8.7 Global Resistance to Established Power Structures

Resistance to colonial and imperial rule

After WWII, movements challenged existing power structures beyond just decolonization. In South Africa, the African National Congress (ANC) resisted apartheid, a system of legalized racial segregation, through protest and eventually armed struggle. Nelson Mandela, imprisoned for decades, became a global symbol of resistance before apartheid ended in 1994.

Religious and nationalist resistance

The Iranian Revolution (1979) overthrew the Western-backed Shah, replacing his regime with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Khomeini, rejecting secularism and Western influence. Movements also resisted Soviet control in Eastern Europe, such as Solidarity in Poland, a labor union that challenged communist authority using strikes and mass mobilization.

Resistance to authoritarianism and inequality

Citizens worldwide protested authoritarian governments and economic inequality, using strikes, civil disobedience, and human rights campaigns. Examples include pro-democracy movements challenging military dictatorships in Latin America and civil rights movements demanding equality, such as the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, which pushed against systemic racial discrimination through nonviolent protest.

Key terms

Apartheid

A system of legalized racial segregation in South Africa, resisted by the ANC and ended in 1994.

Nelson Mandela

Anti-apartheid leader imprisoned for decades who became a global symbol of resistance; later South Africa's president.

Iranian Revolution (1979)

Overthrew the Western-backed Shah and established an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Khomeini.

Solidarity

A Polish labor union movement that used strikes and mass mobilization to challenge Soviet-backed communist rule.

Common resistance tactics

Strikes, civil disobedience, and human rights campaigns used worldwide against authoritarianism and inequality.

Try an AP-style question

The anti-apartheid movement in South Africa sought…

1. Afrikaner independence
2. the return of British rule
3. an end to legal racial segregation
4. a new monarchy