Cookie Policy

Our website uses cookies to understand content and feature usage to drive site improvements over time. To learn more, review our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Cold War and Decolonization c. 1900 to the present: Unit 8 Overview

Driving Question: How did the intertwined trends of the Cold War and decolonization impact societies around the world from c. 1900 to the present?

The competition between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War intensified throughout the late 1940s, and continued until the end of the 1980s. Over this period, the two sides engaged in an aggressive arms race that threatened the world with the specter of nuclear war. While the United States and the Soviet Union ultimately did not fight each other directly, they each supported and emboldened smaller countries into engage in regional conflicts.

Learning Objectives

  1. Use map skills and geographic understanding to make predictions about regions you’ll encounter in this unit.
  2. Explain the historical context for the entanglement of the Cold War and decolonization after 1945.

Vocab Terms:

  • capitalism
  • Cold War
  • communism
  • decolonization
  • ideological
  • sovereignty
  • superpower
STEP 2

Unit 8 Overview

Two conflicts dominated the latter half of the twentieth century: decolonization and the Cold War. Two superpowers emerged from the destruction of World War II: the United States and Soviet Union. Learn how competition between these two superpowers led to the ideological conflict known as the Cold War.

Unit 8 Overview: Cold War and Decolonization External link

After 1945, a new conflict emerged between former World War II allies. At the same time, many colonized peoples fought a renewed struggle for independence. What connections linked the Cold War and decolonization?

Key Ideas

As this video progresses, key ideas will be introduced to invoke discussion.
STEP 3

Unit 8 Introduction: Cold War and Decolonization

This article provides an overview of the complicated global tensions that emerged after World War II, setting the stage to help you learn more about the entangled conflicts of the Cold War and decolonization later in this unit

STEP 4

Closer: Cold War and Decolonization