The World after World War II

The World after World War II

Learning Objectives

To acquaint ourselves with

• Communist Revolution in China

• Cold War and the Non-Aligned Movement

• Korean War and the Cuban Missile Crisis

• Arab–Israeli Wars and Vietnam War

• European Economic Community and European Union

• Fall of Berlin Wall and the End of Cold War Era

Introduction

In the aftermath of Second World War a new era began. It was the beginning of the decline of European colonial empires and the independence of colonies in Asia and Africa. If the effects of World War I led to the communist revolution of Russia, the Second World War played a big part in the communist revolution in China. The emergence of the US and the USSR as super powers resulted in the division of the world into two antagonistic blocs. A cold war situation triggered deadly conflicts in Korea, Cuba, Vietnam and West Asia.

Under the Marshall Plan for reconstruction of the war-ravaged Europe, the US won the trust of the great powers in Europe. Soviet Russia, by demonstrating solidarity with the liberation struggles of countries in Asia and Africa, earned the goodwill of the latter.

The Non-Aligned Movement played a limited role in containing the conflict between the two power blocs. In a bid to wriggle out of US control, European countries started the European movement in the form of Council of Europe. This developed into the European Common Market and finally into what is today the European Union. The Cold War period ended with the fall of Berlin Wall.