REVIEW XII

DENG XIAOPING 1976: replaced Mao Zedong as leader of

communist China; introduced new economic reforms but little extension of individual political rights

Four Modernizations: an attempt by Deng to promote trade and contact with the West; he introduced reforms in the areas of farming, industry, science and technology, and defense

Deng reformed land distribution and allowed private ownership after government needs were met; private businesses helped China’s economy; also led to an increasing gap between rich and poor

Deng encouraged foreign investments of technology and capital

TIANANMEN SQUARE (1989) Chinese students peacefully protested lack of

political freedoms On Deng Xiaoping’s orders, the government

opened fire on defenseless citizens and killed or wounded thousands

A demonstration of the importance that government placed on maintaining order

Deng Xiaoping, as a moderate leader, was willing to make economic reforms, but not political ones

GLOBALIZATION Goal: a global economy to facilitate the

movement of goods and trade, associated with the term free trade (trade unrestricted by state limits as it crosses borders)

IMF (International Monetary Fund), established in 1944 to promote free trade and increase growth rates of nations

GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade), concluded in 1947 to lessen barriers and promote free trade (123 member nations by 1994), all agreed to form the WTO (World Trade Organization)

NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), concluded in 1993 – the United States, Canada, and Mexico created the world’s largest free-trade zone

OPEC (ORGANIZATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES) An organization of producers of oil

established in 1960 Member nations include Abu Dhabi, Algeria,

Ecuador, Gabon, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Kuwait, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela

Goal: to control the price of oil through cooperation

Power lessened in the 1980s as a result of overproduction and the Iran-Iraq and Gulf wars

MIKHAIL GORBACHEV Controlled the Soviet Union from 1985 to

1991 Introduced reforms glasnost (openness) and

perestroika (economic restructuring); led people to speak out against the Soviet state

Backed free-market reforms, which were in direct violation of the communist economic philosophy

Mid-1991: communist hardliners attempted an unsuccessful coup d'état, which was followed by Gorbachev’s resignation

Agreed not to enforce the Brezhnev Doctrine, a pledge to maintain Communism in satellite nations, instead allowing Eastern bloc nations to determine their own political futures

IRON CURTAIN: DEMISE In November 1989, the Berlin Wall was

opened, allowing people to travel freely from east to west; soon the entire wall was torn down, symbolizing the end of the Cold War

With the end of the Cold War, democracy spread across eastern Europe, and the Iron Curtain that had for so long represented the symbolic division of Europe no longer existed

FALL OF SOVIET UNION Failed invasion of Afghanistan contributed to

the decline as resources were strained to support an unpopular and ultimately unsuccessful attempt to expand Soviet influence

Gorbachev’s reforms: glasnost (openness) and perestroika (economic restructuring) led people to speak out against the Soviet state

1989: the fall of the Berlin Wall East Germany no longer was backed by the Soviet Union

Solidarity movement in Poland, led by Lech Walesa, was outlawed by Soviets but ultimately successful

1991: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania regained independence, and other Soviet republics followed

NUCLEAR ARMS RACE SINCE THE FALL OF SOVIET UNION With the collapse of the Soviet Union, both

the United States and Russia dramatically reduced their nuclear weapons spending

India and Pakistan, two nations with a violent history of territorial disputes, raced to develop nuclear weapons

Today only five other nations have successfully tested nuclear weapons

GENOCIDE The killing of a specific group of people based on

specific ethnic, religious, or racial characteristics Holocaust, led by Hitler in Germany, included a

plan called the Final Solution to eliminate the Jews and produce a “pure” Aryan race

Ethnic cleansing, led by Slobodan Milosevic in the Balkans, was an attempt to eliminate Bosnians

Ethnic conflict in Rwanda led to a mass killing of Hutus and Tutsis as they wrestled for control

Genocide was committed in Cambodia (Kampuchea) and Armenia

1948: the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states the rights that all human beings are born with; the UN has put on trial those who have violated the declaration

FEMINISM Women make up 40 to 50 percent of workforce in

industrialized societies, 20 percent in developing countries

Jobs characterized as “women’s work”: teaching, clerical work

Discrimination in the workplace is the catalyst for the women’s movement; women also fought for equality in all aspects of life, including control over their own bodies (birth control, abortion)

U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbids discrimination based on sex or race

China: women have never gained full equality, although communist governments did grant them more rights; traditional Confucian values limit their ability to advance

India; in 1980s, literacy rate low among women (25%)

ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM The term is often used by western sources to

describe an extreme movement to replace secular states with Islamic ones

Increased in response to opposition to westernization reforms in Muslim countries

Libya: Muammar al-Qaddafi gained power in 1969 government based on Islamic principles

Iran 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini led Islamic fundamentalists, wrestled control of government from ailing shah instituted Islamic Republic

Turkey in effort to overturn Western reforms first introduced by Kemal Ataturk, Islamic fundamentalists increased their power by increasing influence in political parties in 1990s

INTIFADA Part of the Arab-Israeli conflict over the

struggle for control of Israel that began as a result of U.N. Resolution 181, in which the United Nations created Israel from lands claimed by Palestinians

Launched in 1987 by young Palestinians, the intifada (uprising) attacked Israeli soldiers with homemade bombs and rocks

Crackdowns on violence by the Israeli government only fueled further conflict

PERSIAN GULF WAR (1991) Saddam Hussein’s Iraq troops invaded Kuwait

and took control of its oil fields The U.S. response was initially a trade

embargo but saw this action as a threat to the flow of oil and to Saudi Arabia

However, with Middle Eastern nations pitted against each other, peace-keeping troops were soon sent in to Saudi Arabia

Hussein refused to withdraw his troops; the Persian Gulf War began and quickly ended after Kuwait was liberated and Hussein withdrew

ASIAN TIGERS Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and

Taiwan enjoyed rapid growth rates and were major economic powers by the 1980s

Competed economically with Japan, even though they suffered from limitations (lack of natural resources, overpopulation, and shortage of capital)

Later joined by Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia

GLOBAL PROBLEMS Poverty: Unequal distribution of resources and

income (scarcity) leads to poverty, especially in underdeveloped areas of Africa, Latin America, eastern Europe, and Asia people lack food, clean water, and adequate shelter

Trafficking: Women, children and others may be used to transport drugs or forced into servitude especially in Russia, Ukraine, and South Asia

HIV/AIDS: An infection that can spread through sexual intercourse, through blood transfusion or contact with infected blood, or from mother to child during birth or breast feeding especially problematic in African countries

Terrorism: The deliberate use of unpredictable violence, especially against civilians for political goals

NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS (NGOS) A group that has no connection to a

government; not funded by one government United Nations (outgrowth of unsuccessful

League of Nations): created post-World War II in an attempt to find solutions to global problems led to the creation of other international organizations, such as the World Health Organization

The Red Cross: International humanitarian agency, created to help prisoners of war, the wounded, and civilians in wartime; later extended to peacetime

Greenpeace: Environmental organization goal to preserve earth’s natural resources and wildlife