Step 4: Put It All Together

Now, take a step back and try to explain the big picture. Remember to use specific examples from the chapter in your answers.

Click here to download the exercise for Step 4 in MS Word.

ASIA AND THE MIDDLE EAST

  • How did Asian and Middle Eastern nationalists drawn on Western ideas and models during the struggle for independence?
  • What explains the dominant role the Israeli/Palestinian issue has played in Middle Eastern politics since 1945?
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AFRICA AND LATIN AMERICA

  • How did the circumstances under which Latin American and sub-Saharan African nations gained independence shape their subsequent development?
  • Why was the Cuban Revolution such an important turning point in Latin American history?
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THE LIMITS OF POSTWAR PROSPERITY

  • To what extent were the protest movements of the 1960s a product of postwar affluence? What other factors contributed to their emergence?
  • What were the most important forces for change in the postwar era? What important continuities were there between the pre- and postwar periods?
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LOOKING BACK, LOOKING AHEAD

  • Argue for or against the following proposition: “The European wars of the first half of the twentieth century made decolonization possible. Without them, the Western imperial system might still be in existence.” What evidence can you present to support your position?
  • In your opinion, in the next several decades will South and East Asia overtake Europe and North America as the dominant regions in the global economy? Why or why not?
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