The End Of Empires Flashcards
Why did almost every colony in Africa & Asia gain independence after WW2?
- Colonies are too expensive to maintain
- Europeans appeared hypocritical after they defeated dictators during WW2 acted like dictators themselves when ruling over their colonies
- Growing nationalism in colonies
- Superpowers in the Cold War both advocated for national self-determination
What is national self-determination?
The idea that people can govern themselves
What’s the Global South?
- Describes the newly-independent nations after WW2
- AKA industrializing/developing nations
- AKA Third world nations during 20th century
What are examples of 1st world countries after WW2?
- US & Europe
What are examples of 2nd World countries after WW2?
- USSR
- China
- Other communist states
What are 5 examples of problems in the Global South?
- Poverty
- Increasing population
- Lack of infrastructure
- Global trade which keeps poor nations poor
- Political instability
What’s an example of a region that’s usually considered the Global South even though most of the nations within the region were independent before WW2?
Latin America
What was the Latin American economy reliant on that caused issues for the nations after WW2?
The exportation of raw materials
What are examples of regions that shared a similar economy to Latin America prior to WW2?
African and Asian colonies
Who often ruled Latin American countries during the 1900s?
Caudillos or other dictators
What’s an example of a communist/nationalist revolution against “economic imperialism” of US?
- Cuban Revolution
How did the colonization of Latin America in the 1450s-1700 & the colonization of Asian & African nations from 1750-1900 lead to economic problems after WW2?
Economies of most countries were built around production of 1 or 2 cash crops during colonization
What’s an example of how “Global South” nations attempted to rebuild their economies after WW2?
- Import substitution industrialization
What was Import Substitution Industrialization?
- Nations restrict imports of foreign goods and instead produce them domestically
Why was there political instability within Global South nations (Ecspecially Africa) after they gained independence?
- European nations created borders that ignored cultural differences between various groups
What’s an example of a cultural/political problem that “Global South” countries had as a result of colonization?
Lots of political instability since European countries made borders that ignored cultural differences between various groups
What’s an example of a political problem within “Global South” countries caused by undemocratic rule by Europeans
“Global South” countries didn’t have established democracies so they struggled with building and maintaining democracies
What’s a political result of governments failing to deliver on promises?
Many governments were replaced by millitary dictators
What’s a political effect that the Cold War had on “Global South” nations?
Many nations chose a policy of non-alignment to avoid being controlled by US & USSR and Proxy Wars within their nation. Oftentimes it was difficult to mantain neutrality
What was the Indian case of Decolonization?
India peacefully gained independence from Britain but got it in 2 separate states, India & Pakistan causing the Partition.
What was the Indian National Congress?
Main organization for Indian nationalism
Who was the leader of the India National Congress?
Mohandis Gandhi
What policies did Mohandis Gandhi fight for?
- Greater roles for women
- A secular nation-state for all Indians despite religion
- Greater roles for lower castes
What religion was Mohandis Gandhi?
Hindu
