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World History Unit 8: Cold War and decolonization (c. 1900–present)

After WWII, the US and USSR competed globally while colonies across Asia and Africa won independence.

Covers: Setting the stage, the Cold War, effects of the Cold War, spread of communism, decolonization, newly independent states, resistance and nonalignment

Study guide

The Cold War (1947–1991) was a conflict between the United States and its capitalist allies and the Soviet Union and its communist allies. It rarely involved direct fighting between the superpowers but included an arms race, a space race and proxy wars. The US followed containment, trying to stop communism's spread through the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. Alliances formed: NATO in the West and the Warsaw Pact in the East. Proxy wars were fought in Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan, and the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) brought the world close to nuclear war.

Communism spread beyond the USSR. Mao Zedong's Communist Party won the Chinese Civil War in 1949; his Great Leap Forward caused a massive famine, and the Cultural Revolution persecuted perceived enemies. Communists also took power in Vietnam, North Korea and Cuba under Fidel Castro. The Cold War ended as the Soviet economy weakened. Mikhail Gorbachev introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring), the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, and the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991.

Decolonization swept the world after WWII as European powers were weakened. India won independence in 1947 through Gandhi's nonviolent resistance, but partition into India and Pakistan caused mass violence. Ghana, led by Kwame Nkrumah, became independent peacefully in 1957, while Algeria and Kenya won independence through armed struggle. New states faced borders drawn by colonizers, ethnic conflict and economic dependence. Some leaders pursued nonalignment, refusing to side with either superpower, as at the Bandung Conference (1955). Other movements included South Africa's struggle against apartheid, led by Nelson Mandela, and the US civil rights movement.

Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser promoted Arab nationalism and socialism and nationalized the Suez Canal in 1956. The Iranian Revolution of 1979 overthrew the US-backed shah and created an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Khomeini. Many newly independent states adopted socialist or state-led economic plans because they linked capitalism with colonial exploitation, as in Julius Nyerere's ujamaa villages in Tanzania. The superpowers competed for influence through aid and by arming rival sides in conflicts such as Angola's civil war, and Cold War aid often propped up authoritarian allies.

India and Pakistan have fought repeatedly over the Muslim-majority region of Kashmir, and East Pakistan broke away to become Bangladesh in 1971. The US and Britain defeated a Soviet blockade of West Berlin with the Berlin Airlift (1948–1949). East Germany built the Berlin Wall in 1961 to stop its citizens from fleeing west.

Mao briefly invited criticism of the party in the Hundred Flowers Campaign (1956–1957) and then punished the critics. Communist states promoted women's legal equality and work outside the home, though women often still carried most household labor.

Key ideas

• The Cold War pitted the capitalist US against the communist USSR.
• Containment aimed to stop communism's spread.
• Proxy wars like Korea and Vietnam were fought instead of direct war.
• Gorbachev's reforms and economic weakness ended the Cold War.
• Decolonization happened through both negotiation and armed struggle.

Formulas and rules

Common mistakes

• Thinking the US and USSR fought each other directly; they fought proxy wars.
• Thinking all decolonization was violent; India and Ghana won independence mostly through nonviolence and negotiation.

Words to know

Cold War

Rivalry between the US and the USSR from 1947 to 1991.

Containment

US policy of stopping the spread of communism.

Truman Doctrine

US pledge to aid nations resisting communism.

Marshall Plan

US aid to rebuild Western Europe after WWII.

NATO

Western military alliance formed in 1949.

Warsaw Pact

Soviet-led military alliance of Eastern Europe.

Proxy war

A war where superpowers support opposing sides instead of fighting directly.

Cuban Missile Crisis

1962 standoff over Soviet missiles in Cuba.

Great Leap Forward

Mao's campaign that caused a massive famine.

Cultural Revolution

Mao's campaign to purge opponents and traditional culture.

Glasnost

Gorbachev's policy of political openness.

Perestroika

Gorbachev's policy of economic restructuring.

Decolonization

The process of colonies gaining independence.

Partition of India

1947 division of British India into India and Pakistan.

Nonaligned movement

Nations that refused to side with either superpower.

Apartheid

South Africa's system of legal racial segregation.

Sample practice questions

5 more questions like these, from level 1 to 5, are in the practice set.