AP World History Unit 8 Cheatsheet: Cold War and Decolonization, 1900-Present

Start with the first 3 sections of the Unit 8 one-page cheatsheet below. The full sheet is a PDF you can print.

Cold War Origins & Ideological Divide

What shifted after WWII:

U.S. and Soviet Union emerged as superpowers with opposing systems
Democracy + capitalism vs. authoritarian communism
Technological and economic gains during WWII altered global power balance

Key ideological conflict: Capitalism vs. communism spread globally through proxy wars and influence campaigns.

Non-Aligned Movement: States like Indonesia (Sukarno) and Ghana (Kwame Nkrumah) rejected alignment with either superpower—sought third path.

Communist Revolution in China

Causes: Internal tension + Japanese aggression → Chinese communists seized power.

Great Leap Forward: Government controlled national economy; repressive policies caused severe negative consequences for population.

Significance: China's communism reshaped East Asian geopolitics and became model for other communist movements.

Newly Independent States: Boundaries & Conflict

Redrawing boundaries created:

New states (Israel, Pakistan, Cambodia)
Population displacement and resettlement
Territorial conflicts

Partition of India: Division into India and Pakistan; massive communal violence and migration.

Creation of Israel: Redrawing of Palestinian territory; ongoing regional conflict.

Economic role of new states: Governments took strong role in guiding economic development (Nasser in Egypt, Indira Gandhi in India, Nyerere in Tanzania, Bandaranaike in Sri Lanka).

The rest of the Unit 8 sheet

6 more sections are on the one-page PDF:

Cold War Military & Nuclear Structures
Resistance to Established Order: Nonviolence vs. Violence
End of Cold War & Soviet Collapse
Land & Resource Redistribution Movements
Decolonization: Paths to Independence
Post-Colonial Migration & Continuity

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Unit 8: Cold War and Decolonization, 1900-Present on one page, aligned to the 2026-2027 course. Made and checked by the Fiveable Content Team.

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