World History II

Chapter 33: The Global South: Latin America and Africa
1945 to the Present

64: Mon, May 4, 2020

Please post in the forum for the day a short essay in response to this question:

From World War II to the present, Latin American and African countries have undergone a succession of attempts at civilian democratic governments, single-party governments, military dictatorships run by oligarchies, and individual dictatorships. In Africa, civil war or at least rioting and civil unrest has disrupted the peaceful transfer of power when election results were contested.

Consider the following:

• Under what conditions did individual dictators arise? How did they maintain power in the face of opposition to their practices?
• Under what conditions have military groups staged a coup? How do these maintain power?
• Under what conditions were at least some Latin American countries able to move from dictatorships to civilian governments and free elections?

Perhaps the most interesting example of transfer of power from an elite group to the majority of the people is the Union of South Africa. How did South Africa attempt to avoid the bloodshed of retribution and purges of the opposition that often accompanied changes of power in other African and Latin American nations? How successful was it?

Contents of this page © Copyright 2015-19 by Christe A. McMenomy and Bruce A. McMenomy.
Permission to download or print this page is hereby given to members of Scholars Online for purposes of personal study only. All other use constitutes a violation of copyright.