Unit 8 Flashcards
Unit 8 Content
Cold Wars and Decolonization
Cold War
State of hostility that exists between two states characterized by an ideological struggle rather than open warfare
Why USA and USSR were now the most powerful nations
Economic and technological advantages
Economic Advantages
USA - WW2 caused an industrilazation spike because of the war effort, USA wasn’t really effected from war
USSR - Though it suffered the most in WW2 it had natural resources, large pop, and the gov had previously made investment befor WW1 (Five Year Plans)
Technological Advantages
USA - Atomic bombs
USSR - developed new atomic bombs 4 years later
Created arms race
Decolonization: Context
Wilson’s Self-determination
Weakend Western States from WW’s
Anti-imperial movements
Conflicting Ideologies
Cold War Causes
Democratic Capitialism v. Authoritarian Communism
Democratic Capitialism
Free market economics and political participation from citizens
Authoritarian Communism
Strict government contol of economy and redistribution of wealth equally to all citizens who have no voice in government
Why these ideologies started a war
Both are universalizing ideas; those who hold them want everyone else to hold them too
Mutual Mistrust
Cold War Causes
Started before WW2 ended
Confrences, tehran, Bretton woods, potsdam, were held to determine what would become of the world after the war. West wanted free elections in central and eastern european countries but USSR didn’t like this because they bordered these states. Stalin kept making sataelite states when they agreed to allow these states to be free creating the Iron Curtain.
Decolonization
Cold War Causes
Dozens of new states were created causing the US and USSR to rac eto influence these states with their ideologies
Cold War Effects on New Nations
Newly formed states refsed to be pawns in this conlifct which made them dependent on more powerful nations
Non-Aligned Movement
New nations from india, ghana, indonesia, and egypt that refused to become involved and controlled in cold war
How nations took advantage of Cold War
By feigning support for one side or the other, some non-aligned states were able to gain weapons and resources that they needed for development and defense even if they were apart of the Non-aligned movement
