Africa, the Middle East, and
Asia in the Era of
Independence
Getting Independence was the easy
part.....
• Former colonies had challenges building new viable nations
that could prosper in the global economy and provide
opportunities for all social groups
• All problems come from this premise.....
The Challenges to Independence
• Nationalist leaders had made followers believe that they
could create a better life after the Europeans were gone and
this leads to disappointment among the public
• Lack of resources, so no chance at distributing them evenly
among the population
• Rivalries between groups slowly developed and would lead
to political instability and in some extreme cases famine
• Leaders needed to address population increases, urban
growth, rural problems, and environmental damage
The Population Problem
• During the colonial era food crops and an end to war and
famine (with new railroads) greatly increased the population
• South Asia already had a large population and this added to
it
• Africa had a small population, so any adjustment upward
was significant
• Strong resistance to birth control methods because of
cultural or religious beliefs
• Lack of capacity (education and resources) to change habits
and develop family planning
• European policy of limiting industrialization in their colonies
hurt population of colony because the increasing
population had no where to work nor a place from which to
draw resources for their growing population
Bad Moves to the Cities
• Prospect of job opportunities in cities draws people from the
villages but lack of industrial jobs means that these people
have no work
• They turn to street vending, petty crime, and begging to
survive
• They are sometimes used for political purposes to fight for
one politician or another
• They have to get basic resources from the rural areas, thus
depriving rural areas of their own necessities
Environmental Problems
• Explosive population growth leads to rural overcrowding and
soil depletion, erosion, deforestation, overgrazing
• This is intensified by industrial pollution and no regulations
on it
• Lack of new environmental technology means governments
can't lesson the damage even if they wanted to
Women and Feminist Struggles in the
Postcolonial Era
• Women played large roles in fight for independence
• After independence was won and rights enshrined in the
constitutions of the new countries, these were largely
ignored
• Women who did become powerful were only powerful
because they were connected to powerful men:
o Indira Gandhi- daughter of Jawaharal Nehru ( India's first
prime minister)
o Benazir Bhutto- daughter of Pakistani prime minister
• Some obstacles: early age of marriage, many children,
persistence of male-centric customs (i.e.women eating after
men), spread of religious revivalism, lack of education and
resources
Challenge to the Economies
• These countries usually export crops and raw materials
(cheap items, whose price fluctuates often but is in overall
decline)
• These countries import manufactured goods (expensive
items)
• In addition, the leaders are often corrupt and have enriched
their own family members rather than help the economy
o failure to redistribute land
o failure to enact social reform
• Rely on loans from international organizations like the World
Bank, International Monetary Fund
A Return to Authoritarian Rule
• Ghana- Kwame Nkrumah- leader of the independence
movement genuinely tried to initiate reform but when
challenged by rivals and a weak economy he quickly began
to consolidate power and he became a dictator
o suppressed opposition
o grew ties to Communist Party
o eventually overthrown by a military coup
Military Response
• military is often the only group that can restore order BUT
they are usually only trained in the use of force, which they
dispense freely and without conscience
• Bad military regimes squash political and civil liberties:
o Uganda (under Idi Amin)
o Myanmar
o Congo
The Case of Egypt
• Egypt had gotten independence in 1930s but political parties did
little to solve the nations problems
• Free Officers Movement (wanted to take power in a real revolution)
allied itself to the Muslim Brotherhood (a Muslim organization
committed to social change but who later became highly politicized)
• 1948 Egypt defeated in Arab-Israeli war
• Clashed with British over continued occupation of Suez Canal
• 1952 Gamal Abdul Nasser takes power in military coup
• All political parties disbanded by 1954
• Enacted broad changes intended to help the Egyptian masses:
o public education
o land reform
o tax reform
o 5-year plans to industrialize
contd.
• 1956 manages to finally oust the British from the Suez canal
• Supported other revolutions in the Arab world and wanted to
get rid of Israel
• Other great initiatives began failing
• Anwar Sadat takes over and dismantled the state structure
that Nasser had made and allowed more foreign and private
investment
• Hosni Mubarak continued this
• Continuing problems:
o population growth
o corrupt bureaucracy
o uneven distribution of wealth
• These problems lead to the growth of Muslim fundamentalist
movements (one of which assasinated Sadat)
Case Study: India
• India different because:
o it kept civilian rule (instead of military rule)
o came into independence with a larger industrial and scientific
center as well as larger middle class
o good leadership (Jawaharlal Nehru and the Congress party) that
was committed to freedom, democracy, and social reform
• Result: India is the world's largest democracy with a vocal
opposition and vibrant and independent free press
• Economic policies pushed a mix of private and state intervention
schemes
• Green Revolution- introduction of new fertilizers and agricultural
technology to increase crop yield
• Despite success, there is still a large gap between the rich and poor
in India due to inadequate resources and the stubborness of the
wealthy to keep land to themselves
Case Study: Iran
• 1979 Revolution- Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini- movement
to purify religion and rejoin religion and politics (similar to the
Mahdi of the Sudan in the 1880s) and rid the Islamic world
of Western Imperlialists and corrupt Arab leaders
• Why Iran?
o Iran never fully taken over by the west (just spheres of
influence between Great Britain and Russia)
o State directed development under the Pahlavi shahs
helped maintain economic independence and prosperity
but offended the middle class, the ayatollahs, and the
mullahs, the rural poor, and the military
• So, demonstrations in 1978/79 easily ousted the weak shah
Iran under Khomeini
• Drastic changes
o repression of constitutional parties
o moderates replaced by radical religious leaders
o foreign influences ousted
o Islamic legal codes put in place
o veiling for women became obligatory
• Invasion by Iraq under Saddam Hussein, who won some
territory but angered public, who wanted to surrender (1988
peace deal)
• Result is an isolated Iran with a weak economy and weak
institutions
Case Study: South Africa
• By 1970s it was the largest, most populous, and richest area
still under colonial domination
o Afrikaners (white settlers)- had controlled the country
through the Nationalist party since 1948 (Nationalists had
gotten independence from Great Britain in 1960)
o set up a system of Apartheid, a series of harsh racial
policies, where the white minority kept political and
economic power (segregation huge)
o police state funded by rich mineral revenues
o protest prohibited
o African National Congress illegal
o Walter Sisulu and Nelson Mandela in jail
o Steve Biko killed
Change in South Africa
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•
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•
1980s weak economy due to international boycott
black liberation movements in neighboring countries strong
F.W. de Klerk- moderate Afrikaner leader pushed for reform
1990 Mandela released from jail
1994 free elections lead to ANC to come to power under the
leadership of Mandela, who becomes president
Persisting problems
• interethnic rivalries between Zulus and Xhosas
• white supremacist organizations
• redistribution of wealth
Reformers: Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk
Elections in South Africa