Political Processes
Introduced| English |
|---|
| self-determination/self dɪˌtɜːmɪˈneɪʃn/ |
| decolonisation/dɪˌkɒlənaɪˈzeɪʃn/ |
| devolution/dɪvəˈluːʃn/ |
| balkanisation/ˌbɔːlkənaɪˈzeɪʃn/ |
How states form and change
- States are not permanent — they form, split, and merge over time.
- Self-determination 自决 is a people's right to govern themselves.
- It drove the wave of independence after empires broke up.
A people's right to govern themselves is called...
Self-determination drove decolonisation and independence movements.
From colony to country
- Colonialism left a world of empires ruling distant lands.
- After 1945, decolonisation 非殖民化 created dozens of new states in Africa and Asia.
- But colonial borders often ignored the nations living inside them.
Which political process?
Sort each example by the political process it shows.
Decolonisation after 1945 created many new independent states.
Dozens of colonies in Africa and Asia became states.
Select all ways states can change.
Independence, devolution, and unification change states; weather does not.
Match each term to its meaning.
Decolonisation = new states; balkanisation = hostile fragmentation; self-determination = self-rule.
Splitting and joining
- Devolution 权力下放 gives regions more power and can lead to breakup.
- Balkanisation 巴尔干化 is when a state fragments into hostile smaller units.
- States can also unify (like Germany in 1990).
Transferring power from a central government down to regions is called ____.
Devolution gives regions more self-rule and can lead to breakup.
Colonial independence did not fix everything. Many new states inherited superimposed colonial borders that split nations or forced rivals together — a root cause of later conflict. Self-determination and existing borders often clash.
After WWII, dozens of African colonies won independence through self-determination. But their borders were the old colonial lines drawn in Europe, cutting across ethnic groups — which later fuelled civil conflict in several new states.
States form and change through self-determination (a people's right to self-rule), decolonisation (new states after empire), devolution (regions gaining power), and even unification. Inherited colonial borders often clash with the nations inside them.