Decolonization
 Europe is done- can’t run empires anymore. Postwar
era full of successful nationalist movements.
 3 waves of democratization (Sam Huntington)
 1. America and France, and gradual growth of democracy
in England. Slow process- only 29 countries when wwi
starts
 2. Allied victory in wwi/wwii creates new countries in
Europe, Asia and Africa from 1920-1960s
 3. 1970s dictatorships in Europe begin to end, breakup of
soviet bloc
Why?
 Independence movements actually began before world
wars, esp. in areas with strong independent cultures
like Egypt and India. Also, wars created colonial
industrialization (Europe had avoided that to keep
them independent) which made them more ready.
 After wwii there was also a greater emphasis on human
rights, including self determination for all peoples, not
just Europeans- actions had shown them to be not
quite a superior as they had painted themselves.
 Between 1947-62 virtually all colonies (who want it)
gain independence.
India
 During WWI England
promised India if they
supported war effort they
would get home rule.
 Gov’t of India Act 1919 gave
power over agriculture,
education and local gov’t
to Indians, but did not
move far enough forward
to satisfy nationalists.
England waffled between
treating them as a nation
and a colony
 Indian National
Congress had been
established in the
1800s- born of western
educated liberals who
wanted an equal place
Gandhi: Civil Disobedience
 Oxford educated Lawyer.
(Began in S. Africa,
returned to India during
wwi) Transformed cause of
independence from elite
movement to mass
movement.
 Sparked patriotic feeling,
and a desire for Indian self
sufficiency.
 Civil Disobedience: Refusal
to follow unjust law.
 Non violent non
cooperation- “truth
force” Show others
that they are wrong,
without attack, and
they will have no
choice but to change
Hindu/Muslim Split
 1947 British India about 70% Hindu, 30% Muslim.
 Muhammad ali Jinnah (Muslim league) and Jawaharlal
Nehru (Indian National Congress) disagreed about makeup
of independent gov’t (Nehru also disagreed with Gandhi
about industrializing India)
 As they are heading toward independence there is violent
rioting over whom will control what area- which even
Gandhi could not stop. England wants to focus on what is
going on at home- sends Lord Mountbatten to divide India
and supervise transition of independence.
 India, Pakistan, and East Pakistan (Bangladesh) created.
More violence- 500,000 killed (Including Gandhi) Still
border issues to this day (Kashmir)
Southeast Asia
 Burma (Myanmar) becomes independent 1947, Ceylon
(Sri Lanka) 1948, Malaysia 1963- all British.
 French were even less capable of holding colonies after
the war, pulled out of Indochina (Vietnam) 1954 (Dien
bien Phu) Laos and Cambodia, but left them without
guidance- fell to strongman dictatorships
 Dutch decolonized Indonesia in 1949, US released
Philippines in 1946
Sub Saharan Africa
 Like India, there were generally
western educated Africans
leading movements for
democracy and nationalism
 Disillusioned by European
claims of superiority after wwii,
unhappy with the fact that
africans worked and Europeans
profited
 As new nations are created
many colonial borders are
kept, a problem because
they don’t reflect ethnic
makeups of region, will be
a consistent source of
conflict
New Countries/Old Empires
 Britain and France created plans to provide independence
and still maintain goodwill of new nations. Invested in
infrastructure (hydroelectric power, agricultural
technology) Increased educational facilities.
 Ghana- 1st to be N. Africa colonies a choice between
independence (and being cut off) or Self gov’t with French
protection (all choose this except Guinea and Djibouti)
 Belgium: Congo had the most violent transition, Belgians
simply abandoned in 1959 leading to civil war. In Rwanda,
Belgians had allowed the Tutsi minority (15%) to dominate
the Hutu population, when they pulled out ethnic fighting
began which continues to this day.
South Africa
 After 1980 S. Africa was the only white ruled country on the
continent. 1/5 population European, primarily
Boers/Afrikaaners. (who took power in gov’t 1948 as British
pulled back after wwii). Cultural Imperialism continued
 “Colored” S. Africans (Black and Indian) had no polticial
rights, few educational or economic opportunities.
 African National Congress (ANC) formed 1913- didn’t get
far
 1948 Apartheid instituted: legal segregation of races,
became national policy. Blacks forced to live in specific
areas, carry passes etc….
Nelson Mandela
 Leader of ANC, sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964
for anti-apartheid protests
 UN began sanctions against South Africa for human
rights violations- but S. Africa has some key resources,
esp gold/diamonds, so it was tricky.
 Still, over time, pressure built. 1990 Mandela released
from prison, 1994 became 1st Black president of S.
Africa
North Africa/Middle East
 Decolonialization didn’t happen all at once, many
patterns and time frames (some after wwi, some wwii)
 One of the world’s oldest centers of civilization- so not
without experience in ruling themselves, considerably
less chaos
 However, ethnic tensions were becoming a factor.
Muslims had been united in their dislike of mandate
system. Now there are tensions building between
Arab/Non Arab, Sunni/Shite etc…
Balfour declaration
 1917- British promised Arabs, and Zionists, an
independent nation in Palestine in return for support
during the wwi. Conflicting interests.
Palestine
 As Israel was created 1948–
UN divided the territory to
created both a Palestinian
and Jewish State.
 Palestinains (supported by
Arabs) have vowed to fight
until Israel destroyed.
Virtually permanent conflict
to this day
Turkey
 Mustafa Kemal led Turkey to independence in 1923- set
about creating a secular, nationalist state (which was
controversial in Muslim world). Abolished Sharia
(religious law), polygamy, and office of Caliph.
Replaced Arabic with Latin alphabet.
 Neutral in wwii
 Caught between Europe and Middle east
 Ethnic issue- Kurds
North Africa/Egypt
 During war Egypt
 Independent in 1922- but
established a league of
Arab states- a regional
organization to support
areas with Arab
majorities
 In French territory Arabs
united as National
Liberation Fronttriggering fall of 4th
Republic
heavy British influence
remained because of
canal.
 1956 Gen. Abdul Nassar
nationalized the canalBritish and French
threatened to fight, but
US said back down
Social and Cultural Trends
 By 1960s a new generation of Europeans had grown up
in a post-war world (no memory of depression or
totalitarianism, hazy memory of war)
 Spirit of activism, questioned cold war, address issues
of equality (mirrors civil rights/anti-war movements in
US)
 Events of May: 1968 student protest at the Sorbonne in
Paris- ended up with 8 million people on strike.
Represented the large # of people unhappy with
conservative government of De Gaulle (called for new
elections)
Rise of the middle class
 Largely a result of
increased access to higher
ed. European society
became more mobile and
democratic- far less rigid
than any period in their
history. Needed large #of
people with tech and
management background.
Welfare states created
cushion for those in need
Women’s Movement
 Most countries of Europe had given
women suffrage after wwi (France and
Italy after wwii, Switzerland not until
1980!) but equality didn’t quite follow.
War saw wide scale women’s
employment, which ended when the
men came home.
 1960s women’s movementemphasizing cultural, sexual, and
economic rights beyond the vote.
Repealed laws that prohibited
contraception and abortion (even in
RC countries)
 70s saw beginning of rise in women
working again- from 32% in 1970 to
44% in 1990 and increased
educational opportunities allowed
more professional positions
 Parallels Women’s movement in USmany of the same issues (example of
how much more linked the cultures are
in postwar world
 50s and 60s typical to marry young and
have kids quickly (though # of children
per family declined to 2 per family)
 Opportunity to earn $$ at home (cottage
industry) long gone- have to go out to
work- so childcare became a part of the
welfare state in many countries.
 Simone de Beauvoir- The Second Sex
1949 said that women were free…but
trapped. Only by courageous action
could they escape the role of “other”
Consumerism
 Sparked by rising standard of
living after the war and
increased size of the middle
class. Auto industry
expanded dramatically
(though not to size of US.
“Gadget Revolution”
 More disposable incomewelfare state meant you
needed to save far less for old
age.
 Leisure and recreation
became major industriespaid vacations required by
law
Counterculture
 There was a baby boom in
Europe too (though families
were not a large) and a distinct
international youth culture.
Raised in econ prosperity, and
secure democracies, had a very
different view of the world than
their parents.
 Counterculture was a rebellion
against status quo (both parents
and authority figures in general)
Rock music (Beatles/Stones),
age of 1st sexual experience
decreased signficantly (the “pill”
intro 1960)
Student Revolts
 Opposition to imperialistic
conflicts (attempts to hold
colonies)
 New Left Thinking popular
@ universities (revival of
original marxist theory)
Rejection of materialism
and belief that postwar
society was morally flawed.
 For older generationspelled end of an era (make
a better world and what do
the kids do….)
Religious Reform
 Europe significantly more
secular after wwii, only 15%
attend church regularly
(varies by country)
 Second Vatican Council 1962most important doctrinal
reform since Council of Trent
in 1542
 Use of Vernacular in Church
services
 RC is still “One True Church”
but other Christian groups
were to be respected.
 Less severe dress for priests
and nuns
Trends in Philosophy, Literature,
and Art
 Philosophy: Modernism came with I.R. Values include
secularism, reasoning, materialism, technology and
Freedom (rather than equality)
 Post Modernism: Postwar/postindustrialism. Emphasized
quality of life over material gain. Importance of education
(for knowledge not $$) healthcare and environmentalism.
 Jean Francois Lyotard: Argued that modern philosophy is
based on accepted stories or what he called “metanarratives”.
But because the world has changed those assumptions no
longer make sense. People are developing not on absolute
truths, but through changing relationships
Existentialism
 Philosophy based on sense of anxiety
and despair, first appeared after horrors of wwi,
and wwii had plenty of horrors of its own
 Post war existentialists explore what it means to be
human in a world without cultural moorings, clear
guideposts, absolute standards.
 Albert Camus/Jean Paul Sartre: Said God was dead,
we are alone in the universe without a pre-ordained
destiny- so we have to make our own sense of the
world to reshape life’s meaning.
Literature
 Alexander Solzhenitsyn: (the Gulag Archipelago)
brought USSR under fire with his descriptions of
soviet labor camps
 Jacques Maritain: (Man and the State) advocated a
return to faith and religious tradition- said there is
comfort in belief
 TS Eliot: (The Wasteland, and a poet) advocated a
focus on family and return to localism, the whole
world is too big to worry about.
Art
 As people emphasized
post modern quality of
life, works that elevated
traditional
craftsmanship, like
weaving and furniture
making, were recognized
as art forms
Abstract Expressionism
 Creation of works that
make no attempt to create
visual reality. Jackson
Pollack- splatter paintings
 Also called action painting
or Tachisme
 New York replaces Paris as
the center of the art
world.(many artists like
Marc Chagall and Marcel
du Champ leave Europe
right after the war)
Pop Art
 Made images of Pop
culture into art. Andy
Warhol – Campbell’s Soup
Can. Roy Lichtenstein
 Challenged traditions for
fine art by using everyday
objects, mass culture
(comic books and
advertising) Rejection of
abstract expressionism
emphasizes the banal,
stresses Irony