Decolonization

Decolonization is the process by which colonies end imperial rule and establish independent political authority. Its largest wave transformed Asia and Africa during the twentieth century.

Indian independence movement: The mass political campaign that ended British rule in India in 1947. Its civil resistance and negotiations culminated in independence and partition.
Anti-colonialism: Political opposition to colonial rule and the domination of one people by another. Decolonization translated anticolonial demands into changes of sovereignty.
Partition of India: The 1947 division of British India into the independent states of India and Pakistan. The transfer of power brought mass displacement and violence alongside independence.
Settler colonialism: A form of colonialism in which settlers seek permanent control of land and displace or subordinate Indigenous peoples. Its durable settlement structures often make sovereignty conflicts persist beyond conventional independence.
Algerian War: The 1954–1962 conflict in which Algeria won independence from France. It shows how a prolonged anticolonial war could force an imperial withdrawal.
Atlantic Charter: A 1941 statement by Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill that set out Allied principles, including peoples' right to choose their government. Its language of self-determination sharpened disputes over colonial rule after World War II.
Non-Aligned Movement: A coalition of states that sought independence from Cold War power blocs. Newly independent governments used nonalignment to defend room for autonomous foreign policy.
French Union: A political framework established by France in 1946 to reorganize relations with its colonies and overseas territories. It illustrates an attempted imperial association that stopped short of full sovereignty.
Ghanaian independence: Ghana's 1957 transition from British colonial rule to independent statehood. It exemplified a negotiated transfer that helped inspire African independence movements.
Pan-Africanism: A movement promoting solidarity and political cooperation among people of African descent and African nations. It connected African independence struggles to a wider shared political project.

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