1. New Nations and Former Colonial Regions

2. Decolonization Case Studies: India and Palestine

3. India
After WWII, Congress Party leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru renewed their calls for independence from British rule
Muslim league under Muhammad Ali Jinnah supported the creation of a Muslim state separate from India

4. The Partition of India-1947

6. Israel
Question of a Jewish homeland arose again in the wake of the Nazi Holocaust
Jewish refugees from Europe began to flood into the British mandate of Palestine
UN adopted a resolution in 1947 authorizing partition

8. The End of the Cold War

9. Ronald Reagan
Reagan was elected in 1980 promising a renewed hard line on the Cold War
U.S. increased military spending, deployed a new European missile system, and began SDI (“Star Wars”) research
These measures forced a corresponding military buildup in the USSR

10. Mikhail Gorbachev
Gorbachev reenergized Soviet leadership when he came to power in 1985
-perestroika (“restructuring”) -glasnost (“openness”)
USSR would not intervene in E. European elections

11. 1989: Year of Revolution in Eastern Europe
In 1988, Poland elected its first non-communist gov’t since WWII
Throughout the year, one Soviet-dominated state after another moved toward independence
E. German gov’t ordered the opening of the Berlin Wall in 1989

15. The Collapse of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union broke up in 1991
Russia and other new nations replaced USSR
Russia pursued democratic and capitalist reforms