the Superpowers

Unit Four: Self Determination and The End of the Cold War

Overview

The political situation that existed prior to the Second World War did not survive the war. The magnitude of the war diminished the resources of the European colonial powers and their willingness/ability to continue to exercise control over widespread colonial possessions. The people of the colonies were also prepared to challenge a return/continuation of prewar conditions. Indeed, prewar conditions could not return. Following the Second World War, two superpowers were to emerge. Only the United S tates and the Soviet Union had the realized and potential resources, to influence events and policies significantly on a global scale.

This unit will examine:

• how the rise of nationalism among colonized peoples and their demands for independence affected both the colonial power and the colonized peoples. The responses of the involved parties, the expressions of the struggle for independence in terms o f tactics, were to be varied;
• how the realities of the Cold War and the superpower confrontation were to impact the decolonization process;
• how the struggle between the superpowers, which continued for many decades, was to influence events throughout the world; and,
• how the numerous economic, social, and political forces that were in operation during the last decades of the 20th century were to lead to the fragmentation of the Soviet Union.

This unit will focus on the decades following the Second World War and the new political realities that were to dominate those decades. One of those realities was the rise of nationalism among colonized peoples. This nationalism was articulated in va rious independence movements. The process through which the colonies achieved political independence was characterized by both the use of violent and non-violent tactics.

Another pervasive feature was the Cold War - the ideological struggle between the new world superpowers, the Soviet Union and the United States. The realities of the Cold War, the superpower confrontation and the response of the various colonial power s to the new realities, were to all influence the decolonization process.

The struggle between the superpowers was to continue for four decades culminating in the fragmentation of the Soviet Union. With the fragmentation of the Soviet Union, various forms of ethnic nationalism

re-emerged in its former republics. In Eastern Europe, the former client states dislodged unpopular communist governments and reasserted their independence. The ending of the so-called Cold War did created new political realities of a global magnitud e.

Unit Four: Foundational Objectives

Concept: Self-Determination and the Superpowers

Knowledge Objectives The student will:

• Know that all nations must determine how to use their available human and material resources and that determination will involve choices among perceived/real demands on those resources.
• Know that scarcity is the relationship that occurs because the unlimited wants exceed the limited resources available to meet those wants.
• Know that major events/situations such as wars will affect the resources a nation has available and will influence how those resources are used.
• Know that distinct populations will seek to have control over the decision making processes which affect their lives.
• Know that groups seeking to fulfil their agendas have a number of alternative methods to achieve those agendas including the use of violent and nonviolent tactics.
• Know that nations will sometimes consider certain geographic regions, including other nations, as being of strategic importance to their interests and will seek to have a preponderance of influence over that region.
• Know that every society has to establish some fundamental criteria that can be used to justify the allocation of supreme power within that society to certain individuals or groups.

Skills/Abilities The student will:

• Learn and practise to synthesize parts into a meaningful whole, integrate them, and create a new product, rule or theory by:
• identifying the parts to be combined and the relationships among them;
• identifying a theme or organizer; and,
• identifying an effective means of presentation.
• Learn and practise defining and applying criteria as a basis for making decision and evaluations.
• Practise the basic research skills of:
• classifying information into meaningful categories;
• distinguishing between relevant and non-relevant information; and,
• summarizing information.
• Learn and practise making hypotheses based on reasonable assumptions and inferences.

Values Issues The student will discuss:

• Should domestic considerations take precedence over external considerations?
• Should external considerations take precedence over domestic considerations?
• How do governments determine/identify what needs will be met with the resources available to them?
• Do the ends justify the means or do the means justify the ends?
• Are there some causes/issues which justify the use of violence?
• Is it possible for diverse populations to live harmoniously within a single political entity?
• Is it possible to contain/restrict a political ideal or belief to a geographic area?
• What criteria should be used to determine a nation's foreign policy?
• Is it possible to win a nuclear war?
• Is it possible to limit a nuclear war?
• Is it possible to make a fair and accurate comparison between the standard of living of the populace of different nations?

Core Material for Unit 4

Core Content	Core Concepts	Suggested Time Allotment
New Political Realities: The Post War Period The Independence Struggle: The End of the Old Order Resistance to Colonial Independence	National Priorities Superpowers Self Determination Nationalism Resistance	5 hours
The Containment of Communism American Intervention in Vietnam Superpower Confrontation: The Cuban Missile Crisis Increasing Intervention: The U.S. in Vietnam	Containment Intervention Sphere of Influence Foreign Intervention Military Strategy	6 hours
End of the Cold War: Growing Economic Disparity Mikhail Gorbachev: Meeting the Challenges End of Soviet Hegemony in Eastern Europe: The Rise of Solidarity Collapse of the Soviet Union	Standard of Living Economic Disparity Decision Making Perestroika Social Contract Ethnic Diversity	5 hours

Time to cover the core material	16 hours
Time available to teach optional concepts, to enrich or reinforce, or to accommodate modifications to the pacing and timing factors through the use of the Adaptive Dimension	4 hours
Total class time	20 hours

The core material appears in bold type on the pages that follow. The remainder of the material in this unit is not core; teachers may choose to work through all, some or none of the material. This material should be seen as an opportunity to individu alize instruction for students with different levels of intellectual ability and motivation. Teachers may also choose to substitute locally developed material in optional areas where it is appropriate. Such material should reflect community interests an d must also meet the concepts, skills, and Values Objectives

of the course.