Global Cold War

The Cold War was a significant period in which the superpowers, the U.S and the USSR aimed at promoting their capitalist and communist ideas respectively. The Cold War effectively interacted with decolonization by motivating leaders to take up the initiative to lead their own countries out of the bondage of colonialists. More so, the Cold War intersected with the American civil rights movements by orchestrating changes in the manner in which African Americans were viewed and treated in the country. They became free individuals because of the successful fight against the high levels of racism that were in place at this time. Decolonization has been a fundamental happening across different situations including the Cold War and the civil rights movement because of the instrumental role it plays in giving people their freedom and autonomy.

How the Tensions of the Cold War Interacted with the Global South and Decolonization According to Bradley and Marks 

The Cold War, decolonization and the global South were global processes that basically overlapped as far as time is concerned. The three processes were interrelated with complex interrelationships. To begin with, it is crucial to understand the three processes. The cold war refers to the strained relations that existed between the western world principally by the United States and the USSR after the Second World War. Decolonization refers to the process of removal of colonial authorities overseas. On the other hand, the global south refers to the countries in Africa, the Latin America, and Asia which includes the Middle East. This paper provides an argument that the cold war primarily led to the processes of decolonization and the global south.

Rivalries experienced during the Cold War shaped the processes of decolonization and the global south in various ways. These rivalries prompted the Chinese to provide loans to the African states that were newly independent in order to break off from the chains of colonization. Moreover, the Pan African movement rose up with key Pan African leaders to fight for the decolonization of Africa. This movement exerted considerable pressure over the decolonization of Africa. Under, Kwame Nkrumah, one of the Pan African movement leaders from Ghana, he led the advocacy of Pan Africanism as he play played his active role in both local and international anticolonial politics. For instance, in 1958, under the spirit of Bandung, he helped in convening the All Africans Peoples Conference that urged the African states to close the ranks caused by politics of super power caused by the Cold War. He argued the African states to work in the promotion of mutual assistance in social development as well as economic development. Moreover, the overthrowing and the assassination of Patrice Lumumba in 1961 whereby the United States had culpability to his death further strengthened the pan African movement. This is because Lumumba was a committed member to the movement. The superpowers were unable to control this decolonization wave both in Africa and in the Caribbean.

The cold dynamics played a crucial role in the global south as the global south sought to break from the politics of the Cold War in order to develop itself. For instance, the death of Stalin in 1953 led to the soviet diplomacy fundamental reassessment as well as global Souths place in it[footnoteRef:4]. Developments that took place in the global south were viewed through the lens of the cold war. Just like the soviets, the Americans were also actively engaged in efforts in the promotion of development Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Under the theory of modernization, the policy makers of the United States provided a universal development model which led to the change from traditional to modern societies. Both the United States and the soviet unions worked hard to develop the global south with the United States using its modernization theory.

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How Decolonization and the Cold War Interacted with the Civil Rights Struggle in the US

The civil rights struggle refers to the struggle by the African Americans in the 1950s and 1960s in order to equal civil rights as those of the whites among them being equal opportunities in employment, the right to education, the right to housing, the right to vote, and the equality in accessing public facilities as well as freedom from racial discrimination. The civil rights movement in the United States coincided with the cold war and the decolonization process in Asia and Africa. Decolonization is related to the civil rights movement in the United States. Decolonization interacted with the civil rights movement because African-Americans pushed for the liberation of their rights from whites who wanted to dominate them in every aspect. For example, they were denied basic rights such as their civil rights in voting. The African Americans were racially segregated in terms of education and employment opportunities their fight was more of a decolonization from such enslavement that they had been exposed to by whites.

The African Americans were viewed as savages and uncivilized who were supposed to be civilized by the whites. They were involved in the slavery movement as slaves as they were stereotypically perceived to be able to withstand the harsh weather conditions in the plantations. Therefore, decolonization interacts with the civil rights struggle as in the civil rights struggles, the African Americans were advocating for their rights and freedoms that were fundamental to their quality of living. They also wanted to break the stereotype of White supremacy as witnessed in the process of colonization. They wanted to have an active role to vote and be voted for and to have access to employment opportunities just as the Whites.

The Cold War also interacted with the civil rights struggle in the United States. The cold war in involved a conflict between the Western bloc and the Eastern bloc. The highlights of this conflict included Russias overwhelming encroachment and dominance of Eastern Europe. Russia used her military might to impose communist governments on many states like Poland and Romania. They also fanned civil wars like the Greek civil war of 1946. There were widespread outbreaks of violence and demands of freedoms in Poland and Romania, based on western ideologies, in politics and economy. With the upcoming threat from Russia, the civil rights movement also stood strong with the view of ensuring that equality is attained in America and that they are able to stand together as a country regardless of racial differences.

How Iran and Afghanistan Represent a Shift Away from Older Cold War Ideological Frameworks

Iran and Afghanistan stand out as some of the most controversial countries of the contemporary world because of their approach to different matters that are not ordinarily approved by superpowers such as the United States. It is worth noting that the older Cold War ideology was basically anchored on differences in opinions and political competition between the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The Western Bloc, which was made up of the U.S. and NATO allies espoused capitalistic views while the Eastern Bloc made up of the Soviet Union and allies from the Warsaw Pact promoted the communism position hence leading to the development of the Cold War, as each of these superpowers aimed at asserting its position across the world.

Nevertheless, Iran and Afghanistan have shifted the Cold War ideological framework from the situation where the competition was between communism and capitalism to a scenario where superpowers such as the U.S are concerned about the frequent terrorist activities brought about by these countries to the globe. Many cases of terrorism emanating from both Iranian and Afghan suicide bombers have shaped the new form of Cold War as the U.S continues to focus on bringing down institutions promoting these activities. For instance, after the 9/11 attack, the U.S. was quick to react in terms of sending troops to Afghanistan as George W. Bush focused on crashing all the terrorist activities in the country hence increasing the level of protection for the United States of America and other countries around the world. Thus, the war between the Al Qaeda forces and the U.S. armed forces is a highlight of the shift in the Cold War framework to a situation where the U.S. has to find itself fighting for the protection of the rights of its own people. In the same sense, Iran has continued with its activities of preparing and testing weapons of mass destruction, as much as the U.S. is opposed to this. This has played an instrumental role in shifting the framework for the old Cold War to a scenario. The presence of terrorists complicates the situation further in the relationships between these two countries and the U.S. As much as the anti-communist threat has disappeared, the U.S. has reasserted its security policy with the determination to completely prevent and eliminate the terrorist threats paused by these two countries. The Cold War has been aggravated by the United States continued involvement in these countries through military action in Afghanistan and policy sanctions on Iran, which has been reluctant to quite the development and testing of weapons of mass destruction. It remains for the world to experience the changes.

How the Work of Film Director Pontecorvo Intersect with Modernity and Decolonization

Gillo Pontecorvo was an instrumental filmmaker from Italy who worked as a film director for more than a decade. His best known work is The Battle of Algiers. It is worth noting that the work of Pontecorvo intersects with the aspect of modernity by essentially focusing on the city life of the people and the manner in which the city is able to bring them together into one common ideology. This means that people from different walks of life are able to meet and interact with each other despite their differences in ideologies. For instance, the work, The Battle of Algiers, the city intersects with modernity because of its ability to undergo a process of characterization that make people one single unit. The Casbah as highlighted in the works of Pontecorvo becomes a city for the common person rather than the colonizer hence illustrating the shifting leve of modernity from the days they were colonized to the time when most individuals are having access to better lives in the city.

More so, the works of intersect with decolonization in two ways. Firstly, it is exhibited by the refusal of the Algerian women to remove the veil. The veil is a reflection of their non-reciprocity and uncompromising nature when dealing with colonizers. The veil does not only the refusal of women to bend to the colonial masters, but the overall feeling of the general population in respect to refusing to submit to the colonizers. The high level of resistance as exhibited in the works of Pontecorvo is an illustration of the decolonization spirit that had entered the hearts of many countries taken hostage by colonialists. More so, the intersection between the works of Pontecorvo and decolonization is illustrated by the larger indigenous population of Algiers coming out to the streets of the city to protest and claim their own independence. The works bring out the view that decolonization lies in the ability of individuals to work together as a team rather than one person trying to work for the rest of the population.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is clear from the above questions that the Cold War sparked various views among different groups of that looked forward to colonization. For example, in the U.S., the civil rights movement became more vibrant with the primary aim of decolonizing African Americans from white domination. The initial Cold War ideologies were anchored on communism and capitalism, but Iran and Afghanistan have shifted this framework as most of it is based on the fight against terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. As a film director, Pontercorvo was effective in illustrating decolonization through the veil and the protests of locals in the cities. This is the road to freedom that has been achieved by many countries so far.

 

 

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