Unit 6: Modern World History
Lesson A: 20th Century Global Politics - The Cold War
Key Terms
| Key Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| capitalism | an economic system providing free choice and individual incentive for workers, investors, consumers, and business enterprises |
| containment | United States foreign policy designed to prevent the spread of communism |
| dissident | person who opposes official policy; usually active in an authoritarian state |
| domino theory | a theory that if one country comes under communist control, then neighboring countries will also come under communist control |
| labor strike | work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to perform work; usually takes place in response to employee grievances |
| Prague Spring | a brief period of liberalization in Czechoslovakia, ending in August 1968, during which a program of political, economic, and cultural reform was initiated |
| proxy war | a war instigated by a major power that does not itself become involved |
| satellite countries | countries that appear to be sovereign, but are actually under the control of another country; countries such as Hungary and Poland under the U.S.S.R. control after World War II |
| Solidarity Movement | group that was against communist rule in Poland in the 1980s |
| Velvet Revolution | a nonviolent political revolution; the relatively smooth change from communism to a Western-style democracy in Czechoslovakia at the end of 1989 |
Directions: Practice using these key terms.
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