Unit #5 NotesChapters 33 & 34: Middle East, Africa, and

Asia(Major Ideas)

DecolonizationPost WWII

Mother countries couldn’t maintain control of coloniesToo busy repairing own war-torn lands

Inside colonies, nationalist movements focusing on freedom from home rule began to rise

DecolonizationResult=imperial powers ended colonial

possessions

Newly independent states struggled to maintain autonomy and self-determination during Cold War

More than 90 nations gained independence from the end of WWII up to 1980

Arab NationalismFormer Arab colonies easily gained

independence from their mother countries post-WWII

Arab nations include: Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Jordan

Superpowers quickly attempted to fill the void created by the vacuum of powerAttractive because the region is rich in oil and

had strategic military bases for Cold War operations

Arab NationalismBritish mandate in Palestine was intended to

provide Arabs with a secure homelandProblem=Jews promised same land in the

Balfour Declaration of 1917Creation of Israel led to the Arab-Israeli

conflict

Extreme nationalists formed the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in an effort to combat the Jewish state

Creation of IsraelCreated by the United Nations in 1947

Divided Palestine (a British mandate) into an Arab state and Jewish state

Jews accepted the plan

Arabs refused to accept the plan

Creation of IsraelUnited States and Soviet Union recognized

Israel as a nation

1948: Britain withdrew…fighting between Jews and Arabs began…fighting continues to today

Major Israeli/Palestinian wars include the Six-Day war and the Yom Kippur war

Iranian Revolution1941: Muhammad Reza Pahlavi declared

himself shahBacked by U.S. and Britain, he modernized and

westernized Iran

Pahlavi’s reforms were in direct opposition to Muslim beliefs

Opposition party rose quickly led by Islamic fundamentalist Ayatollah Khomeini

Iranian Revolution1979: Pahlavi fled Iran and Khomeini

declared Iran an Islamic republic

New govt. overturned all of Pahlavi’s reformsBanned western movies, books, and musicInstituted strict adherence to Muslim tradition

Khomeini worked to establish Islamic republics throughout the Middle East

Islamic FundamentalismTerm often used by western sources to

describe extreme movement to replace secular states with Islamic ones

Increased in popularity as an extremist movement in response to opposition to westernization reforms in Muslim countries in the Middle East

Islamic FundamentalismLibya: Muammar al-Qaddafi gained power as

the result of a coup d'état in 1969…new govt. instituted based on Islamic principles…support subsequent revolutionary groups in an effort to spread Islamic beliefs in the Middle East

Turkey: in an effort to overturn western reforms instituted by Ataturk, I.F. increased power and support and influence in political parties in 1990

Iran-Iraq War1979: Saddam Hussein became leader of Iraq

and seized control over disputed border area

Hussein used power to invade Iran in 1980Goal=quick victory over Iran and a pan-Arab

movement throughout the Middle East

Lasted eight years and killed one million soldiers

Iran-Iraq WarU.S. got involved when both sides attacked oil

tankers in the Persian Gulf

Persian Gulf War followed in 1991Iraq invaded Kuwait and seized control of oil

fieldsU.S. and its allies intervened and liberated

Kuwait

OPECOrganization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

Established in 1960

Goal=to control the price of oil through cooperation

Power lessened in 1980s as a result of over-production and Iran-Iraq wars and Gulf wars

Member countries include: Abu Dhabi, Algeria, Ecuador, Gabon, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Kuwait, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela

Indian IndependencePost WWII…Britain tried to hold on to India

but election of Labour Party in India increased the movement toward home rule

Leaders in Indian National Congress and Muslim League worked with M. Gandhi and Nehru to start movement called communalismCommunalism=effort to get Indians to act and

feel as one nation

Indian IndependenceM. Gandhi advocated passive resistance and

nonviolence designed to draw public support from around the world and identify Britain as forceful tyrants

Boycotts of British goods and against British colonies were conducted

Indian IndependenceGranted independence in 1947

Result=India was partitionedIndia gained its independencePakistan was created as an Islamic Republic

Partition led to conflict that still exists today

Soviet Invasion of AfghanistanMuslim-controlled Afghanistan maintained a

nonalignment position in the Cold War until 1978Then, a pro-Soviet coup dragged the country

into a civil war

People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) gained controlRadically reformed laws regarding family, land,

and educationNew laws were in direct opposition to Muslim

beliefs which led to military resistance

Soviet Invasion of AfghanistanSoviet Union sided with PDPA and installed

Babrak Karmal as presidentHe used Soviet military to gain control of

country (very unpopular)

Nine-year battle ensued in which U.S., Iran, China, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan backed the Afghan mujahideen (Islamic warriors)

Soviet Invasion of AfghanistanUnited Nations organized a cease-fire

Soviets withdrew in 1989…fighting continued to 1992

In a large measure due to political instability in the region, the Taliban gained control in 1994

Pan-AfricanismMovements first emerged in U.S. and

Caribbean and then spread to French West Africa

Strove to revive African culture and traditions through poetry and artists

Also had a goal to remove foreign European influence

New class of African elite arose to lead the movement for independence

ApartheidEstablished by the Afrikaner National Party

in 1948 in an effort to maintain control over the black African majority

Meaning “separateness,” it was the policy of legal segregation imposed by the white minority government in South Africa

Apartheid13% of the least-arable land (homelands) was

reserved for the black and colored South Africans

Nonwhites were segregated based on ethnic identities into a variety of subgroups in another effort to prevent organized black resistance

African National Congress (ANC) was most vocal in its protests of apartheid

ApartheidANC leaders were jailed for their efforts to end

apartheid, including Nelson Mandela

International pressure was eventually applied through economic sanctions in hopes of ending policy

1990: DeKlerk (National Party) became presidentReleased Nelson Mandela from jail (who then

became president himself in 1994)Worked with ANC to end apartheid

Korean WarFollowing WWII, Korea, which had been

annexed by Japan, was occupied by both the Soviet Union (north of the 38th parallel) and the United States (south of the 38th parallel)

The occupation was intended to be for a limited time while the terms of united the country were negotiated

Each occupied zone adopted the politic beliefs of its occupying nation

Korean War1950: communist leader of North Korea, Kim

Il Sung, invaded South Korea

U.S. policy of containment (see p. 745 of text) ensured U.S. intervention on behalf of South Korea

United Nations condemned invasion and under leadership of the U.S., a multilateral force fought to push North Korea out of South Korea

Korean WarChina eventually entered war on side of

North Korea

1953 cease-fire agreement divided Korea along the 38th parallelNation still remains divided today by a

demilitarized zone

First major armed Cold War conflict which led to the U.S. taking a more aggressive containment policy and extending military and $ support throughout Asia

Vietnam WarU.S. intervened in the conflict on the side of

the noncommunist South Vietnam after the French were defeated

Military involvement increased under presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson

In 1968, more than 500,000 troops were engaged in Vietnam

Vietnam WarU.S. public opinion pressured President

Nixon to vow to end the U.S. military involvement in VietnamNixon subsequently adopted a policy of

Vietnamization (strategy of turning over the war to the Japanese)

1973: U.S. phase of the war ended with the Paris Peace Accords

1975: Accords thrown out…North Vietnam waged war again…achieved their goal of unification in 1976

Deng Xiaoping1976: replaced Mao as leader of communist

China

Introduced new economic reforms but little extension of individual political rights

Four Modernizations: attempt to promote trade and contact with the WestIntroduced reforms in the areas of farming,

industry, science, technology, and defense

Deng XiaopingReformed land distribution and allowed

private ownership after government needs were met

Private business helped China’s economy

Also led to an increasing gap between rich and poor

Encouraged foreign investments of technology and capital

Deng Xiaoping1989: Tiananmen Square

Chinese students peacefully protested lack of political reforms

Deng ordered open fire on defenseless students and killed/wounded thousands

A demonstration of the importance that government placed on maintaining order

Was willing to make economic reforms but not political ones