based on religious pluralism. When the enacted Rowlatt Law authorized British officials to arrest Indians suspected of sedition without a fair trial, Gandhi returned all his accolades given to him by the British government and began peaceful protests and boycotts. He became the leader of the Indian National congress and advocated for nonviolence from all and peaceful non-cooperation to British rule. In response to the Britain's Salt Acts, Gandhi planned the famous salt marches to publicly display civic disobedience and protest British occupation and rule outright. Launching the Quit India Movement, Gandhi presided over negotiations with policies of religious pluralism and support of all religious minorities. Unfortunately, he failed in his dream of a united Indian subcontinent, and Britain partitioned the subcontinent along religious lines to separate predominantly Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan.

McCarthyism

McCarthyism was the abundant rise of political accusations from both political parties in the United States. The Korean war had impacted domestic US dynamics with an increasingly anti-communist ideal. During this time, Joseph McCarthy announced in 1950 that he had a list of members of the Communist Party employed by the State Department. Although never released, this declaration ruined the careers of hundreds of government employees, celebrities, and private persons. This "McCarthy era" continued for four years in an anti-communist hysteria.

Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)

Mutually assured destruction (MAD) is the concept of nuclear deterrence through mutual fear and avoidance of a world-ending event such as a mass nuclear war. It is a doctrine of military strategy and national security policy in which a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by two or more opposing sides would cause the complete destruction of both the attacker, defender, and innocent casualties around the world.

Neocolonialism

Neocolonialism is the process of using capitalism, globalization, cultural imperialism, or foreign aid to manipulate a developing country. This is most often the subtle spreading of socio-economic and political activity domestically to reinforce policies of capitalism.

Ngo Dinh Diem

Ngo Dinh Diem was a politician who rose to power in South Vietnam after the Geneva Accords. Because he appeared to be powerful and had high ideals for nation building, the US chose to support him, and with that military support, Diem pushed the Vietcong into the mountains. However, because US support diminished as the Cold War grew more pressing, and because Diem's government upset the Buddhist majority population by suppressing unarmed protests and raiding temples, the Vietcong began to make gains on Diem's government. Eventually, the US backed a general's coup against Diem before committing itself fully to war against the Vietcong.

Nikita Krushchev

Nikita Krushchev, Stalin's successor, was a Soviet ruler who made substantial investments in agriculture, housing, and consumer goods. He replaced Stalinists with new members in the Communist Bloc and maintained a policy of toughness to the West. This process he initiated was known as "de-Stalinization," and its goal was to make Soviet society less repressive.

Palestine

Palestine was a British colony that was established after WWI when the Ottoman Empire had collapsed. The British took them over in what was known as the "British Mandate for Palestine." The British had allowed Jewish immigration, but tensions began to rise as immigration began to be restricted, especially in light of the Holocaust and WWII. In 1947, the United Nations devised a plan to divide British Palestine into two separate states. One for the Jewish, Israel and one for the Arabs, Palestine. This, however, was not an end to the violence. Many Arab states saw the formation of Israel as a symbol of European imperialism and started wars that advocated for Pan-Arabism and the establishment of purely Arab Palestine.

United Nations

Successor of the League of Nations, founded in 1945 and today comprising about 200 countries, with which a Secretary General, a General Assembly meeting annually, and a standing Security Council composed of permanent members (United States, China, Russia, the United Kingdom, and France) as well as five rotating temporary members. The United Nations has one central mission: the maintenance of international peace and security. Part of treaty that ended WWII, and it still remains as one of the most global organizations.

Bandung Conference

The Bandung Conference was the conference attended by the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Indonesia. (see Non-Alignment Movement for more)

Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall was a guarded concrete barrier that separated, both physically and ideologically, East and West Germany. East Germany had retained its Stalinist leadership and pressured Khrushchev to close the last opening in Berlin through which citizens could escape to democratic West Germany. With the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, the German Democratic Republic had been turned into a prison.

Chinese Communist Party (CCP)

The Chinese Communist Party was founded in 1921 to work in partnership with the Nationalist party to rid the country of warlords who prevented the formation of a central government. During the Cold

Cuban Missile Crisis

The Cuban Missile Crisis began in October 1962 when US spy planes discovered the presence of missile launching pads and missiles in Cuba. President Kennedy demanded their immediate destruction and subsequently responded with a naval blockade of the island to prevent the arrival of more Russian missiles. Khrushchev soon dispatched Russian ships to Cuba bearing more missiles, causing Kennedy to demand he recall the ships or face the threat of nuclear warfare. Ultimately, Khrushchev recalled the ships at the last minute and Kennedy agreed to remove American missiles from Turkey. This crisis led to the signing of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty that banned aboveground testing of nuclear weapons and sought to prevent the spread of nuclear technology to other countries.

Free Officers

The Free Officers, led by Nasser, were a secret organization who assumed control in Egypt in a bloodless July 1952 coup by closing down the parliament and sending the Egyptian king into exile. They sought to break the power of landowners through a series of land reforms that eliminated large estates.

Great Leap Forward

The Great Leap Forward was a mobilization project led by Mao Zedong that aimed to transform China from an agrarian economy into a socialist society. This was to be achieved through rapid industrialization and civilization. Mao had been impatient with the growth of Chinese agricultural collectivization, so this new plan outlined a new method at rapid industrailization. However, this plan greatly failed as peasants actively resisted the seizure of their land and conversions to modern technological creations. The Great Leap Forward campaign was so disastrous that Mao was forced to step down from his position as Party Chairman and the Soviet Union withdrew aid and technical personnel in what came to be known as the "Sino-Soviet Split." The policies enforced by the Great Leap Forward campaign, in the Soviet's eyes, were exactly the policies they sought to leave behind from Stalinism.

Indian National Congress

The Indian National Congress is a political party in India that played an important role in the independence movement. In the 20th century, the party was vehemently opposed to British occupation.

Iron Curtain

The Iron Curtain was a national barrier that separated the formal Soviet block and the West before the fall of communism in 1989. In a speech by Churchill, he warned of this "iron curtain" descending across Eurom "from Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic." The iron curtain, ultimately, was the political, military, and ideological divide created by the Soviet Union after WWII to seal itself and all other Eastern Bloc members from the rest of the world and Western influence. Marked the beginning fo cold war, tension of cold war, command economy that communists were pushing for. Mention that in many ways Churchill was indicating a hard stop to stop spread of communism.

Marshall Plan

The Marshall Plan was a financial program of $1.4 billion to support the reconstruction of the economies of 17 European countries during 1948-1952, with most of the aid going to France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. The Marshall Plan required free markets and convertible currencies to be implemented, and so it directly contradicted the communist ideology of a central command economy. This, alongside the Truman Doctrine, helped the U.S. fight the proxy war against the Soviet Union by economically supporting European nations and preventing their conversion to communism.

Muslim Brotherhood

The Muslim Brotherhood was a militant organization founded by Hasan al-Banna that advocated for the establishment of an Islamic regime. Because they rivaled the Free Officers, Nasser accused the Muslim Brotherhood of an assassination attempt and outlawed the organization in 1954.

Non-Alignment Movement (NAM)

The NAM is an international, anticolonialist movement of state leaders that promoted the interests of countries not aligned with the superpowers. Co-founders of the movement in 1961 include Egypt, Indonesia, India, Yugoslavia, and Ceylon. It was formed at the Bandung Conference between several countries who found themselves caught between the US and the Soviet Union in the Cold War, and sought to find a middle way between capitalism and Soviet communism without giving in to either superpower. In 1955, delegates attended a conference in Bandung, Indonesia and adopted a declaration of "world peace and cooperation." The NAM helped stabilize the Cold War as new, developing nations were able to join a non-polarized third party that wasn't the United State's capitalist democracy or the Soviet Union's communism. It still remains in effect today and reflects a growing pattern of anticolonial sentiments.

Politburo

The Politburo was the Communist Party's Central Committee Political Bureau. It was the highest policy-making authority within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Truman Doctrine

The Truman Doctrine was a policy formulated in 1947, initially to outline steps directed at preventing Greece and Turkey from becoming communist, primarily through military and economic aid. Under the Truman Doctrine, the United States announced its support of all "free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures."

Dien Bien Phu

The Vietminh achieved a decisive victory over French forces and the battle of Dien Bien Phu. During negotiations, the French surrendered, leading to a division of Vietnam into north and south, planned national elections, and the nations of Laos and Cambodia (Geneva Accords).

Vietminh/Vietcong

The Vietminh was a communist organization that sought for Vietnamese independence from Japanese occupation and the French Empire. ^ see everything about Ho Chi Minh. The Vietcong were South Vietnamese guerilla communist fighters who fought against Ngo Dinh DIem.

Warsaw Pact

The Warsaw Pact was a defensive alliance formed by the Soviet Union in response to the United States' formation of NATO. It mirrored the same principles of NATO but committed itself to deter western expansion and influence among states of the Eastern Bloc.

Five Year Plan

The five-year plan was a program implemented by Stalin that focued on industrializing the Soviet Union through building up their industries and the collectivization of agriculture. It's goal was ultimately to transform the Soviet Union into a new, prosperous global power through shifting away from its poorly governed agrarian systems into the industrial frontrunner of the world. This plan, however, proved to be too ambitious for the Soviet Union and led to genocidal famine in several member states including Russia and Ukraine.

Partition

The partition of the Indian subcontinent was when the British divided it up based on religious lines of predominantly Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan. This signified the failure of Gandhi's dream of a single united Indian subcontintent with policies of religious pluralism. Following the partition, the jubilation of freedom was proptly ended as millions fled their homes in an attempt to cross borders to live in a country aligned with their religious affinities. More than 300,000 Indians died in the mass exodus, and Gandhi soon fell to a radical assassin who represented the hatred some Hindus felt towards Gandhi for religious pluralism and support of muslims.

Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Cold War. During the Cold War, he is most famous for his "Iron Curtain" speech in which he condemned the Soviet Union's policy of seclusion which squashed free government and personal freedoms in Central and Eastern Europe.

Vietnam War

proxy wars as it relates to cold war, define actual war and historical context