5.1: A new world order

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• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 3

Program May - June

In the coming weeks we will focus on the following 2 paragraphs:

• 5.1: A New World Order 
•  5.2: Decolonisation in South-East Asia 

In the test week, you will do a test about par 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.5 and 5.1 and 5.2 

5.1: A new world order

Goals

1. The student knows what the following keywords mean: decolonisation, ethical policies, self-governance, right of self-determination, 
2. The student can explain 6 causes of decolonisation after WWII

Do you remember:
What is modern imperialism?

1. the racist view that ‘white’ Europeans are better than other people
2. the occupation of large parts of the world by European nations
3. a system in which the Dutch forced Indonesian farmers to work for them
4. the division and occupation of Africa by European powers

Decolonisation after WWII

In the 19th and early 20th century, European countries tried to colonize as many territories in the world, mainly in Africa and Asia. 

After WWII a process of decolonisation started: the process of a colony becoming independent from a colonising state. 

Why did this process take place? 

Do you remember?
What is the white man's burden?

1. To uphold peace in the world
2. Fairly divide the world between European powers
3. To civilize the non-white people in the world
4. Free the people in the colonies from their oppressors

The loss of their moral authority 

European countries felt they had the moral authority in the world. They knew best what was right and wrong and needed to guide other countries (white man's burden).

As a result of WWI and WWII, it became very difficult for the European countries to uphold their moral authority. They had caused/not prevented the horrors of WWI and WWII. 

Ethical politics

As the "superior race" the Europeans needed to take care of the people in their colonies and civilize them. This was called ethical politics. As a result, the European countries built hospitals, schools and provided better infrastructure. However --> the local inhabitants were not allowed to have any political say. 

Educated Africans and Asians learned about European history and the European ideals (democracy, equality, etc.), which they did not have for themselves. As a result:

• They became interested in their own history from the time before the Europeans had arrived --> they started to create their own identity. 
• They protested against economic exploitation and started to demand more opportunities for themselves. Nationalist movements even demanded self-governance.

How did the Japanese influence the process of decolonisation?

The influence of Japan

European countries had been military superior to Asian countries. This changed during WWII when Japan was able to occupy many Asian colonies. 

As a result:

• The Europeans lost their reputation of being invincible
• Nationalist movements grabbed the opportunity to declare independence when the Japanese were defeated

The United Nations

In 1945, the United Nations was founded. Its goals: 

• To create a platform where countries could talk to each other about matters of war, peace and development, in order to avoid future wars. 
• To promote values such as the right of self-determination for all peoples and human rights as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The result --> if a country joined the United Nations, countries indirectly declared that colonies would be allowed to claim their independence.

Questions

Do  8, 10 of paragraph 5.1 

The 6 causes of decolonisation

• The loss of economic and military power of European nations, because of the First and Second World Wars.
• The loss of moral power of European powers because of the First and Second World Wars.
• More people in the colonies had received a Western-style education because of ethical politics.
• European rulers looked down on people from the colonies and kept them in a subordinate position.
• Many European powers joined the UN, which stood for the right of self-determination for all peoples.
• The USA and the Soviet Union were against imperialism. They put pressure on European powers to relinquish their colonies.