Unit 8 Learning Notes: From Empire to Independence and the Cold War’s Unraveling

Decolonization

The process by which colonies controlled by foreign empires become self-governing and independent, especially rapidly after World War II.

Colonial nationalism

Nationalist movements within colonies that organized people around shared identity and demands for sovereignty and self-rule.

Self-determination

The principle that a people with a shared identity should have the right to choose their own political status and government.

United Nations (UN)

An international organization that provided a forum where anti-colonial movements could gain attention and where diplomatic pressure could be applied to empires.

Proxy war

A conflict rooted in local issues but financed, armed, or influenced by outside powers (often the US and USSR during the Cold War).

Partition (India/Pakistan, 1947)

The division of British India into India and Pakistan at independence, which triggered massive violence and migration.

Artificial borders

Colonial boundaries drawn for imperial convenience rather than ethnic, linguistic, or religious realities, often creating post-independence tensions.

Newly independent state

A country that has recently gained sovereignty and must build political institutions, an economy, and a national identity while inheriting colonial-era structures.

Nationalization

Transferring private or foreign-owned assets (such as key industries or resources) into state ownership to reduce foreign influence and fund development.

Import substitution industrialization (ISI)

A development strategy that builds domestic industry by producing goods at home that were previously imported, often protected by tariffs or state investment.

Ujamaa

Tanzania’s experiment with African socialism emphasizing communal villages and collectivist development policies.

Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)

A Cold War-era coalition (founded 1961) of states seeking autonomy by avoiding formal alignment with either the US-led or Soviet-led blocs.

Bandung Conference (1955)

A meeting of Asian and African leaders focused on cooperation, anti-colonialism, and neutrality/independence in Cold War politics.

Neocolonialism

Indirect control of formally independent states through economic pressure, unequal trade, debt, and influence of multinational corporations or foreign governments.

Dependency

A framework describing how former colonies may remain reliant on exporting raw materials and importing manufactured goods, limiting capital accumulation and industrialization.

Cold War

A prolonged geopolitical and ideological rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union and their allies after World War II.

Mikhail Gorbachev

Soviet leader whose reforms in the 1980s helped weaken Communist Party control and contributed to the collapse of Soviet dominance in Eastern Europe and the USSR.

Perestroika

Gorbachev’s policy of “restructuring” intended to reform and revitalize the Soviet system, with destabilizing political effects.

Glasnost

Gorbachev’s policy of “openness” that expanded freedom of information and public criticism, weakening centralized Soviet control.

Soviet-Afghan War (1979–1989)

A costly Soviet military intervention that drained resources and undermined public confidence, contributing to Soviet crisis in the 1980s.

Fall of the Berlin Wall (1989)

A symbolic and practical turning point showing communist control weakening and Soviet willingness to enforce Eastern European domination declining.

Dissolution of the Soviet Union (1991)

The formal breakup of the USSR into separate states after reforms, nationalist movements, and weakening central authority.

One-party state

A post-independence political model justified as promoting unity and rapid modernization, but often associated with repression and limited political competition.

Military coup/regime

A takeover or government led by the military, often justified as restoring order when civilian governments are seen as corrupt or ineffective.

State-led development

An economic approach in which the government plays a major role in directing growth (often via planning and control of key industries) to modernize after independence.