Decolonization In The Cold War Essay

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Throughout the middle of the 1900’s, decolonization was flooding the globe. Many third world countries were growing tired of living in the shadow of the super powers of the world. The time of imperialism was ending and freedom of all states was on the rise. However, this freedom did not come without sacrifice due to the controlling empire’s refusal to let go. Many countries had bloodshed due to fighting for their freedom. However, some, such as the French, released countries without a fight (p. 23-24). As the super powers began to come across other issues, the colonized countries began to seek independence. An important ordeal that occurred during the twentieth century was the cold war. The cold war enhanced the will for decolonization by driving
The super powers were trying to stretch their beliefs to the rest of the world, especially the former colonized countries. The countries that choose to side with the Soviet Union were seen basically as victims of communism by the rest of the world. The Soviet Union were determined to spread Communism to countries around them and eventually the world. The United States made it their duty to stop this spread by interfering with the Soviet Union’s plans. For example, the Vietnam War, where the United States stepped in to aid South Vietnamese against Communism (p. 152). The United States feared the spread of this ideology to the point of sending soldiers to stop it from scattering out to smaller countries, South Vietnam in this case. However, the result was not victorious for the United States. Ben Bella compared the Vietnamese people to the Algerian people when it came to fighting for independence with a foreign power hovering over them (p. 155). Ben Bella was faced with many questions as to what would happen to the people with the influence of opposing powers of the cold war (p. 153-154). As people strived for their independence, the two sides that arose in the world following the cold war truly impacted the third world counties as they struggled to stand on their own feet. The struggle to influence the third world with two completely different ideologies only caused more conflict in the

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