Introduction
The post World War II (WW2) period is significant because many new states emerged in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, gaining independence from their colonizers. The people living at that time were engaged in nationalist movements, although they manifested differently in various parts of the world. For instance, in China, the communist movement was the leader of the people in gaining independence. In other parts of the world, independence was achieved through negotiations and agreements. This paper aims to examine the post-WW2 period and explain the decolonization in Asia and Africa, its specifics, and how the people living at that time experienced these events.
Major Events after WW2
WW2 affected the world order and resulted in significant rearrangements. According to Tignor et al. (2014), WW2 resulted in the following – the war itself left the unresolved issues of WW1 and heightened them, such as plans of Germany and Japan to expand their political impact on other states, and the United States and the Soviet Union becoming superpowers. Moreover, WW2 greatly affected Europe, since the majority of the states were left in ruins, and this inevitably had an impact on the people living there. Japan was recovering from the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, while the United States was engaged in helping rebuild Europe to form an alliance against the Soviet Union (Tignor et al., 2014). The weakened states could not resist the demands of their colonies for autonomy.
This allowed people in colonized countries to reconsider their nationalistic views and fight for their independence. The colonization had a negative effect on the people living in the colonies, not only because the natural resources and labor were exploited by the colonies, but also because the presence of them created boundaries where none existed (Office of the Historian, n.d.). Thus, a lack of national, ethnic, linguistic, or even political affinity was present across the colonies.
Decolonization in Asia
The period after WW2 is notable for the Asian and African regions because of the extensive decolonization, since people engaged in civil wars, conflicts, or negotiations to gain independence. Between 1945 and 1960, more than ten states in these regions achieved autonomy from the colonial countries in Europe (Office of the Historian, n.d.). The process of decolonization was not heterogeneous and occurred differently in different regions.
In some, it was peaceful, while others achieved statehood through protests and conflicts, depending on the context and the view of nationalism in a particular state. Moreover, the development of these states after the decolonization was different as well, with some falling under a dictatorship and others developing a democratic rule (Tingor et al., 2014; Office of the Historian, n.d.). In some cases, the European states welcomed independence, while other conflicts arose.
Notably, this process occurred during the Cold War between the Soviet Union and The United States, which also affected the process. Additionally, according to the Office of the Historian (n.d.), “during World War II Japan, itself a significant imperial power, drove the European powers out of Asia. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, local nationalist movements in the former Asian colonies campaigned for independence rather than a return to European colonial rule” (para. 10).
The decolonization process had the following pattern – “civil war, negotiated independence, and incomplete decolonization” (Tignor et al., 2014, p. 755). For example, in China, the communists led the nationalist movement. Tignor et al. (2014) argue that in Asia, people did not want to restore the colonial or quasi-colonial rule of Japan, especially considering the fact that the state was weakened by the war.
The increasing tensions affected the development of the Manhatten Project, which affected the aftermath of WW2. Overfieled (2013) cites the letter from Neville Chamberline, who warned the United States about an atomic bomb project in Germany and advised developing a similar one. The bomb was later used to destroy Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which was the final stage of WW2 and affected Japan’s impact within the Asian region.
Overfield (2013) provides some primary sources to help understand the aftermath of WW2, specifically for Japan. The diary of Iwao Nakamura, in which he portrays the events that happened in Hiroshima, helps understand how Japan dealt with the post-war consequences. More specifically, the boy recalls the day of the bombing, stating that he was used to alarms because the city was often targeted by the military.
The bombing erased some of the city’s regions within minutes, which later resulted in many debates regarding the use of nuclear weapons. Henry Stimson published “the decision to use the atomic bomb,” explaining the thought process of President Truman and the Interim Committee (Overfield, 2013). Notably, in the aftermath of the events, the classification of the states as First World, Second World, and Third World emerged.
India and some African states were able to gain independence through negotiations, although in some states such as Algeria and South Africa the process of nationalization was obstructed by the fact that many European settlers still resided in the countries. According to Tignor et al. (2014), “Indian nationalists and many African leaders achieve independence through negotiations,” although the process “involved a little bloodshed”(p. 782; p. 756). India was ready for independence, and because the British were afraid of coercion, they decided to withdraw their forces and grant independence. However, India did struggle with defining the type of governance it should have and the state organization, which almost led to a civil conflict.
People were thinking about and experiencing historical events differently since different ideologies were dominant in different parts of the world. In China, communists carry out a revolution, led by Mao Zedong, which continued the unresolved conflict between communists and nationalists from WW1 (Tignor et al., 2014). The latter was diverted in 1937 by the Japanese troops, providing the change to regroup and restore power for the communists.
Once Japan surrendered, the conflict between the nationalist and communist forces was reinforced. The communist movement was popular mainly with the people living in rural parts of China. From 1937 to 1945, the number of people who joined the communists increased from approximately 40,000 to 1,000,000 (Tingor et al., 2014). As a result, Mao Zedong established a so-called people’s state while the nationalists retreated to Taiwan.
Conclusion
Overall, this paper examined the development of events after WW2. This period is significant for Asia and Africa because many states gained independence from colonizers. This process was not heterogeneous, with different attitudes towards independence from the colonizers and different approaches to autonomy by the actual states. Hence, the people experienced these historical events differently, although the general trend of wanting to gain independence persisted across different regions.
References
Office of the Historian. (n.d.). Decolonization of Asia and Africa, 1945–1960. Web.
Overfield, J. H. (2013). Sources of global history since 1900 (2nd ed.). Cengage.
Tignor, A., Kotkin, A., & Tsin, M. P. (2014). Worlds together worlds apart/ Volume C: 17750 to present (4th ed.). W. W. Norton & Company.