The development of ideas, beliefs, and religions illustrates how groups in society view themselves, and the interactions of societies and their beliefs often have political, social, and cultural implications.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
Explain various reactions to existing power structures in the period after 1900.
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
KC-6.2.V Although conflict dominated much of the 20th century, many individuals and groups— including states—opposed this trend. Some individuals and groups, however, intensified the conflicts.
KC-6.2.V.A Groups and individuals challenged the many wars of the century, and some, such as Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela, promoted the practice of nonviolence as a way to bring about political change.
KC-6.2.V.C Militaries and militarized states often responded to the proliferation of conflicts in ways that further intensified conflict.
KC-6.2.V.D Some movements used violence against civilians in an effort to achieve political aims.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Responses that intensified conflict:
§ Chile under Augusto Pinochet
§ Spain under Francisco Franco
§ Uganda under Idi Amin
§ The buildup of the military–industrial complex and weapons trading
Movements that used nonviolence
§ Mohandas Gandhi
§ Martin Luther King Jr.
§ Nelson Mandela
Movements that used violence:
§ Shining Path
§ Al-Qaeda
Augusto Pinochet leader of the military junta that overthrew the socialist government of Chile on September 11, 1973: 1973 coup (CIA Involvement)
November 3, 1970 -- Allende
Salvador Allende, as leader of the Unidad Popular (Popular Unity party), defeats a former president, Jorge Alessandri, to assume the presidency
Allende implements controversial social and economic reforms in his “Chilean Way to Socialism” program.
Goal: to exterminate leftism in Chile and to reassert free-market policies in the country’s economy
Methods:
harsh suppression of dissent
1973-1990 (130,000 detained and est. 3,000 killed)
1998 -- Spain requested his extradition for torturing Spanish citizens in Chile
2004 the National Commission on Political Imprisonment and Torture issued report
35,000 cases of torture
2005 -- Died before he could be tried for human rights abuses
Economic impact:
close relationship with USA and policy to reassert free-market policies in the country’s economy resulted in:
economic boom between 1976 and 1979
lower rate of inflation
In 1935 Franco became army chief of staff
When a leftist coalition won the next round of elections in February 1936, he and other military leaders began discussing a coup
July 18, 1936, military officers launched a multipronged uprising that put them in control of most of the western half of the country
Franco’s role was to fly to Morocco and begin transporting troops to the mainland
He also made contacts with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, securing arms and other assistance that would continue throughout the duration of what became known as the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)
Under Franco (until his death in 1975)
largely stayed out of WWII
50,000 Spanish volunteers fought alongside the Germans on the Soviet front
opened Spanish ports to German submarines
invaded the internationally administered city of Tangier in Morocco
Policies
26,000 political prisoners by mid-1940s
Catholicism the only tolerated religion
banned the Catalan and Basque languages outside the home
forbade Catalan and Basque names for newborns
barred labor unions
promoted economic self-sufficiency policies
created a vast secret police network to spy on citizens
After WWII
faced diplomatic and economic isolation
1953 -- allowed the United States to construct three air bases and a naval base on its soil in return for military and economic aid
June 1977 (after Franco's death) -- first democratic elections
President Idi Amin of Uganda is one of the most brutal dictators of post-independence Africa.
1971 -- overthrew the elected government of Milton Obote
He sends out killing squads to eliminate political opponents.
targeted Acholi and Lango, Christian tribes that had been loyal to Obote
estimated 300,000 civilians were massacred
He then targets African-Asians, and expels over 80,000 from Uganda, seizing their assets.
1972- Ugandans seek refuge in Britain after Ugandan Dictator Idi Amin expels 80,000 African-Asians, Israelis and Britons from Uganda. Many flock to Britain.
As immigrants to Uganda from Commonwealth countries, many have British passports and in two months the UK admits 28,000 of them.
This move is later largely blamed for the collapse of the Ugandan economy.
Because the United States was determined to retain military superiority and because the Soviet Union was equally determined to reach parity with the United States, both sides amassed enormous arsenals of thermonuclear weapons and developed a multitude of systems for deploying those weapons.
Not until the 1960s did the Soviet Union approach parity, and by the end of that decade both sides had achieved what Richard Nixon later called “essential equivalence” in their strategic forces.
by 1970 both superpowers had acquired the capacity for mutually assured destruction, or MAD
the balance of terror restrained the contestants and stabilized their relationship
Maoist guerrillas who initiated a 12-year terrorist war from 1980-1992 (the organization continued until 1999)
compared by some to the Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge in Cambodia
began its revolutionary campaign in remote areas of the Andes
engaged in bombings and assassinations and other terrorist acts in various urban centres, including Lima and Callao
funded activities through cocaine trade
Results
seriously disrupted Peru's economy
69,000 people were killed or “disappeared”
around 500,000 were driven from their homes
Shining Path ( Sendero Luminoso) responsible for 54% of the dead, government forces for around a third and village militias for most of the rest
Background
Salafism -- The word "salaf" is Arabic for "ancient one" and refers to the companions of the Prophet Mohammed. Arguing that the faith has become decadent over the centuries, Salafists call for the restoration of authentic Islam as expressed by an adherence to its original teachings and texts.
Initially (1928) they were calling for re-Islamization at the daily level.
Muslim Brotherhood--Founded in 1928 in Egypt with the goal of establishing an Islamic state, the Brotherhood had as its slogan "The Quran is our constitution."
The Brotherhood's political agenda combined with its rigid version of Islam provide the foundation for Salafi jihadist movements.
After surviving an assassination attempt in 1954, Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser banned the Muslim Brotherhood
the Muslim Brotherhood lived on, and it spawned new terrorist organizations, including:
the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, run by Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, the doctor who, in the 1990s, merged his organization with Al Qaeda (emerged from Saudi Arabia)
also emerging was Takfir wal-Hijra, founded in 1971 and provided the ideological inspiration for Al Qaeda.
Two different views on the rise of Al-Qaeda:
A.) Salafism and the Egyptian-Saudi claim as made above and this Duke University lecture
B.) Three events of 1979 which served as a catalyst:
'The Siege Of Mecca'- About 100,000 people appeared in the Grand Mosque of Mecca for the dawn prayer and all of them would become hostages.
A group of several hundred jihadis, from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, but also some Americans and Canadians (converts to Islam) had entered the mosque with weapons, overpowered the guards, shut down the gates and proclaimed the arrival of the savior, the Mahdi, that would cleanse the Muslim world from its impurities brought in by the Westerners.
The Iranian Revolution- overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty under Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, who was supported by the United States, and replaced with an Islamic Republic under the Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini
The Soviet–Afghan War - viewed by people like Osama bin Laden as a struggle that represents: outsiders vs people who belong there; godlessness and religion; materialism and virtue; the mechanized military might of the westernized/modernized world (represented by the Soviet Union with their tanks and helicopters) vs the virtuous strength of the young men who are willing to give their lives for their beliefs
Al-Qaeda attacks:
US embassy bombings in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania-August 7, 1998: killed 224 people (12 in Kenya were US citizens) and injured more than 5,000.
U.S.S. Cole-October 12, 2000: 17 American sailors lost their lives (Yemen)
hijacked four passenger airplanes and crashing two into the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon and another into a Pennsylvania field
killed nearly 3,000 people and injured thousands more
1921-Gandhi Given Leadership of Indian National Congress
After the Amritsar Massacre, Gandhi dedicated himself to gaining self-rule for India
He reorganized the group with the goal of Swaraj through the use of nonviolent forms of protest (Ahimsa = non-violence)
1920s-1940s--Homespun Movement
Gandhi argued that India needed to be self-sufficient and so they would not have to not rely on the British
called for Indians to give up buying British textiles and make their own clothes
Gandhi carried a portable spinning wheel with him so he could continue the practice himself while traveling
1930-The Salt March
protest against the salt tax
Gandhi’s followers nonviolently marched to the British Salt Works in Gujarat where they were beaten by soldiers employed by the British army
brought worldwide attention to the Indian Independence movement and British cruelty
turned public opinion in Great Britain in Gandhi’s favor and led to his release from prison
Churchill opposed Mohandas Gandhi's peaceful disobedience revolt and the Indian Independence movement in the 1930s, arguing that the Round Table Conference "was a frightful prospect." Later reports indicate that Churchill favoured letting Gandhi die if he went on hunger strike.
Churchill, "It is alarming and also nauseating to see Mr Gandhi, a seditious Middle-Temple lawyer, now posing as a fakir of a type well-known in the East, striding half-naked up the steps of the Vice-regal palace... to parley on equal terms with the representative of the King-Emperor"
Government Act of 1935 and Elections of 1937
Government of India Act of 1935 was a new plan for ruling India that involved more Indian participation in the government and free elections to select representatives from each province
1937, the first elections took place
The Indian National Congress candidates won a majority of the provinces, while the Muslim League did poorly in the election
1942 Quit India Movement
demanded immediate independence for India
Gandhi urged the masses to act as an independent nation and not to follow the orders of the British
Jawaharlal Nehru joined Gandhi in his call for "An Orderly British Withdrawal" from India
resulted in the arrest of almost the entire leadership of the Indian National Congress
1947 -- Independence
When negotiations broke down between Nehru and Jinnah, advocated a separate Hindu state
Gandhi goal of a unified secular India inclusive of Hindus and Muslims was lost
Gandhi refused to attend the independence day celebrations
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968) relied openly on the Indian leader Mohandas K. Gandhi’s examples of passive nonresistance and boycotting in the struggle to win African-Americans their equality and independence in the United States
modern civil rights movement in the United States showed the links between domestic and foreign policies
The Soviet Union could and did use the appalling conditions of African-Americans to expose the weaknesses of the capitalist system in the United States
In virtually every sphere of life, southern U.S. states institutionalized segregation, a system of laws and customs designed to separate blacks and whites
in northern states, where African-Americans could usually vote, but informal segregation practices also influenced northern society
African-Americans contended with segregation and the loss of voting rights, widespread discrimination, and extralegal violence
U.S. politicians and lawmakers recognized the adverse propaganda value of this institutionalized racism during the cold war
actions led by Martin Luther King
the Montgomery bus boycott proved the effectiveness of Gandhi’s methods
lead numerous marches and demonstrations during the late 1950's and 1960's
despite the violence visited on him and his followers, they went on to win major civil rights battles
United States, pressured by the cold war and African liberation movements went on to accede rights to its black population
Violent Resistance
Mandela, then leader of the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC)
considered a terrorist and a threat to the West
Mandela viewed as "the most dangerous communist" outside of the Soviet Union
was one of the most wanted men in South Africa at the time of his arrest
CIA trailed Mandela and tipped off South African security forces
arrest of Nelson Mandela near Durban in 1962
Mandela convicted of trying to violently overthrow the South African government
Mandela served 27 years in jail on Robben Island before being released in 1990
Release from prison
1989 -- F.W. de Klerk released eight of the country’s most prominent anti-apartheid political prisoners
February 2, 1990, de Klerk lifted the ban on the ANC and other political organizations
February 11, 1990, Mandela is finally freed at the age of 71
After Mandela’s release, he pledged to continue his fight against apartheid and white domination
President Mandela
April 27, 1994, South Africans witnessed the first election ever in South African history where Black people were allowed to vote
The A.N.C. won more than 62 percent of the vote and Mandela was chosen as president
"Invictus" - Official Trailer
Nelson Mandela Dead: The True Story Behind 'Invictus'-ABC News
Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom Official UK Trailer (2013)
Group of Brazilian and Argentinian mothers who gathered every week during the mid-1990s to bring pressure on the government to find their missing children
Generally believed to have been seized by criminal gangs engaged in child prostitution and illegal adoption
Often seeking loved ones who probably were executed by government or paramilitary death squads, such“mothers of the disappeared” have been active in many Latin American countries.
Activity:
1.) Identify an ideology that would have been supported by Augusto Pinoche.
2.) Identify an ideology that would have been supported by Salvador Allende
3.) Explain how the events described below are situated in the broader context of the Cold War.
Document 1
Source: Salvador Allende, president of Chile, farewell address during a military coup, 1973. (Allende makes a farewell speech shortly before the capture of the palace and is believed to have committed suicide.)
“My friends,
Surely this will be the last opportunity for me to address you. The Chilean air force has bombed most of the radio towers. My words do not have bitterness but disappointment. May they be a moral punishment for those in the armed forces who have betrayed their oaths.
I say to the workers: I will not resign!
Workers of my country: I want to thank you for the loyalty that you always have shown to a man who gave his word that he would respect the constitution and the law. At this definitive moment—the last moment that I can address you—I hope that you learn this lesson: foreign capital, imperialism, and the reactionary forces of Chile created the climate in which the armed forces of Chile—with foreign assistance—retook power for those forces in order to continue defending their profits and privileges.
Workers of my country, I have faith in Chile and its destiny. Go forward knowing that sooner rather than later, avenues will open again where free men will walk to build a better society.”
Document 2
Source: Augusto Pinochet: Villain to Some, Hero to Others. NPR: All Things Considered. December 10, 2006
Augusto Pinochet Ugarte was a disciplined soldier in a country where the military normally obeyed civilian rule. Even when other army officers began grumbling about Chile's left-wing president, Salvador Allende, Pinochet continued to follow the president's orders. In June 1973, Allende appointed Pinochet commander-in-chief of the Chilean Armed Forces.
Ariel Dorfman is a Chilean writer who once worked for Allende. He remembers answering the phone in Allende's office when Pinochet called.
"I said, 'Just a moment please. I'll find him. I'll find him,'" Dorfman says, "because I thought this is ours, this is Pinochet, he's our guy."
But in the end he was not the president's guy.
Allende was implementing socialist economic policies in Chile, with disastrous results. Gen. Pinochet finally agreed with other military officers that they had to stop Allende, and from that point on, Pinochet showed him no mercy.
On Sept. 11, 1973, he ordered a fierce ground and air assault on the presidential palace.
...
Document 3
Source: Interview of Augusto Pinochet with TIME Correspondent Charles Eisendrath. TIME Magazine 1 Oct. 1973
Democracy carries within its breast the seed of its own destruction. There is a saying that 'democracy has to be bathed occasionally in blood so that it can continue to be democracy.' Fortunately this is not our case. There have been only a few drops.
...
We will keep the status quo for a certain time, and then grant more liberty. But we don't want politics. The only party now is the Chilean party, and its members are all Chileans.
The political parties have only been recessed. The government has no partisan politics because if we were to have parties right away, we would again fall into contamination. But our doors remain open to politicians who have recognized abilities. The only condition is that these men do not mix their work with politics.
Key Takeaways
A.) Some Nationalist military leaders used violence to overthrow established power structures
Augusto Pinochet coup d'etat of Salvador Allende democratically elected government
Francisco Franco's coup d'etat of Spain elected leftist coalition government
Idi Amin coup d'etat of Uganda's elected government of Milton Obote
B.) Some leaders used non-violence to challenge established power structures
Mohandas Gandhi was one of the first to use non-violence to rally public pressure (this could be successful in a time of mass media)
In the 1920s, Gandhi began to argue for the end of British rule in India
He led boycotts, marches, and strikes to hurt the British politically and economically
Martin Luther King, Jr. used these same tactics to help bring pressure on the United States government to pass the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act
Nelson Mandela was torn over the use of violence, but called for non-violence while in jail for 28 years and after when he became president of South Africa
C.) Some groups turned to violence to challenge established power structures
Women's Suffrage groups in England before WWI
Irish Republican Army
ETA in Spain
Al-Qaeda in East Africa and the Middle East
Shining Path in Peru
The FARC are Latin America’s largest rebel army and almost half of their members are women. They train and fight alongside the men and share daily chores as well.What is less known about the guerrilla group, however, is that it has a large number of women fighting its ranks. Toby Muse travels to a FARC jungle camp to meet these female fighters.