Question

What affect did the Cold War have on Decolonization? What other issues created barriers to Decolonization efforts? Consider these questions as you respond in a well-developed answer using citations from your internet research.

Answer 1

Decolonization can be seen as the efforts of the effort of European countries to withdraw their formal, territorial claims over the other countries which were rules and occupied by them by force.

The cold war has a significant impact on the Decolonization efforts, in fact, the process of Decolonization was boosted due to the tension between the different countries. This was further ignited by the World War II. The strategies and actions of the USA created a productive environment for the withdrawal of European countries from the various occupied countries. In fact, along with Europe, USA tended to suppress the movement for independence in the different colonies where the local militarized Communist groups were present and they could join hand with the Soviet Union.

The main reason behind the European decolonization was not only limited up to the cold war. In fact, the two superpowers which emerged from the end of WWII was having a good friendly relationship, despite that the process of decolonization would have been continued.

The main conditions which really boosted the decolonization are as below:-

The economic and military power of European countries depleted significantly due to WWII. This was further boosted by the spread of technology, guerrilla warfare, and anti-axis militarized organizations in the colonies.

During WWII, the European powers became the subordinating power of the USA and thus the feeling of competition among these countries died down.

The economic aspect of the colonization was made insignificant due to United State’s huge lending and aid to rebuild the economies of various European countries

Some of the barriers to the decolonization are as below:-

Most of the European countries were having the competition among them to occupy a greater number of territories to have greater influence

Limited financial and natural resources also boosted the efforts of colonization

Naval power and military resources boosted the feeling of occupying other countries by force

The feeling of being supreme and occupy the grater and were the reasons for stopping or creating hurdle in the path of colonization

Reference:-

p.836, World History: A New Perspectives, by Clive Ponting, 2000, Pimlico.

Cf. (22-5) and p.666, Traditions & Encounters: A Brief Global History, by Jerry H. Bentley et al., 2008, reprinted by Peking University Press authorized by McGraw Hills.

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