Chapters 18 22 nb

The World Since 1945:
An Overview
(1945–Present)

The World Since 1945:
An Overview
(1945–present)

Section 1: The Changing Political
Climate
Section 2: Global Economic Trends
Section 3: Changing Patterns of
Life

1

The Changing Political Climate
• How did the end of colonialism and the Cold
War shape the world?

• How did new nations try to form stable
governments?

• What role have world organizations played?

• What enduring issues face the world today?

The Cold War and the End of
Colonialism
In the postwar decades, the colonial empires built by the
western powers crumbled.

In Asia and Africa, people demanded and won freedoms.
Between 1950 and 1980, more than 50 new nations emerged in
Africa alone.

The new nations emerged in a world dominated and divided by
the Cold War. Each of the superpowers, the United States and
the Soviet Union, wanted new countries to adopt its ideology, or
system of thought or belief—either capitalism or socialism.

The Great Liberation and the Cold
1

War, 1945 – 1990

1

How Did New Nations Seek Stability?
After winning independence, new nations had high hopes for the
future. Still, they faced immense problems.

New nations wrote constitutions modeled on western
democracies.

Most were unable to sustain democratic rule.

As problems multiplied, military or authoritarian leaders often
took control. They imposed order by building one-party
dictatorships.

Despite setbacks, in the 1980s and 1990s democracy did make
progress in some African, Asian, and Latin American nations.

1

The Role of World Organizations
International organizations deal with issues of global concern.

The UN was set up as a forum for settling world disputes. Its
responsibilities have expanded greatly since 1945. UN agencies
provide services for millions of people worldwide.

Many nations formed regional groups to promote trade or meet
common needs. Examples include the European Union and the
North American Free Trade Association.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) play a
large role in the world economy. WHO is the World Health
Organization. NGOs swoop in to help in many crisis areas.
Other types of nongovernmental organizations have forged valuable
global networks. Examples include the International Olympic
Committee and the International Red Cross.

A family in Indonesia tries to make their way to shelter after tsunamis destroyed
their village in 2004.
Aid organizations like CARE (logo above) worked to bring relief to the devastated
region.
NGO’s= non-government organizations, like Greenpeace, Oxfam, Amnesty
International, International Red Cross/Red Crescent, Doctors Without Borders, etc.

Costs of Globalization
•Loss and weakening of state/governmental sovereignty
•Pressure to conform to global norms (business, law, culture, etc..)
•Increased demands for autonomy (freedom?) within state borders
•More vulnerable to actions/choices of other nations
•Need to be more sensitive to decisions within the state
•Problems once containable now spread to other nations more easily
(crime, drugs, disease, pollution, terrorism, economic crisis)
•Resources (land, capital, people) more easily exploited in developing
states
•More pressure to compete globally
•Rapid raise in costs of urbanization and industrialization
(pollution, crime, economic stratification, erosion of traditional culture)
•"Americanization" or "Westernization" of culture and politics;
emphasis on homogeneity (McWorld)

Thomas Friedman

Benefits of Globalization
•Interdependence leads to more cooperation on larger
problems
•Reduction in barriers to trade, investment, and capital
(human and physical) makes economic transactions
easier, more efficient and more profitable
•Rapid economic growth
•Consumers gain more access to wider array of products and
reduced costs
•Creation of regional and global institutions to cope with
regional or global issues
•Spread of democracy and human rights
•Empowerment of non-state actors
•New avenues for political access, redress and voice
•Creating a sense of global citizenship
Thomas Friedman

Global Issues
Many issues pose a challenge to world peace.

DEADLY WEAPONS HUMAN RIGHTS
Since the United States exploded Human rights include “the right
two atomic bombs in to life, liberty, and security of
1945, nations have poured person.” Human rights
resources into building nuclear abuses, including torture and
weapons. arbitrary arrest, occur around
Weapons of Mass Destruction-- the world.
WMDs
THE QUESTION OF INTERVENTION TERRORISM
Since the 1960s, incidents of
Does the world community have a
terrorism have increased
duty to step in to end human rights
around the world.
abuses? How can it intervene when
the UN Charter forbids any action
that violates the independence of a
member nation?

Immigration Issues
An Illegal Crossing
Each year tens of thousands of illegal
immigrants, like this family, risk their lives to cross
the border between Mexico and the United
States. What factors lead people to risk their lives
in illegal border crossing?

Why do signs like the one above fail to deter many
migrants?

1

Section 1 Assessment
The Great Liberation refers to the end of
a) World War II.
b) European colonial empires.
c) the Cold War.
d) terrorism.

Which of the following was a regional group created to promote trade
and meet common needs?

a) the European Union
b) the International Red Cross
c) the International Olympic Committee
d) the UN

1


The Great Liberation refers to the end of
a) World War II.
b) European colonial empires.
c) the Cold War.
d) terrorism.

Which of the following was a regional group created to promote trade
and meet common needs?

a) the European Union
b) the International Red Cross
c) the International Olympic Committee
d) the UN

2

Global Economic Trends
• In what ways are the global North and South
economically interdependent?

• Why have developing nations had trouble
reaching their goals?

• How is economic development linked to the
environment?

2

The Global North and South
An economic gulf divides the world into two spheres — the
relatively rich nations of the global North and the relatively poor
nations of the global South.

GLOBAL NORTH GLOBAL SOUTH

It includes the industrial nations of It refers to the developing world.
Europe and North America, as well The South has 75 percent of the
as Japan and Australia. world’s population and much of
Although pockets of poverty its natural resources.
exist, the standard of living is While some nations have enjoyed
generally high. strong growth, overall the global
Most people are literate, earn South remains underdeveloped
adequate wages, and have basic and poor.
health services. For most people, life is a daily
Most nations have basically struggle for survival.
capitalist economies.

2

Economic Interdependence
Rich and poor nations are linked by many economic ties.
•The nations of the global North control much of the world’s
capital, trade, and technology.
•The global North depends on low-paid workers in developing
states to produce manufactured goods as inexpensively as possible.

In an interdependent world, events in one country can affect
people everywhere.

EXAMPLE: In 1973, a political crisis led the oil-rich nations of the
Middle East to halt oil exports and raise oil prices. These actions
sent economic shock waves around the world.

2

Obstacles to Development
Why have many developing nations been unable to make
progress toward modernization?

GEOGRAPHY
Lack of natural resources, difficult climates, uncertain rainfall, and lack
of good farmland have been obstacles for some nations.
POPULATION AND POVERTY
In the developing world, rapid population growth is linked to poverty.
ECONOMIC POLICIES
Many new nations saw socialism, rather than capitalism, as a way to
modernize quickly. In the long run, socialism blocked economic growth.

ECONOMIC DEPENDENCE
Most new nations remained dependent on their former colonial rulers.
POLITICAL INSTABILITY
Political unrest often hindered economic development.

2

Health Statistics of Selected Countries, 1999

Rising Populations Strain Resources
Now, across the developing world, many people are caught in a cycle of poverty. The UN
estimates that 35,000 children die each day from starvation, disease, and other effects of
poverty. Because of malnutrition and the lack of good schools, millions of people are prone
to disease and unable to earn a good living. They and their children remain poor and
cannot escape this tragic cycle.

2

Development and the
Environment
Economic development has taken a heavy toll on the
environment. Modern industry and agriculture have
gobbled up natural resources and polluted much of the
world’s water, air, and soil.
•Strip mining destroyed much land.
•Chemical pesticides and fertilizers harmed the soil and water.
•Gases from factories produced acid rain.
•The emission of gases into the upper atmosphere has caused
global warming, the increase in world temperatures.
Rich nations consume most of the world’s resources and produce
much of its pollution. At the same time, they have led the
campaign to protect the environment.

http://www.phschool.com/atschool/dsp_swf.cfm?pathname=/atschool/worldhistory/
audio_guided_tours/&filename=WH07A01871.swf&w=760&h=460

A Risky Situation
Vials of the bacteria that cause plague were left improperly secured in
Kazakhstan by Soviet scientists.

Ending Child Labor RUGMARK, an organization
that works to end child labor, sponsors the
education of South Asian students like this girl.
The RUGMARK label on her sleeve also appears
on carpets and rugs that were made without
child labor. What effect might labels like this
one have on people’s buying habits?

Nike sweatshop
in China.

Often it is slave labor/children who pick the
beans for your chocolate--and for minimal
wages, if they are paid at all.

A Dangerous Leader New York
City police stand near a “Wanted”
poster in 2001. An Arab man
holds up a poster supporting bin
Laden.
How do views like the one this
man expresses threaten the
United States’ security?

Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq
Osama bin Laden and other al Qaeda leaders were living in Afghanistan in 2001.
The government of that country, an Islamic fundamentalist group called
the Taliban, refused to surrender the terrorists. The United States responded by
attacking Afghanistan. With the help of Afghani warlords who opposed the Taliban
and the use of military bases in neighboring Pakistan, American forces quickly
overthrew the Taliban and drove the al Qaeda operatives into hiding or flight. Bin
Laden, however, remained at large.
Two years after the war in Afghanistan, President Bush asked Congress to declare
war on Iraq, arguing that Saddam was secretly producing WMDs. Because no
WMDs were found, the war was bitterly debated among Americans and around
the world. However, most in the global community welcomed the holding of free
democratic elections in Iraq in early 2005, hoping that a democratic Iraq might
positively influence the largely authoritarian Middle East.

Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden
Arabic: (March 10, 1957 – May 2, 2011)
was a member of the prominent Saudi bin Laden family and the founding leader
of the terrorist organization a l-Qaeda, best known for the September 11 attacks
on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian
targets.
Bin Laden was on the American Federal Bureau of Investigation's list of FBI Ten
Most Wanted Fugitives.
Since 2001, Osama bin Laden and his organization had been major targets of the
United States' War on Terror. Bin Laden and fellow Al-Qaeda leaders were
believed to be hiding near the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan's Federally
Administered Tribal Areas. Navy SEALs took him out.

New Security Measures Take Shape

Over the years that followed September 11, the United States made increasing
security a top priority. It strengthened and reorganized its intelligence services. The
government created a new Department of Homeland Security and instituted more
rigorous security measures at airports and public buildings. A long-term effort was
launched to find out how terrorist groups were funded, with the goal of cutting off
terrorists’ money supply and thus limiting terrorist activity.

A Risky Situation
Vials of the bacteria that cause
plague were left improperly
secured in Kazakhstan by Soviet
scientists.

Important Industrialized Regions

Influential Technology of the
Twentieth Century

2

Which of the following is true?
a) The Global South has 75 percent of the world’s population.
b) The Global North has 75 percent of the world’s population.
c) Most nations in the Global North have basically socialist economies.
d) Most people in the Global South enjoy a high standard of living.

The country with the lowest infant mortality rate in 1999 was
a) Angola.
b) Japan.
c) the United States.
d) Guatemala.

3

Changing Patterns of Life

• How are new ways of life replacing old ways?

• How has modernization affected the lives of women?

• What are the benefits and limits of modern science and
technology?

• What forces have shaped a new global culture?

How Are New Ways of Life Replacing
3

Old Ways?
Urbanization
Since 1945, people in the developing world have flocked
to the cities to find jobs and escape rural poverty.
In the cities, the extended family of rural villages is giving way to
the nuclear family.

Westernization
In cities, people frequently adopt western fashions and ideas.

Village Life
Westernization and technology are transforming villages.
Changes such as roads, clinics, and television can enrich life, but
they also weaken traditional cultures.

3

New Rights and Roles for Women
After 1945, women’s movements brought changes to
both western and developing nations.
By 1950, women had won the right to vote in many countries.
A small number of women won elected office.
In the industrialized world, more and more women worked outside
the home.
By the 1970s, the feminist movement sought greater access for
women to jobs and promotions, equal pay for equal work, and an
end to sexual harassment on the job.
In emerging nations, women worked actively in nationalist
struggles.

HOWEVER……

New roles for women raised difficult social issues. Working women
had to balance jobs with child rearing and household work.

Science and Technology
3

Since 1945, technology has transformed human
life and thought.

BENEFITS DRAWBACKS
The computer brought an Technology has not been able to
information revolution. solve such basic problems as
hunger or poverty.
Technology has improved life for
people everywhere. Technology widened the gap
between the global North and
Medical advances have wiped South.
out some diseases and
prevented others. Technology has threatened many
kinds of jobs. For example, one
New technology increased food computer can process thousands
production for the world’s of telephone calls that were once
growing population. handled by human operators.

3

A New Global Culture
Modern communication technology has put people
everywhere in touch and has helped create a new global
culture.

• The driving force behind this global culture has been
the United States. American fashions, products, and
entertainment have captured the world’s imagination.

• The western world has also been influenced by
nonwestern traditions and culture.

• In the last 100 years, the western world has gained a
new appreciation for the arts of other civilizations.

3

Which of the following was true of women in 1950?
a) Many women were elected to public office.
b) Women had won the right to vote in many countries.
c) The feminist movement had ensured women equal pay for
equal work.
d) Women were working outside the home while men had
taken over traditional household duties.

Benefits of the technology age include all of the following except
a) increased food production.
b) an information revolution.
c) the prevention of some diseases.
d) an end to hunger and poverty.

Europe and North America
(1945–Present)

Europe and North America
(1945–Present)

Section 1: The Western World: An Overview

Section 2: The Western European
Democracies
Section 3: North American Prosperity

Section 4: The Soviet Union: Rise and
Fall of a Superpower
Section 5: A New Era in Eastern Europe

1

The Western World: An Overview
• What issues troubled Europe after the Cold War?

• How have recent economic and political trends affected
the West?

• How has Europe moved toward greater unity?

• How have social trends changed the West?

In a speech at Harvard University in June 1947, U.S. Secretary of State
George Marshall made the case for the Marshall Plan, a United States
assistance program for Western Europe.
“Our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine but against
hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos. Its purpose should be the revival of
a working economy in the world so as to permit the emergence of . . .
conditions in which free institutions can exist.”

1

Europe After the Cold War
• Russia and the nations of Eastern Europe turned to the West for
loans and investments to build capitalist economies.

• Ethnic clashes, especially in the Balkans, created conflicts that
threatened European peace.

• The nuclear peril, although reduced, still remained.

• NATO faced the debate as to whether it should become Europe’s
peacekeeper and protector of human rights.

1

Economic and Political Trends
Postwar governments in France, Italy, and Germany adopted many
policies favored by the left.

THE WELFARE THE OIL SHOCK ECONOMIC
STATE SHIFTS

After 1945, governments In 1973, OPEC cut oil The West faced growing
extended the welfare production and raised competition from other
state. prices. parts of the
Governments took on a The higher prices caused world, causing many
larger role in national inflation and slowed factories to close.
economies. economic growth. Economies changed when
Conservatives In 1979, OPEC again raised most new jobs were
condemned the drift prices, triggering a severe created in service
from the free enterprise recession, in which industries.
system toward socialism. business slowed and The gap between the rich
unemployment rates rose. and the poor grew.

1

Welfare-
State
Spending
in Britain,
1975 –
1980

1

Toward European Unity
• In 1952, six nations — France, West Germany, Belgium, Italy, the
Netherlands, and Luxembourg — set up the European Coal and Steel
Community. This agency set prices and regulated the coal and steel
industries of member states.

• In 1957, the same six nations formed the European Community (EC) or
Common Market. Its goal was free trade. It also set up the European
Parliament.

• In 1973, Britain, Denmark, and Ireland were admitted to the Common
Market.

• In the 1980s and 1990s, the Common Market expanded and took on the
name European Union (EU). The EU pushed for complete economic unity
and greater political unity.

European Union
• In Europe, the Maastricht Treaty, which succeeded the Treaty of Rome and called for the
creation of a union (and hence the change in name from European Community to European
Union), created a monetary union and has the ultimate goal of creating a political union, with
member countries switch adopting a common currency and a common central bank. A
monetary union represents the fourth level of integration among politically independent
countries.
• The European Union (EU) consists of fifteen countries
(Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the
Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom). On January 1, 1999, the
eleven countries of the so-called euro-zone (excluding EU members
Denmark, Greece, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) embarked on a venture that created the
world's second-largest economic zone, after the United States. The seeds for the euro were
sown three decades ago. In 1969, Pierre Werner, a former prime minister of Luxembourg, was
asked to chair a think-tank on how an European monetary union (EMU) could be achieved by
1980. The Werner Report, published in October 1970, outlined a three-phase plan that was
very similar to the blueprint ultimately adopted in the Maastricht Treaty, signed on February
7, 1992. Like the Maastricht Treaty, the plan envisioned the replacement of local currencies
by a single currency. However, the EMU was put on hold following the monetary chaos created
by the first oil crisis. The next step on the path to monetary union was the creation of the
European monetary system (EMS) in the late 1970s. Except for the United Kingdom, all
member states of the European Union joined the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), which
determined bilateral currency exchange rates. Currencies of the, by then, nine member states
could still fluctuate, but movements were limited to a margin of 2.25 percent. The EMS also led
to the European currency unit (ecu)—in some sense the predecessor of the euro. Note the ecu

1

European
Union, 195
7 – 2000

Social Trends Social change speeded up after 1945.

SOCIAL CLASSES ETHNIC DIVERSITY
Class lines blurred as prosperity spread. Since the 1950s, many immigrants from
More and more people joined the former colonies in Asia, Africa, and the
middle class. Caribbean had settled in Europe.
Most people faced greater Some Europeans resented the newcomers.
Many immigrants faced discrimination and
opportunities.
segregation.

WOMEN FAMILY LIFE
Western families had fewer
Women in the West made progress
children than in the past.
toward legal and economic equality.
Children stayed in school longer.
Women narrowed the gender gap in
The divorce rate climbed.
hiring, promotion, and pay.

1

Migration
to Western
Europe

1

When OPEC raised oil prices, European economies
a) thrived.
b) restructured so as not to be dependent on OPEC oil.
c) slowed.
d) were unaffected.

Which of the following was an original member of the European Union?
a) Britain
b) Spain
c) Finland
d) West Germany

2

The Western European
Democracies
• How did Britain’s policies change after World War II?

• How did French power and prosperity revive?

• How did Germany reunify?

• What problems have other democratic nations faced?

2

Britain: Changing Policies
POST
WORLD WAR
II
1970s 1990s
THE Voters elected the Voters elected the Voters elected the
Labour party and Conservative party Labour party, which
WELFARE created the and reduced social pledged to follow a
STATE welfare state. welfare programs. “third way” between
the traditional right
and left.

Britain gave up
WORLD global leadership British
Britain joined the
ROLE to the United Common Market.
nationalism
States, but led some
remained a leader leaders to
in the UN and reject greater
NATO. European
unity.

Building the Welfare State
In the postwar decades, Europeans worked to
secure their economic prosperity. From the
1950s through the 1970s, European nations
expanded social benefits to their citizens.
During this time, many European nations also
moved toward greater economic cooperation.
Many European political parties, and
particularly those representing
workers, wanted to extend the welfare state. A
welfare state is a country with a market
economy but with increased government
responsibility for the social and economic
needs of its people. The welfare state had its
roots in the late 1800s. During that
period, Germany, Britain, and other nations
Limiting the Welfare State had set up basic old-age pensions and
unemployment insurance.
In 1979, British voters turned to the Conservative Party, which denounced the welfare
state as costly and inefficient. The Conservatives were led by Margaret Thatcher.
Thatcher’s government reduced social welfare programs and returned government-
owned industries to private control. Faced with soaring costs, other European nations
also moved to limit social welfare benefits and to privatize state-owned businesses during
the 1980s and 1990s.

Northern Ireland’s Northern Ireland’s difficulties began when
Ireland won independence in 1922. Six
Troubles northern counties, which had a Protestant
majority, voted to remain part of Britain
as Northern Ireland. Minority Catholics in
Northern Ireland faced economic and political
discrimination. Many Catholics demanded civil
rights and unification with the rest of
Ireland, which had a Catholic majority.
Beginning in the 1960s, extremists on both
sides turned to violence and terrorism. The
Irish Republican Army (IRA) attacked
Protestants, and armed Protestant militias
targeted Catholics.
Peace talks dragged on for years. Finally, in
1998, Protestants and Catholics signed a peace
accord, known as the Good Friday Agreement.
However, lasting peace was threatened by
distrust on both sides, occasional acts of
violence, and the IRA’s reluctance to turn over
weapons.

2

France: Revival and Prosperity
France emerged from World War II greatly weakened.

The Fourth Republic, set up in 1946, was ineffective. Bloody colonial wars in
Algeria and Vietnam drained and demoralized the country.

In 1958, Charles de Gaulle set up the Fifth Republic. He made peace with Algeria
and gave up other French colonies and worked to restore French prestige and
power.

In the 1980s, French socialists, led by Francois Mitterand, won power as a global
recession hit. The economic crisis forced Mitterand to encourage the growth of
private business.

In 1995, Jacques Chirac took a very conservative approach and cut government
spending. Over the years, France has built the fourth largest economy in the
world.

Sarkozy is currently the President of France.

Nicolas Sarkozy
• Nicolas Sarkozy was elected President of France in 2007, taking office on 16
May 2007. Sarkozy heads the Union Pour un Mouvement Populaire ("Union
for a Popular Movement," or UMP) and is known as a high-energy, blunt-
talking conservative whose favorite issues include immigration
reform, jobs, law and order, and French national identity. Sarkozy was only
28 when he became mayor of the well-to-do suburb Neuilly-sur-Seine in
1983; he won national acclaim in 1993 after schoolchildren in Neuilly were
taken hostage by a man calling himself the Human Bomb, and Sarkozy
Born: 28 January 1955
negotiated directly with the man for their release. In 2002 he was installed
Birthplace: Paris, France
as France's minister of the interior, and became known for his hard-line
Best known
approach to crime among inner-city youth. He was made finance minister in
as: President of France
2004, and the same year took over leadership of the UMP, the party of then-
Since 2007-
President Jacques Chirac. He succeeded Chirac in 2007, defeating Socialist
candidate Ségolene Royal in national elections to win a six-year term as
president.
• Extra credit: Sarkozy's name is pronounced SAR-ko-zee... His nickname is
"Sarko"... The name of the "Human Bomb" kidnapper was Eric Schmitt; he
was killed in a police raid that ended the incident... As a
conservative, Sarkozy has sometimes been compared with ultra-rightist
French politician Jean Marie Le Pen... Sarkozy has been married thrice: to
the former Marie-Dominique Culioli from 1982-96, to model Cécilia Ciganer-
Albeniz from 1996 to 2007 (the couple were divorced five months after
Sarkozy took office as president), and to model Carla Bruni on 2 February
2008.

2

How Did Germany Reunify?

• In 1969, West German chancellor
Willy Brandt tried to ease tensions
with East Germany.

• In 1989, as Soviet communism
declined, Germany was able to
move toward reunification.
Without Soviet backing, East
German leaders were ousted.
People from both Germanys tore
down the Berlin Wall.

• In 1990, German votes approved
reunification.

Wartime Destruction in Germany Berlin and other German cities suffered serious
wartime damage. In this photo, civilians walk through the rubble left by wartime
bombing in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1945. What challenges would residents of a city
face after such heavy destruction?

The Iron Curtain Divides Germany While the Berlin Wall divided the city of Berlin, a
much longer series of concrete walls, barbed wire, and watchtowers ran along the
border between East and West Germany, forming part of the Iron Curtain.
Why might East Germany have built a fortified border such as this?

West Germany’s “Economic Miracle”
Early in the Cold War, the United States rushed aid to its former enemy through the Marshall
Plan and other programs. It wanted to strengthen West Germany against communist Eastern
Europe. From 1949 to 1963, Konrad Adenauer was West Germany’s chancellor, or prime
minister. He guided the rebuilding of cities, factories, and trade. Because many of its old
factories had been destroyed, Germany built a modern and highly productive industrial base.
Despite high taxes to pay for the recovery, West Germans created a booming industrial
economy.

2

Other Democratic Nations
ITALY SPAIN
Political divisions and regional Spain was economically underdeveloped
differences led to instability. with a large peasant population.
Corruption, financial scandals, and the
Mafia added to the instability. When Francisco Franco finally died, Spain
Despite these problems, Italy made adopted a democratic government.
economic gains and ranked as a leading
The Spanish economy grew rapidly.
industrial nation.

PORTUGAL GREECE
Portugal was economically
underdeveloped with a large peasant In 1967, military rulers came to power.
population.
When the authoritarian government Greece and Turkey almost went to war over
finally collapsed, Portugal adopted a Cyprus.
democratic government.
Portugal’s economy grew rapidly. In 1975, Greece returned to democratic rule.

2

Which French leader set up the Fifth Republic?
a) Jacques Chirac
b) Francois Mitterand
c) Charles de Gaulle
d) Napoleon

Which nations almost went to war over Cyprus?
a) Turkey and Spain
b) Italy and Turkey
c) Greece and Portugal
d) Turkey and Greece

2


Which French leader set up the Fifth Republic?
a) Jacques Chirac
b) Francois Mitterand
c) Charles de Gaulle
d) Napoleon

Which nations almost went to war over Cyprus?
a) Turkey and Spain
b) Italy and Turkey
c) Greece and Portugal
d) Turkey and Greece

3

North American Prosperity

• What actions has the United States taken as a global
superpower?

• What developments have shaped the
economy, government, and society of the United States?

• What issues has Canada faced in recent years?

3
The United States:
A Global Superpower
The United States built bases overseas and organized military alliances from
Europe to Southeast Asia.

The United States provided economic aid to help Europe rebuild and to
assist emerging nations.

The United States became involved in the Korean and Vietnam wars in
hopes of preventing the spread of communism.

As conflicts erupted in various regions, the United States tried to resolve
some of them:
• In 1991, it led a multinational force against Iraqi invaders of Kuwait.
• It provided peacekeeping forces to end bloody civil wars in Bosnia and
Kosovo.

3

American Economy and Government
ECONOMY GOVERNMENT
In the postwar decades, American During the 1960s, the government
businesses expanded into markets expanded social programs to help
around the globe. the poor and disadvantaged.

American industries faced In the 1980s, conservatives
competition from Asian and other challenged the growth of
nations. government and reduced spending
The government’s role in the on social programs. At the same
economy grew. time, military spending increased.

America entered the twenty-first
In the 1980s, government spending
century enjoying
and tax cuts greatly increased the
national budget deficit. peace, prosperity, and unrivaled
military power.
In the 1990s, the economy

Levittown—little pink houses for you and
me— @$9,000!

Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky tacky,
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes all the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

3

Civil Rights and Society
During the 1950s and 1960s, many social changes
took place. Some were linked to the civil rights
movement that set out to end discrimination and
ensure equal rights for all Americans.
• Many states denied equality to
various minority groups. They faced
legal segregation, or separation, in
education and housing, and
discrimination in jobs and voting.

• By 1956, Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr., emerged as a leader of the
civil rights movement. King organized
boycotts and led peaceful marches to
end segregation in the United States.

• Congress outlawed segregation.
Despite this, racial prejudice survived
and poverty and unemployment still
plagued many African Americans.

3
What Issues Has Canada Faced in
Recent Years?
• Since the 1950s, Canada has become increasingly diverse, with newcomers
from Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

• Quebec’s French-speaking people demanded more autonomy within Canada.
Some Canadians favored separatism.
• Many Canadians have resented the cultural
domination of their neighbor, the United
States.

• Economic competition with the United
States led to the creation of the North
American Free Trade Association (NAFTA).

• Canada and the United States agreed to
work together for a common solution to the
problem of pollution.

Canada
• Medical Marijuana is legalized
in 2001
• and Gay Marriage is legalized
in 2005.

• Prime Minister Stephen
Harper
• Inuit homeland given and
named Nunavut , which
means “Our Land”. It is the
top, middle island area
closest to Greenland.

3

During the 1980s, social programs in the United States were
a) expanded.
b) reduced.
c) left unchanged.
d) completely eliminated.

Economic competition between Canada and the United States led to the
creation of
a) NAFTA.
b) an independent Quebec.
c) the UN.
d) the European Union.

The Soviet Union: Rise and Fall of a
4

Superpower
• What ideas guided Soviet political, economic, and
foreign policy?

• Why did the Soviet Union collapse?

• What problems have Russia and the other republics
faced since the fall of the Soviet Union?

Soviet Nuclear Missiles Every year on May 1, the Soviet Union
demonstrated its military strength, including nuclear weaponry, in a
parade through Moscow’s Red Square.
Why might the Soviet Union have wanted to show off its nuclear
might?

4

Soviet Government and Economy

GOVERNMENT ECONOMY
Khrushchev pursued a policy of de- Collectivized agriculture remained
Stalinization and sought a thaw in the unproductive.
Cold War.
The Soviet Union could not match the
Brezhnev suppressed dissidents, people free-market economies of the West in
who spoke out against the government. producing consumer goods.

People spent hours waiting on line to
The Soviet Union rebuilt its shattered
buy food and other goods.
industries.
Because workers had lifetime job
Citizens enjoyed benefits such as low security, they had little incentive to
rent, cheap bread, free health care, and produce better-quality goods.
day care for children.

4

Soviet Foreign Policy

EASTERN DEVELOPING
EUROPE UNITED STATES
WORLD

Stalin and his The Soviet Union Soviet-American
successors asserted sought allies among relations swung back
Soviet control over the developing and forth between
Eastern Europe. nations. confrontation and
détente.
Khrushchev set up the The Soviets offered
Warsaw Pact to military and economic
suppress dissent aid in order to win and
within Eastern Europe. keep allies.

Collapse of the Soviet Union: Cause
4

and Effect
Long-Term Immediate
Effects
Causes Causes
Low output of crops Soviet Union breaks
War with Afghanistan
and consumer goods up into 15 republics
Food and fuel Russian republic
Cold War led to high approves a new
shortages
military spending constitution
Demonstrations in the
Ethnic and nationalist Changeover to
Baltic states
movements market economy in
Gorbachev’s rise to Russia
Denial of rights and Cold War ends
power
freedoms War in Chechnya

4

Problems in The Russian Republic

• The changeover to a market economy caused unemployment to soar
and prices to skyrocket.

• Criminals flourished, and gangs preyed on the new business class.
In Russian slang, protection is called krysha (literally the roof). ...

• In 1998, Russia defaulted, or failed to make payments, on much of
its foreign debt.

• The value of Russia’s currency collapsed. People lost their savings
and their jobs.

• Minorities within Russia sought greater autonomy or independence.

4

The Other Republics

• The new nations faced unrest, corruption, and political divisions.

• In some countries, authoritarian rulers gained power.

• Ethnic conflict erupted in republics with a mix of national groups.

• Other conflicts arose over border disputes.

• The new nations endured hard times as they switched to market
economies.

4

Who pursued a policy of de-Stalinization?
a) Brezhnev
b) Khrushchev
c) Stalin
d) Yeltsin

Which of the following was not a cause of the collapse of the Soviet
Union? a) war with Afghanistan
b) the end of the Cold War
c) Gorbachev’s rise to power
d) food and fuel shortages

4

Who pursued a policy of de-Stalinization?
a) Brezhnev
b) Khrushchev
c) Stalin
d) Yeltsin

Which of the following was not a cause of the collapse of the Soviet Union?
a) war with Afghanistan
b) the end of the Cold War
c) Gorbachev’s rise to power
d) food and fuel shortages

5

A New Era in Eastern Europe

• How did Eastern European nations oppose Soviet domination
and strive for democracy?

• What were the effects of the fall of communism?

• What were the causes and effects of civil war in Yugoslavia?

Soviet Domination of Eastern Europe
1945 After World War II, Soviet armies occupy much of
Eastern Europe.

1949 Most Eastern European countries are under
communist rule.

1956 Hungary withdraws from Warsaw Pact and ends one-
party rule; Soviet troops crush Hungarian uprising.

1968 Czechoslovakia introduces reforms; Soviets use force to
restore communist dictatorship.

1980 Polish government, under Soviet pressure, cracks
down on trade union movement and arrests its
leaders.

5

Fall of Communist Governments

Eastern European countries withdrew from the Warsaw
Pact and requested that Soviet troops leave.
Eastern European nations set out to build stable governments and
free-market economies.
The many changes contributed to rising inflation, high
unemployment, and crime waves.
Consumer goods became more plentiful, but many people could
not afford them.
Former communists were sometimes returned to office when
people became disillusioned with reform.
In the 1990s, Eastern European nations looked to the West for aid.
Ethnic tension arose is some areas.

Defending
Lithuania’s
Independence

The Crumbling Soviet Union
This cartoon shows Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev
with an egg-shaped head sitting on a wall marked
with the national symbol of the Soviet Union.
The cartoon draws on the nursery rhyme
Humpty Dumpty.

What does the cartoon suggest about the state of the Soviet Union under
Gorbachev?
What does it imply about Gorbachev’s future?
How does this cartoon communicate ideas without using any words?

Soviets Have Their Own “Vietnam” in Afghanistan
In 1979, the Soviet Union became involved in a long war in Afghanistan, an Islamic
country just south of the Soviet Union. A Soviet-supported Afghan government had tried
to modernize the nation. Its policies included social reforms and land redistribution that
would reduce the power of regional landlords. Afghan landlords—who commanded
armed men as warlords—and Muslim conservatives charged that both policies
threatened Islamic tradition. When these warlords took up arms against the
government, Soviet troops moved in.
Battling mujahedin or Muslim religious warriors, in the mountains of
Afghanistan, however, proved as difficult as fighting guerrillas in the jungles of Vietnam
had been for Americans. By the mid-1980s, the American government began to smuggle
modern weaponry to the mujahedin. The Soviets had years of heavy casualties, high
costs, and few successes. Like America’s Vietnam War, the struggle in Afghanistan
provoked a crisis in morale for the Soviets at home.

In 2000, Vladimir Putin was elected president in Russia’s second
free election. Putin projected toughness and
competence, promising to end corruption and build Russia into a
strong market economy. He also secured Russia a consulting status
with NATO. However, Putin repeatedly came under fire for
increasing the power of the central government at the expense of
people’s civil liberties. The international community began to
question his policies, concerned that he was becoming more
autocratic than democratic.

Protesting Putin
Demonstrators gather in
Moscow in 2004 to protest
Putin’s policies.

What point do you think
the protesters were making
by holding up photos
likening Putin to Adolf
Hitler?

Dmitry
Medvedev & Putin In 2000, Vladimir Putin was elected
Medvedev
president in Russia’s second free
current
election. Putin projected toughness and
President of the
competence, promising to end
Russian
corruption and build Russia into a strong
Federation. He
market economy. He also secured Russia
won the
a consulting status with NATO.
presidential
election held However, Putin repeatedly came
on 2 March under fire for increasing the power of
2008 the central government at the
expense of people’s civil liberties. The
international community began to
question his policies, concerned that
he was becoming more autocratic
than democratic.
Protesting Putin Demonstrators
gather in Moscow in 2004 to
protest Putin’s policies.

What point do you think the
protesters were making by
holding up photos likening Putin
to Adolf Hitler?

Poland Embraces Solidarity
Poland led the way in the new surge of resistance that shattered the Soviet satellite empire. In
1980, economic hardships ignited strikes by shipyard workers. Led by Lech Walesa , they
organized Solidarity, an independent labor union. It won millions of members and demanded
political as well as economic change.
Under pressure from the Soviet Union, the Polish government outlawed the union and arrested
its leaders, including Walesa. Still, unrest continued. Walesa became a national hero, and the
Polish government eventually released him from prison. Pope John Paul II visited Poland, met
with Solidarity leaders, and criticized communist policies. The pope was the former Karol
Wojtyla, archbishop of the Polish city of Cracow.

The dissolution of
Czechoslovakia, which took effect
on 1 January 1993, was an event
that saw the self-determined
separation of the federal state
of Czechoslovakia. The Czech
Republic and Slovakia, entities
which had arisen in 1969 within
the framework of Czechoslovak
federalization, became immediate
subjects of the international law in
1993. It is sometimes known as
the Velvet Divorce, a reference to
the bloodless Velvet Revolution of
1989 that led to the end of the
rule of the Communist Party of
Czechoslovakia and the formation
of a democratic government.

5

New Nations in Eastern Europe

5

Civil War in Yugoslavia

CAUSES EFFECTS
Yugoslavia consisted of a broad Tens of thousands of Bosnian
mixture of ethnic and religious Muslims were killed in a campaign
groups. of ethnic cleansing.
Tito had silenced nationalist and The Balkan region remained
religious unrest for decades. When unstable.
he died, nationalism tore Yugoslavia New nations needed massive aid
apart. to rebuild.
Communism fell. Large numbers of refugees
remained in temporary shelter for
Four of the six republics declared years after the war.
independence. Ethnic feuds were hard to contain.

A boy dodging sniper fire to get water, Sarajevo, Bosnia, 1993

Zlata Filipovic was 11 years old in
1992 when she began a diary about
her life in war-torn Sarajevo, the
capital of Bosnia. Here is an excerpt:
“Today a shell fell on the park in
front of my house, the park
where I used to play and sit with
my girlfriends. A lot of people
were hurt . . . AND NINA IS
DEAD . . . She was such a sweet,
nice little girl.”
—Zlata Filipovic, Zlata’s Diary

Bosnia is just one of the nations that
have faced ethnic, religious, or
national conflicts in recent decades.

Grozny in Ruins
Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, lay in ruins in 2000 after Russian troops
won a battle for control of the city.

Ethnic, nationalist, and religious tensions tore Yugoslavia apart during the
1990s. Before 1991, Yugoslavia was multiethnic, or made up of several ethnic
groups. These groups included Serbs, Montenegrins, and Macedonians, who
were Orthodox Christians; Croats and Slovenes, who were Roman Catholics;
and the mostly Muslim Bosniaks and Albanians. A majority of Yugoslavians—
including the Serbs, Montenegrins, Croats, and Bosniaks—all spoke the same
language, Serbo-Croatian, but these groups had different religions.
Albanians, Slovenes, and Macedonians spoke minority languages.
Yugoslavia was made up of six republics, similar to states in the United States.

These were Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina (often known as
Bosnia for short), Montenegro, and Macedonia. Each republic had a dominant
ethnic group but also was home to ethnic minorities. Serbs formed the
majority in Serbia but were an important ethnic minority in several of the
other republics. Serbs dominated Yugoslavia, which was held together and
controlled by its Communist Party.

The Fight for Kosovo
As Bosnia reached a tense peace, a crisis
broke out in the Serbian province of
Kosovo. Ethnic Albanians made up about 90
percent of Kosovo’s population. The rest of the
population was mostly Serbian.
In 1989, Serbian president Slobodan
Milosevic (an extreme Serbian nationalist, had
begun oppressing Kosovar Albanians.
Peaceful protests led to more repression. In the mid-1990s, a small
guerrilla army of ethnic Albanians began to respond with armed attacks
on Serbian targets. Milosevic, however, rejected international peace
efforts. In 1999, NATO launched air strikes against Serbia. Yugoslav forces
attempted ethnic cleansing of Albanian civilians.

However, NATO air strikes eventually forced Yugoslavia to withdraw its
forces from Kosovo. UN and NATO forces restored peace. As Kosovo
rebuilt, tensions remained high between ethnic Albanians and Serbs living
there. Although Kosovo remained part of Serbia in theory, the region was
under UN control after 1999. The majority ethnic Albanians sought
independence, while ethnic Serbs wanted

Conflicts in Former Yugoslavia

5

What happened when Hungary withdrew from the Warsaw Pact?
a) The Soviet Union granted Hungary’s independence.
b) Soviet troops crushed the Hungarian uprising.
c) Other Eastern European countries also withdrew.
d) Hungary was permitted to install a democratic government.

Which of the following was not a former territory of Yugoslavia?
a) Slovenia
b) Croatia
c) Bulgaria
d) Bosnia-Herzegovina

5


What happened when Hungary withdrew from the Warsaw Pact?
a) The Soviet Union granted Hungary’s independence.
b) Soviet troops crushed the Hungarian uprising.
c) Other Eastern European countries also withdrew.
d) Hungary was permitted to install a democratic government.

Which of the following was not a former territory of Yugoslavia?
a) Slovenia
b) Croatia
c) Bulgaria
d) Bosnia-Herzegovina

East Asia and Southeast Asia
(1945–Present)

East Asia and Southeast Asia
(1945–Present)

Section 1: Japan Becomes an Economic
Superpower

Section 2: From Revolution to Reform in China

Section 3: The Asian Tigers

Section 4: Southeast Asia and the Pacific Rim

1
Japan Becomes an
Economic Superpower

• What factors made Japan’s recovery an economic miracle?

• How did Japan interact economically and politically with
other nations?

• How are patterns of life changing in Japan?

1

Recovery and Economic Miracle
In 1945, Japan lay in ruins. What factors allowed Japan to recover
and produce an economic miracle?

• Japan’s success was based on producing goods for export. At first, the
nation manufactured textiles. Later, it shifted to making steel, and then to high
technology.
• While Japan had to rebuild from scratch, the nation had successfully
industrialized in the past. Thus, it was able to quickly build
efficient, modern factories and adapt the latest technology.
• Japan benefited from an educated, highly skilled work force.
• Japanese workers saved much of their money. These savings gave banks the
capital to invest in industrial growth.
• Japan did not have to spend money on maintaining a large military force.

Peace Comes to Japan
A 1945 poster printed by a Japanese bank
encourages people to “make a bright future for
Japan.”

Land Reform Benefits Japanese Farmers
Japan’s postwar land reform redistributed land from wealthy landlords to small farmers
such as the ones in this photo. How would ownership of land benefit farmers?

In 1952, the United States ended
the occupation and signed a peace
treaty with Japan. Still, the two
nations kept close ties. American
military forces maintained bases in
Japan, which in turn was
protected by American nuclear
weapons. The two countries were
also trading partners, eventually
competing with each other in the
global economy.

Japan’s Economic Miracle
By the 1970s and 1980s, Japan prospered by manufacturing products to be sold
overseas, such as the televisions being assembled in this photo.

1

Japanese
Motor
Vehicle
Exports, 19
97

1

Economic and Political Interaction

• The oil crisis of the 1970s brought home Japan’s dependence on the
world market. In response to the economic challenge the oil crisis
presented, Japan sought better relations with oil-producing nations of
the Middle East.

• Japan has had to deal with nations that still held bitter memories of
World War II. Japan was slow to apologize for its wartime actions. In
the 1990s, Japanese leaders offered some public regrets for the
destruction of the war years.

• For many years, Japan took a back seat in international politics. More
recently, it has taken on a larger world role. Today, Japan ranks as the
world’s largest donor of foreign aid.

1

Changing Patterns of Life
• In the 1990s, Japan faced a terrible economic depression. Many workers lost the
security of guaranteed lifetime employment, and confidence was undermined.

• In the 1990s, charges of corruption greatly weakened Japan’s dominant political
party, the LDP. Some younger, reform-minded politicians broke with the
LDP, threatening its monopoly on power.

• Today, most Japanese live in crowded cities in tiny, cramped apartments.

• While women have legal equality, traditional attitudes keep them in subordinate
positions in the workplace.

• For decades, Japanese sacrificed family life to work long hours. Many younger
Japanese, however, want more time to enjoy themselves. Some older Japanese
worry that the old work ethic is weakening.

The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko Tsunami
A deadly 8.9 earthquake struck
Japan, one of the largest
earthquakes in the history of
Japan.
A massive 23-foot tsunami also
hit the coast killing
hundreds, leveling homes, and
sweeping away cars and boats.
200 to 300 bodies were found
in the northeastern coastal city
of Sendai, according to the AP.

1

Which of the following contributed to Japan’s economic recovery?
a) Japan was industrializing for the first time.
b) Japan’s large military helped revitalize the economy.
c) Japan had an educated, highly skilled work force.
d) Japanese people spent most of their earnings.

In 1997, Japan exported the vast majority of the motor vehicles it produced to
a) Britain.
b) Germany.
c) Saudi Arabia.
d) the United States.

2

From Revolution to Reform
in China

• What were the effects of communist policies
in China?
• What challenges did China face during the
Cold War?
• How did calls for political reform lead to
repression?
• What challenges face China today?

2

Communist Policies
Although some reforms did result in more access to education and greater
equality, people in China paid a heavy cost for Mao’s programs. During the
1950s and 1960s, two efforts in particular led to economic disaster and
tremendous loss of life.

In the “Great Leap Forward,” Mao urged people to make a superhuman effort
to increase farm output.
• Food output slowed and backyard industries turned out low-
quality, useless goods.
• A terrible famine occurred. Between 1959 and 1961,
up to 30 million Chinese starved to death.

The goal of the Cultural Revolution was to purge China of “bourgeois”
tendencies.
• The Cultural Revolution convulsed China. Schools and factories closed.
The economy slowed, and civil war threatened.

How the Communists Won
Mao’s Communists triumphed for several reasons. Mao
had won the support of China’s huge peasant
population. Peasants had long suffered from brutal
landlords and crushing taxes. The Communists
redistributed land to poor peasants and ended
oppression by landlords.
While support for the Communists grew, the
Nationalists lost popularity. Nationalist policies had led
to widespread economic hardship. Many Chinese
people also resented corruption in Jiang’s government
and the government’s reliance on support from
Western “imperialist” powers. They hoped that the
Communists would build a new China and end foreign
domination.
Widespread support for the Communists in the
countryside helped them to capture rail lines and
surround Nationalist-held cities. One after
another, these cities fell, and Mao’s People’s Liberation
Army emerged victorious. After their victory against
the Nationalists, the Communists conquered Tibet in
1950. In 1959, Tibet’s most revered religious
leader, the Dalai Lama, was forced to flee the country.

During the mid-1950s, divisions arose within the Communist
party in China. In response, Mao Zedong (1893–1976)
launched a campaign under the slogan “Let a hundred
flowers bloom, let a hundred thoughts contend.” Mao hoped
that by offering people the opportunity to openly express
their views he would gain more support. When people began
to criticize the Communist party, however, Mao ended the
campaign. Of the nearly 550,000 Chinese who had spoken
out, thousands were executed and hundreds of thousands
were exiled to the countryside to “rectify their thinking
through labor.”

What methods did Mao use to keep power for himself?

The Great Leap Forward Fails
From 1958 to 1960, Mao led a program known as the Great
Leap Forward. He urged people to make a superhuman effort
to increase farm and industrial output. In an attempt to make
agriculture more efficient, he created communes. A typical
commune brought together several villages, thousands of acres
of land, and up to 25,000 people. Rural communes set up
small-scale “backyard” industries to produce steel and other
products.

What do these images
suggest about
freedom of speech
and freedom of
thought during the
Cultural Revolution in
China?
Promoting the Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution poster above shows soldiers holding “little red books” and urges
them to “destroy all enemies.” The photo to the left shows Chinese soldiers waving their
“little red books” during this same period.

2

China and the Cold War

RELATIONS WITH THE SOVIET RELATIONS WITH THE
UNION UNITED STATES

Stalin sent economic aid and
technical experts to China, but At first, the United States
he and Mao disagreed on refused to recognize the
many issues. People’s Republic of China and
China and the Soviet Union for years tried to isolate China.
competed for influence in
Slowly, relations improved.
developing nations.

By 1960, border disputes and In 1979, the United States set
clashes over ideology led the up formal diplomatic relations
Soviets to withdraw all aid and with China.
advisers from China.

Communism and Democracy in China
• Massive, pervasive policies of economic and
cultural engineering
– Great Leap Forward (1958-1961)
– Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966-1976)
• Both huge failures
• Deng Xiaopeng (1904-1997) comes to power
in 1981, moderates Maoism
• Tiananmen Square pro-democracy rallies
ruthlessly subdued, 1989

2

Tiananmen Square
The crackdown showed that China’s Communist leaders were determined to
maintain control. To them, order was more important than political freedom.

By the late 1980s, some Chinese
were demanding greater political
freedom and economic reform.

In 1989, thousands of
demonstrators occupied Tiananmen
Square and called for democracy.
Tank Man
The government sent in troops and
tanks. Thousands of demonstrators
were killed or wounded.

2

Challenges China Faces Today
China’s human rights abuses have brought strong pressure from
trading partners such as the United States. Copyright laws, Internet
stuff…
Population growth strained the economy and posed a challenge for
the future. Male children preferred under one child law.

Hong Kong’s fate in ten years…China still claims Taiwan. Using
more and more energy and resources in industrialization.
Many state-run industries were inefficient, but could not be closed
without risking high unemployment and economic chaos.
Inequalities between rich and poor urban and rural Chinese
continued to grow.
As communist ideology weakened, government corruption became
a growing problem.
Hu Jintao is ruler now

China Builds on Deng’s Reforms
Gorbachev had urged the leaders of other communist states to consider both political and
economic changes. Leaders of the People’s Republic of China accelerated the compromises
with capitalism that Deng Xiaoping had introduced in the 1980s. The result was an amazing
economic boom, including double-digit growth rates for more than a decade.
China’s Communist Party, however, undertook no political reforms. Watching communist
power unravel in Eastern Europe, China’s leaders worked to preserve one-party Communist
rule—and their own power.

Chinese workers assemble electronic parts.

Limiting a Huge Population
China’s population, now more than
1.3 billion, is the largest in the world.
In the 1980s, the government’s one-
child policy, which limited urban
families to a single child, aimed to
keep population growth from hurting
economic development. Rural
families were allowed two children.
However, these measures worked
better in urban areas than in rural
areas. Rural families who wanted
more than two children to help on
the farm often just paid fines. Even
so, population growth slowed overall
after 1980.

2


When did the United States set up formal diplomatic relations with China?

a) 1945
b) 1995
c) 1979
d) 1950

The demonstrators who occupied Tiananmen Square were calling for
a) increased farm output.
b) the strengthening of communism.
c) a purging of bourgeois tendencies.
d) democracy.

3

The Asian Tigers

• How has China
influenced Taiwan and
Hong Kong?

• How did Singapore
modernize?

• Why has Korea
remained divided for
more than 50 years?

3

Asian Tigers

The term “Asian tigers” refers to Taiwan, Hong
Kong, Singapore, and South Korea.

• All four are small Asian lands that became
“newly industrialized countries” by the 1980s.
• They are known for their aggressive economic growth.
• Although they differ in important ways, all followed similar
roads to modernization after 1945.
• All four were influenced by China.
• In each, the Confucian ethic shaped attitudes about work.
• All four had stable governments that invested in education.

The Asian Tigers and Japan
For decades, Japan dominated the Asian Pacific Rim. This small island nation
rebuilt itself after World War II to become an economic
powerhouse, modernizing and excelling at Western economics while at the
same time preserving its own traditions. By the 1990s, however, Japan began
to suffer from a long economic downturn.
In the meantime, Japan’s neighbors—including Taiwan, Hong
Kong, Singapore, and South Korea—surged ahead. Although they differ in
terms of culture and history, all had quickly modernized and industrialized by
the 1980s. All four were influenced to some degree by China and its
Confucian traditions of education, loyalty, and consensus. Each stressed
education as a means to increase worker productivity.
Because of their economic success, they earned nicknames such as the
“Asian tigers” or the “four tigers.” The Asian tigers first focused on light
industries such as textiles. As their economies grew, the tigers concentrated
on making higher-priced exports, such as electronics, for developed nations.
Their extraordinary growth was due in part to low wages, long hours, and
other worker sacrifices.

3

Taiwan and Hong Kong
Both Taiwan and Hong Kong have deep cultural and historical links to China.

TAIWAN HONG KONG

Britain won Hong Kong from China
Taiwan was ruled by China until after the Opium War.
1895, when it fell to Japan. Hong Kong’s prosperity was based
The Japanese built some largely on trade and light industry.
industry, providing a foundation for Hong Kong also became a world
later growth. financial center.
Taiwan first set up light industries Hong Kong’s amazing growth was due
and later, developed heavy industry. in part to its location on China’s
After the Cold War, Taiwanese doorstep.
businesses invested in companies In 1997, Britain returned Hong Kong to
on the Chinese mainland. China.

3

How Did Singapore Modernize?
During his 30 years in power, Prime Minister
Lee Kwan Yew:

• supported a free-market economy
• attracted foreign capital by keeping labor
costs low
• expanded Singapore’s seaport into one of
the world’s busiest harbors
• welcomed skilled immigrants
• insisted on education for all of Singapore’s
people
• encouraged high-tech industries, manufacturing, finance, and
tourism
• followed a Confucian model of development, emphasizing hard
work and saving money

3

The Two Koreas

After World War II, the Soviet Union and the United States divided Korea along
the 38th parallel.

Before long, North Korea became a communist ally of the Soviet Union. The
United States backed noncommunist South Korea.

In 1950, North Korea attacked South Korea. The war turned into a stalemate.

In 1953, both sides signed an armistice, or end to fighting. The armistice has
held for 50 years, but no peace treaty has ever been negotiated.

3

Korean
War,
1950 – 1953

A Divided Nation
Korea was an independent kingdom until Japan conquered it in the early twentieth
century. After Japan’s defeat in World War II, Soviet and American forces agreed to divide
Korea temporarily along the 38th parallel of latitude. However, North Korea, ruled by the
dictator Kim Il Sung, became a communist ally of the Soviet Union. In South Korea, the
United States backed the dictatorial—but noncommunist—leader, Syngman Rhee.

Winter Battle Scene in Korea
U.S. soldiers rest after winning a battle for a snowy hill in Korea, February 1951.

Based on the photograph, what advantage did these soldiers gain by winning
control of this hill?

North Korea Digs In
Under Kim Il Sung, the command economy
increased output for a time in North Korea.
However, in the late 1960s, economic growth
slowed. Kim’s emphasis on self-reliance kept
North Korea isolated and poor. The
Kim Il Sung government built a personality cult around
Kim, who was constantly glorified as the “Great
Leader” in propaganda. Even after its Soviet
Kim Jong Il and Chinese allies undertook economic
reforms in the 1980s, North Korea clung to
hard-line communism.
Kim Jong Un at left front, Kim Jong Il at right front
South Korea Recovers
After the war, South Korea slowly rebuilt its economy. By the mid-1960s,
South Korea’s economy had leapt ahead. After decades of dictatorship and
military rule, a prosperous middle class and fierce student protests pushed
the government to hold direct elections in 1987. These elections began a
successful transition to democracy. Despite the bloody Korean War, most
South Koreans during the Cold War years wanted to see their ancient
nation reunited, as did many North Koreans. All Koreans shared the same
history, language, and traditions. For many, this meant more than Cold War
differences.

3

“Asian tigers” refer to all of the following except
a) Singapore.
b) Taiwan.
c) North Korea.
d) South Korea.

Which of the following correctly describes the Korean War?
a) The United States backed the noncommunist north while the
Soviet Union backed the communist south.
b) The United States backed the communist north while the Soviet
Union backed the noncommunist south.
c) The United States backed the noncommunist south while the
Soviet Union backed the communist north.
d) The United States backed the communist south while the Soviet
Union backed the noncommunist north.

4

Southeast Asia and the Pacific Rim

• How did war affect Vietnam and Cambodia?

• What challenges faced the Philippines and the
developing nations of Southeast Asia?

• Why is the Pacific Rim a vital region?

4
War in Vietnam and Cambodia
In mainland Southeast Asia, an agonizing liberation struggle tore
apart the region once known as French Indochina.

VIETNAM CAMBODIA
During the Vietnam War, fighting
Communists fought against non- spilled over into neighboring
communists supported by the Cambodia. In 1970, the United States
United States for control of bombed and then invaded Cambodia.
Vietnam.
When the United States left,
After the United States withdrew communist guerrillas called Khmer
from the war, the North Rouge, led by Pol Pot, slaughtered
Vietnamese reunited the country more than a million Cambodians.
under communist rule. In 1979, Vietnam invaded and
The communist victors imposed occupied Cambodia. They left in 1992,
harsh rule in the south. but troubles still abound:
• King: Norodom Sihamoni (2004) ballet
Vietnam had to rebuild a land dancer and choreographer
destroyed by war.
• Prime Minister: Hun Sen (1998) who
has tried coup after coup

4

Vietnam
War, 1968 –
1975

Tragedy in Cambodia

During the Vietnam War, fighting had spilled over into
neighboring Cambodia. In 1970, the United States bombed
North Vietnamese supply routes in Cambodia and then briefly
invaded the country. Afterwards, the Khmer Rouge ,a force of
Cambodian communist guerrillas, gained ground in
"Haing Ngor: Cambodia. Finally, in 1975, the Khmer Rouge overthrew the
A Cambodian Cambodian government.
Odyssey. Led by the brutal dictator Pol Pot the Khmer Rouge unleashed
a reign of terror. To destroy all Western influences, they drove
people from the cities and forced them to work in the fields.
They slaughtered, starved, or worked to death more than a
million Cambodians, about a third of the population.
In the end, it took a Vietnamese invasion in 1979 to drive Pol
Pot and his Khmer Rouge back into the jungle. Vietnam
imposed an authoritarian government on Cambodia, but they
at least ended the genocide.

Haing S. Ngor won his Supporting Oscar in 1984 for playing Dith Pran, a journalist's
assistant trapped in Cambodia during the civil war. His real life was even scarier than that.

Why might people choose to flee across the Fleeing Communist Control
open ocean in a small boat like this one?
These South Vietnamese refugees are
fleeing their country after communist
forces took control in April 1975. Refugees
who fled in small boats like this one were
known as “boat people.”

Vietnam Under the Communists
In the newly reunited Vietnam, the
communist victors imposed a harsh rule of
their own on the south. Hundreds of
thousands of Vietnamese fled their
country, most in small boats. Many of these
“boat people” drowned. Survivors landed in
refugee camps in neighboring countries.
Eventually, some settled in the United
States. Meanwhile, Vietnam had to rebuild
a land destroyed by war. Recovery was slow
due to a lack of resources and an American-
led embargo, or blockage of trade. For
years, the country remained mired in
poverty.

4

The Philippines
In 1946, the Philippines gained freedom after almost 50
years of American rule.
In 1965, Ferdinand Marcos was elected president. Marcos
promised reform but became a dictator.
In 1986, the people of the Philippines forced Marcos to leave
in what was called the “people power” revolution.
Corazón Aquino became president and restored the fragile
democracy.

Challenges:
• The country enjoyed economic growth during the 1990s, but many
people remained poor.
• Government corruption and guerrilla wars threatened the nation’s
stability.
• The Philippines experienced rapid urbanization.
• Natural disasters caused setbacks.
• Many enterprising Filipinos left the country.

Like Indonesia, the Philippines is a group of islands with a diversity of ethnic groups.
Catholics are the predominant religious group, but there is a Muslim minority in the south.
In 1946, the Philippines gained freedom peacefully after almost 50 years of American rule.
The United States, however, continued to influence the country through military and
economic aid.
Marcos Becomes a Dictator
Although the Filipino constitution set up a democratic government, a wealthy elite
controlled politics and the economy. The peasant majority was poor. For a time, the
government battled Huks , local Communists with strong peasant support. Ferdinand
Marcos, elected president in 1965, abandoned democracy. He became a dictator and
cracked down on basic freedoms. He even had Benigno Aquino, a popular rival, murdered.

Filipinos Demand Democracy
When Marcos finally held elections in 1986, voters elected Corazon Aquino, widow of the
slain Benigno. Marcos tried to deny the results, but the people of Manila held
demonstrations that forced him to resign during the “people power” revolution. Under
Aquino and her successors, this fragile democracy struggled to survive. The economy grew
during the 1990s but then slowed. Poverty persisted. Another corrupt president, Joseph
Estrada, tried to cling to power. Once again, in 2001, popular protests forced him from
office. As urbanization increased, unrest grew in crowded slum neighborhoods.

4

Developing Nations of Southeast Asia
Southeast Asian nations faced many problems after independence.
They lacked experience in self-government.
They faced complex ethnic and religious conflicts.
Demands for political freedom and social justice were frequent.

MYANMAR INDONESIA
Geography posed an obstacle to
For years, repressive military rulers unity in Indonesia.
battled rebel ethnic minorities.
They isolated the country and Under authoritarian rule,
imposed state socialism. Indonesia made great economic
progress.
In 1990, the government held
The 1997 Asian financial crisis led
elections. The opposition party
to riots against the government.
won, but the military rejected the
election results. A new government was elected and
faced many problems.

Myanmar Suffers
Britain granted independence to its former colony of Burma in 1948. Burma was renamed
Myanmar in 1989. Ethnic tensions have plagued Myanmar. The majority, Burmans, have
dominated other ethnic groups. The military government has limited foreign trade, and
living standards remain low.
Under mounting foreign pressure, elections were held in 1990. A party opposed to
military rule won. It was led by Aung San Suu Kyi, whose father had helped Burma win
independence. The military rejected the election results and jailed, killed, or exiled many
opponents. Suu Kyi was held under house arrest. In 1995, Suu Kyi won the Nobel Peace
Prize for her “nonviolent struggle for democracy and human rights,” but she remained a
prisoner in her own country.
Aung San Suu Kyi 1945–,
is a Burmese political leader; grad.
Oxford Univ. The daughter of
assassinated (1947) nationalist general
U Aung San, who is regarded as the
founder of modern Myanmar,

Aung San Suu Kyi was released in
November after spending most of
the past 20 years under house
arrest in Myanmar (AFP/File, Soe
Than Win)

Sukarno, Indonesia’s first president

Flag of the Southeast Asian nation of Malaysia

Southeast Asia’s Oil Wealth Oil and gas
reserves have been an important source of
wealth for Indonesia and its neighbors. This oil
well is in the oil-rich monarchy of Brunei.
Brunei is on the island of Borneo, which is
divided among Brunei, Malaysia, and
Indonesia.

Natural disasters have added to Indonesia’s
troubles. In 2004, an earthquake caused a
tsunami, or giant wave, that devastated the
coast of Aceh and left over 100,000 dead.
Related tsunamis ravaged Thailand, Sri
Lanka, and other countries around the Indian
Ocean.
Ethnic Conflicts and Natural Disasters
Religious and ethnic conflicts fueled violence in parts of Indonesia. In the Moluccas, a
group of eastern islands, fighting between Muslims and Christians claimed thousands of
lives. Discrimination against Chinese on the island of Java led to vicious attacks on their
businesses. Rebels in Papua, on the island of New Guinea at the eastern end of
Indonesia, sought independence from Indonesia, as did conservative Muslim rebels in
Aceh (ah chay), at the northwestern end of Indonesia.

4

The Pacific Rim
In the modern global economy, Southeast Asia and East Asia
are part of a vast region known as the Pacific Rim. It includes
countries in Asia and the Americas that border the Pacific
Ocean.

• By the 1990s, the volume of trade across the Pacific Rim was
greater than that across the Atlantic. The region has potential
for further growth.

• Countries on the Pacific Rim formed a huge market that
lured investors, especially multinational corporations.

• The development of the Pacific Rim promises to bring the
Americas and Asia closer together.

Pacific Powerhouse The countries of the Pacific Rim have geographic, cultural, and economic
ties. The region is a major center of ocean trade routes, shown on the map above.

4

After the United States withdrew from the Vietnam War,
a) the North Vietnamese united the country.
b) South Vietnam invaded North Vietnam.
c) Vietnam remained divided.
d) the Soviet Union occupied the country.

The Pacific Rim refers to countries in
a) Asia and the Americas that border the Pacific Ocean.
b) East Asia and India that border the Pacific Ocean.
c) North and South America that border the Pacific Ocean.
d) East Asia and South Asia that border the Pacific Ocean.

Chapters 18 22 nb

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (18)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (6)

Similar to Chapters 18 22 nb

Similar to Chapters 18 22 nb (20)

More from grieffel

More from grieffel (20)

Chapters 18 22 nb