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