AP World History: Modern · Lesson 5 of 8 · Unit 8

Newly independent states

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When European empires retreated after 1945, the borders, economies, and demographics they left behind reshaped the modern world. On the AP exam, this topic frequently appears in multiple-choice map sets, short-answer questions on postcolonial state-building, and essay prompts evaluating the continuity and change of decolonization.

By the end you’ll be able to

Explain how the redrawing of political boundaries after the withdrawal of former colonial authorities led to the creation of new states, such as Israel, Pakistan and Cambodia.
Explain how the redrawing of boundaries in some cases led to conflict, population displacement and resettlement, including those related to the Partition of India and the creation of the state of Israel.
Explain how governments in newly independent states often took a strong role in guiding economic life to promote development, such as Gamal Abdel Nasser in Egypt, Indira Gandhi in India, Julius Nyerere in Tanzania and Sirimavo Bandaranaike in Sri Lanka.

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Core ideas (continued)
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What the exam asks

Expect questions built around three themes: Governance (GOV), Economic Systems (ECN), and Social Interactions and Organization (SIO). You must be ready to:

Explain how redrawing colonial boundaries created new states and triggered conflict, population displacement, and resettlement.
Explain how and why postcolonial governments intervened heavily in their economies to promote development.
Explain how migration from former colonies to imperial metropoles (former ruling countries) maintained cultural and economic ties after political independence.

Core ideas

Redrawing boundaries, conflict, and displacement (GOV)

Departing colonial powers and international bodies often drew borders hurriedly or along religious and ethnic lines, creating new nation-states while sparking violent displacement.

Partition of India (1947): As Britain withdrew from South Asia, competing visions between the Indian National Congress and Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s Muslim League led to the partition of British India into secular, Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan (initially divided into West Pakistan and East Pakistan, the latter becoming Bangladesh in 1971). The hasty border-drawing triggered communal violence that killed hundreds of thousands and displaced roughly 14 million Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs across the new borders, alongside enduring conflict over Kashmir.
Creation of Israel (1948): Following the Holocaust and rising Zionist migration to the British Mandate of Palestine, the United Nations proposed partitioning the territory into Jewish and Arab states in 1947. When British rule ended in May 1948, Jewish leaders proclaimed the state of Israel. Neighboring Arab states immediately invaded. Israel survived and expanded its territory, while hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs were displaced or fled into refugee camps, initiating the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian and Arab-Israeli conflicts.
Cambodia (1953): France granted Cambodia independence as French Indochina dissolved. Though its initial transition under King Norodom Sihanouk was peaceful, Cold War spillover from the neighboring Vietnam War later destabilized the state, paving the way for the Khmer Rouge regime in 1975.