History Themes

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Decolonization

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process of undoing the political, economic, and social relationships and structures that made a country a colony. It can also be thought of as a reversal of the processes and structures of imperialism. The hide tide of movements associated with the term “decolonization” occurred in the period 1945 to 1975. Among the countries we are studying via lectures in History 20, India and Algeria provide classic “case studies” in decolonization; many other countries, especially in Africa and S.E. Asia, also launched decolonization efforts in the decades following World War II.

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National Liberation

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-as a much broader notion than decolonization. Some people in countries that were unmaking colonialism after World War II also began to talk about National Liberation and ended up calling their political organizations “National Liberation Fronts”—this was true in both Algeria and Vietnam, for example. But other political leaders in countries that had not been recently colonized (in Latin America, for example) also talked about the importance of “National Liberation” for their movements, and saw the concept as a way to unite around the many common issues of emancipation from poverty and oppression throughout the entire Third World after World War II (see also the discussion provided on defining the Third World, also posted in this section of the website).
-as an organizing concept for political movements throughout the Third World that is derived from the thought and actions of Third World leaders following World War II
-process of freeing the people of a Third World country to think and act independently. What did they want freedom from and for? The answer to this question has at least three parts: Colonial rule, Poverty and underdevelopment, and an internalized and self-perpetuating sense of inferiority and despair in individuals created by the global processes of imperialism.

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The Third World

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-refers to the economically underdeveloped countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America
-the common people who had no rights, were usually poor, and who demanded revolutionary change to better their lives

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The New Imperialism

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-Traditionally, empire-building involved: Plunder and Trade
-Conquering territory, both settled and unsettled
-Large regions of the world experienced restructuring of their commercial and/or production processes. Collection of new tax revenues on trade and production in the target territories was also an important result
-Some areas were colonized, experiencing political takeover and complete political restructuring.
-Other areas were semicolonized; this involved the creation of “spheres of influence” for the powerful countries in the target territory, areas where they might freely pursue their own economic interests.
-The “high tide” of the new imperialism was 1870 to 1914, when virtually the entire world was divided up by the European powers.
-The New Imperialism also was tied to Nationalism and increasing competition among new nation-states in 19th- century Europe.
-nationalism- a belief among a group of people that they share a common heritage and future, and that they have the right to organize a political system within definite geographical boundaries to pursue their own self interest, both politically and economically.

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Globalization

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-"Globalization” has come to replace “Cold War”as the principle organizing framework.
- it conveys a sense that the world is tied ever tighter together through economic processes and also that it is becoming more homogenized, imitating the economic and political systems of the West. Communism is “dead”; Western-style Capitalism is “on the ascent.
-However appealing the simplicity of this idea may be, the primary message of this lecture is to beware of oversimplification of these issues. Globalization is a dense and multifaceted process and the outcomes are still very much evolving.
-This lecture is designed to put away myths about “Globalization”as a Western-led phenomenon and to bring us to a deeper understanding of the trends in both economics and politics that have made Japan and China key players in a newly-emerging world economic system.