This political world map shows the world in 1945 CE, marking the triumph of the Allied powers and the creation of the United Nations, with its five permanent member states: the Soviet Union, France, Britain, China, and the United States. But it also shows a world divided into two potentially antagonistic camps. Students might look across this map to predict potential Cold War flashpoints. They might also notice the persistence of empire. Will Africa, the Caribbean, Polynesia, and much of Asia remain under colonial rule forever?
1945 CE political map, by OER Project, CC BY 4.0.