Final Review

Alliance System- Group of countries working to achieve one goal. In ww1 the central powers composed
of Germany, Austria-hungary, ottman, and Bulgaria fought against the allied powers composed of
france, Italy, and Russia. Eventually japan entered the ally powers, and lastly joined by the US.
Anschluss- The occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938. First major step of
Hitlers creation of a Greater German Reich to include all ethnic german and al the lands and territories
which the german empire had lost after world war 1.
Atomic bomb- explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions. Two nuclear
weapons have been used in the course of warfare, both by the US near the end of world war 2. August
6, 1945 uranium fission bomb was detonated over the Japanese city of Hiroshima, 3 days later august 9,
a plutonium fission bomb was exploded over Nagasaki. Resulted in the death of 200,000 people,
resulting in Japans surrender.
Cold war- was a sustained state of political and military tension between powers in the wester bloc, US
and nato forces, against powers in the eastern bloc dominated by the soviet union. The two major
powers possessed nuclear weapons and thereby threatened with mutual assured destruction, but they
never met in direct military combat.
Crisis of Liberal Capitalism-
Cultural revolution- Was a social-political movement that took place in the peoples republic of china
from 1966 through 1976. Set into motion by Mao Zedong, its stated purpose was to enforce
communism in the country by removing capitalist, traditional, and cultural elements from Chinese
society.
Decolonization-
Deng Xiaoping- Reformist leader of the communist part of China, who after Maos death led his country
towards a market economy. Born into a peasant background, deng studied and worked in France in the
1920s. Deng opened china to foreign investment, the global market and limited private competition.
Goals of reforms were summed up by the four modernizations, those of agriculture, industry, science
and tech, and the military. Called the socialist market economy.
Fascism- form of radical authoritarian nationalism, that came to prominence in mid-20
th
century Europe.
Fascists seek to unify their nation through a totalitarian state that promotes the mass mobilization of
the national community. Fascism views political violence, war, and imperialism as a means to achieve
national rejuvenation and asserts that nations and races deemed superior should attain living space by
displacing ones deemed weak or inferior.
Glasnost & perestroika- Perestroika was a political movement for reformation within the communist
party of the soviet union during the 1980s. It allowed more independent actions from vaious ministries
and introduced some market-like reforms. The goal of was to make socialism work more effieciently.
Glasnost was policy that called for increased openness and transparency in government institutions and
activites in the soviet union.
Globalization- process of international integration arising from the interchange of world views, products,
ideas, and other aspects of culture.
Great depression- sever worldwide economic depression in dece preceding world war 2. Originated in
the US after the fall in stock prices that began around September 4, 1929. Personal incoe, tax revenue,
profits and prices dropped, while international trade plunged by more than 50%, unemployment in the
us rose to 25% and I nsome countries rose as high as 33%
Great leap forward- economic and social campaign of the communist party of china. Used chinas vast
population to rapidly transform the country fom an agrarian economy into a modern communist society,
through process of rapid insutrailization and collectivization. Led to severe famine because of
restrictions on private farming and economy regressed.
Holocaust- mass murder or genocide of approximately six million jews during ww2.
Leninism- body of political theory for democratic organization of a revolutionary vanguard party.
Comprises political and socialist economic theories, developed from Marxism, and lenins
interepretations of Marxist theory, for practical application to agrarian Russian empire.
Mao Zedong- Chinese communist revolutionary, politician. Founding father of Peoples Republic of China
he governed as chairman of the Communist Part oF china. Converted China into a single-party socialist
state, with industry and business being nationalized under state ownership and socialist reforms.
Marshall Plan- American program to aid Europe, in which the US gave economic support to help rebuild
European economies after WW2. Goals of the us were to rebuild a war-devastated region, remove trade
barriers, modernize industry, and make Europe prosperous again. By 1952 as the funding ended, the
economy of every participant state had surpassed pre-ware levels.
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk- Ottoman and Turkish army officer and first president of Turkey. Following the
defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, he led the Turkish national movement in the Turkish war
of independence. Seeked to trsform former Ottoman empire into a modern secular European nation
state.
Mutually assured destruction- doctrine of military strategy and national security policy in which a full
scale use of high yield weapons of mass destruction by two opposing sides would effectively result in the
complete annihilation of both attacker and defender. Operate under theory of deterrence according to
which the deployment, and implicit menace of use, of strong weapons is essential to threaten the
enemy to prevent them from using the same weapons. Nash equiilbium in which neither side has any
rational incentive either to initiate a conflict or to disarm.
Nazism- ideology of nazi party. Variety of fascism that incorporates biological racism and anti-Semitism.
Major elements of Nazism have been described as far-right such as allowing domination of domination
of society by people deemed racially superior while purging society of people deemed inferior.
Partition of india- Was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics. This led to
the creation of sovereign states of Pakistan and India. Set forth by Indian Independence Act 1947 and
resulted in the dissolution of the british indian empire and the end of the british Raj.
Schlieffen Plan- Strategic plan for victory in a possible future war in which the german Empire might find
itself fighting on two fronts: France to the west and Russia to the east. Plan to avoid a two-front war by
conventrating troops in the west and quickly defeating the French and then, rushing tropps by rail to the
east to face Russians before they had time to fully mobilize. Was implemented in WW1 howeever
French counter attack in paris and speedy Russian offensives end german offensive.
Trench warfare- form of land warfare using occupied fighting lines consisting largely of trenches, in
which troops are protected from small arms and artillery. Most prominent case of trench warfare is the
western front in WW1.
Truman doctrine- international relations policy set forth by US president harry Truman which stated that
the us would support Greece and turkey with economic and military aid to prevent them from falling in
soviet sphere. Historians often consider it as the start of the Cold War, as a containment policy to soviet
expansion.