The End of Empire: Experiments with Freedom Spring 2015

The End of Empire:Experiments with

FreedomSpring 2015

Challenges to IndependenceLarge population—developing nations (third

world) 70% of world’s population

Experiments in Political Order: Party, Army and Democracy

Common Conditions

India: Western style democracy

Africa: initially rejects democracy

In many cases the military takes power

Latin America and coups

Latin America

Historically, military often involved

Often challenges the elite

Elites are often backed by the U. S.—Chile 1970

Western Style Democracy…Don’t call it a comeback!

Western Democracy reemerges across the world in the 1980s

Spain, Portugal, Greece, Soviet Union, Latin America, Africa, Asia

Most recent—middle east

Why so sudden?

Experiments with Economics

Is poverty inevitable?

The state should rev up the economy, not private industry

Isolation or world market?

Each region has deleoped differentyl

Experiments in Culture: Turkey and Iran

Islam in Turkey

Modernity vs. tradition

Turkey goes modern post WWI

Culture, Society, dress, women

Islam in Iran

Opposition to Shah who was western and backed by U.S.—1970s

The Shah’s western reforms offended some muslims

The mosque becomes center of politics

Sharia law replaces secular

Women’s rights

While swinging toward Islam, the country continued to modernize