Unit 8: Global Fragmentation and Realignment (1900–Present)

Decolonization

The process by which colonies achieved independence from imperial powers, particularly after World War II.

Negotiated Independence

Independence achieved through political maneuvers and treaties.

Armed Struggle

Independence achieved through warfare when colonial powers refused to relinquish control.

Indian National Congress (INC)

A political movement led by Mohandas Gandhi which utilized civil disobedience for India's independence.

Muslim League

Political organization led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, advocating for a separate Muslim state during India's partition.

Partition of the Raj

The 1947 division of British India into two independent states: India and Pakistan.

Kwame Nkrumah

Leader of the independence movement in Ghana, advocating for Pan-Africanism.

Pan-Africanism

The idea of political and cultural unity among African nations.

National Liberation Front (FLN)

The political and military organization that fought for Algeria's independence from France.

pieds-noirs

French settlers who lived in Algeria during colonial rule.

Ho Chi Minh

Leader of the Viet Minh and key figure in the struggle for Vietnam's independence from France.

Dien Bien Phu

The decisive battle in 1954 that led to the French withdrawal from Vietnam.

Gamal Abdel Nasser

Egyptian leader who advocated for Pan-Arabism and nationalized the Suez Canal.

Suez Crisis

The 1956 conflict over the nationalization of the Suez Canal by Nasser.

Indira Gandhi

Daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru and Prime Minister of India who oversaw the Green Revolution.

Green Revolution

The use of high-yield seeds, pesticides, and fertilizers to increase food production in India.

Ujamaa

A form of African socialism promoted by Julius Nyerere in Tanzania.

Metropole

The home territory of the former colonial power.

Migration to Metropoles

The demographic trend of former colonial subjects moving to the home country of their colonizers.

Cold War

The geopolitical tension between the Soviet Union and the United States from approximately 1947 to 1991.

Perestroika

Soviet leader Gorbachev's policy of restructuring the economy to allow some private enterprise.

Glasnost

Soviet leader Gorbachev's policy allowing political openness and criticism of the government.

Berlin Wall

The wall that separated East and West Berlin, symbolizing the division of Cold War Europe.

Mujahideen

Afghan resistance fighters who opposed Soviet invasion and occupation in the 1980s.

Collapse of the Soviet Union

The dissolution of the USSR into 15 independent republics by 1991.

Post-Colonial Challenges

The political instability and economic difficulties faced by newly independent states.

Kashmir Conflict

The ongoing territorial dispute between India and Pakistan originating from the partition.