Decolonization and the Cold War

As European empires ended, the US-USSR Cold War rivalry began. New, independent nations were emerging in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Two superpowers with very different governments, the US and the Soviet Union,¹ competed against each other to influence these new nations.

In Southeast Asia, the two superpowers got involved in local conflicts. In Latin America, the US influenced government and economic affairs to protect its own financial interests and stop the spread of communism. The USSR challenged the US for political influence in those areas. Over in Africa, the US and the USSR fought for economic and political influence in newly independent countries. These nations had just freed themselves from European control, but now they had to face American and Soviet intruders.

The Cold War in Asia

Mohandas Gandhi led a mostly peaceful independence movement against British control in South Asia. But British rule pitted religious groups against each other and civil war broke out between Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs. These groups competed for power and more than a million people died. To end the civil war, British India was separated. The Hindu-majority India was created, as well as Muslim-majority East and West Pakistan.

Pakistan joined an alliance with the US and other nations in 1954 to stop the spread of communism. Meanwhile, in 1955, India attended the Bandung Conference in Indonesia. There, they urged other nations to avoid taking sides with the US or the USSR. In 1965, the Cold War heated up in South Asia due to a disagreement over territory in the region of Kashmir. When the US stopped providing weapons to the area, India finally took control of Kashmir from Pakistan. The region remains in dispute to this day.

A civil war between East and West Pakistan in the early 1970s also involved India, the US, and the USSR. Most Pakistanis were Muslim, but did not share a language. West Pakistan controlled resources and the military, and forced its language, Urdu, on Bangla² speaking East Pakistanis. The US supported West Pakistan in the conflict, while India and the USSR supported East Pakistan. East Pakistan gained its independence in 1971 and become the country of Bangladesh. The violent conflict between Muslims and Hindus left behind scars that still impact South Asia today.

The Cold War was just as chilly in central Asia. The British Empire gave up full control of Afghanistan in 1919. However, certain ethnic groups were already divided on the southern border. Peoples like the Pashtuns and Uzbeks felt more loyalty to their tribes than a national identity. Their rough territories and remote locations made it easy to resist foreign influence. In the late 1970s, the USSR invaded Afghanistan. The US feared the spread of Soviet influence, so they funded Islamic fighters who would attack the Soviets, resulting in a conflict that lasted almost a decade. The US strategy bankrupted the Soviets and contributed to the collapse of the USSR. However, it also brought power to violent Islamic groups.

The Cold War in Latin America and the Caribbean

In Latin America, 300 years of Spanish colonial rule left communities divided along ethnic and economic lines. In Guatemala, only two percent of people owned three-fourths of the farmland. This wealthy European minority invited foreign business into Guatemala, hurting the indigenous people. The American-based United Fruit Company became the largest single land-owner in the country, hurting local banana farmers. In the 1940s, Guatemalans elected socialist leaders out of discontent with their situation. In the 1950s, these leaders gave land back to the poor Guatemalan communities. American businesspeople feared they would lose land and communist ideas would spread. They asked the government to get involved.

With the help of the C.I.A.,³ Guatemalan rebels overthrew the socialist government in 1954 and put an anti- communist in charge. This leader returned land to the United Fruit Company, continuing social divisions in Guatemala. Meanwhile, the US launched similar interventions in Costa Rica and Honduras.

In Cuba, the US failed to prevent communism. The USSR supported Fidel Castro’s communist government, while the C.I.A. tried to overthrow him. In 1961, Castro escaped an attempt to overthrow him called the “Bay of Pigs,” which was an embarrassing failure for the US. Outside of China and the USSR, Cuba was perhaps the most influential communist nation during the Cold War. In 1962, some of the tensest days of the Cold War occurred during the Cuban Missile Crisis, when it was discovered that Cuba was keeping Soviet nuclear missiles. Although no missiles were launched in the end, many believe nuclear war was barely avoided.

Not all of Castro’s policies were popular with Cubans, and many fled to the US. Under Communism, many Cubans have lived in poverty without access to many modern technologies, but the state does promote education and health care. It remains a communist country today.

American and Soviet involvement changed the course of Latin American history. Countries like Colombia and Argentina have had to address the painful effects of their Cold War dictatorships. Countries like Honduras must deal with extreme poverty and economic dependence on the US.⁴

The Cold War in Africa

As in Latin America and Asia, communist and socialist ideas were attractive to Africans after colonization ended. Anti-imperial and pan-African⁵ feeling was strong immediately following World War Two. Pan-Africanists felt a strong cultural pride in their African heritage, after much of it was taken during colonization. In the US, many African Americans began wearing traditional African clothing and started growing out their natural hair instead of straightening it.

The Belgian Congo in central Africa witnessed some of the greatest Cold War competition. A pan-Africanist named Patrice Lumumba led a movement against Belgian rule. Lumumba identified with communism and became independent Congo’s first Prime Minister in 1960. Immediately, he faced a chaotic situation. The US and Belgium wanted to keep their business ties in resource- rich places like Katanga. But Katanga also wanted to leave the Congo. The result was a series of violent conflicts. Some Congolese soldiers carried out atrocities against certain ethnic groups and also against Belgians.

No one would help Lumumba put down the rebellion in Katanga, so he turned to the Soviet Union. With the help of the US and Belgium, anti-communist members of the Congolese government executed Lumumba in 1961. Congolese military leaders took over and cut all ties to the USSR. This period of Cold War tensions and targeted attacks dramatically altered life in the Congo. Most European settlers fled, and a strong military dictatorship emerged in 1965. This left a legacy of anti- communism, corruption, and authoritarian rule.

Meanwhile, other African nations like Egypt ended their alliances with Western powers like Britain and France. Egyptian leaders received some aid from the US and the USSR, but they were mostly neutral in the Cold War. That is until the 1970s, when Egypt began to strengthen ties to the US.

In summary, decolonization and the Cold War were connected in many ways. As new nations emerged after European imperialism, they often had to side with the Americans or the Soviets when they needed help. Both superpowers became involved in foreign affairs often. They influenced politics in decolonizing nations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Cold War rivalries often produced instability, corruption, and authoritarian rule.

1 Soviet Union is an abbreviated way to say Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
2 Bangla (also called Bengali) is widely spoken in India, while Urdu is mostly limited to Pakistan. However, Urdu is spoken in some parts of India.
3 The C.I.A. (Central Intelligence Agency) is run by the federal government of the US It gathers global intelligence and information in the interest of US national security.
4 Two thirds of Hondurans live in extreme poverty (less than US$1.90 per day) according to a report from the World Bank in 2018.
5 Pan-Africanism generally refers to the belief in a more socialist Africa as well as a rejection of non-African political and economic influences.