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Visual History of the World
(CONTENTS)
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The Contemporary World
1945 to the present
After World War II, a new
world order came into being in which two superpowers, the United
States and the Soviet Union, played the leading roles. Their
ideological differences led to the arms race of the Cold War and
fears of a global nuclear conflict. The rest of the world was also
drawn into the bipolar bloc system, and very few nations were able
to remain truly non-aligned. The East-West conflict came to an end
in 1990 with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the consequent
downfall of the Eastern Bloc. Since that time, the world has been
driven by the globalization of worldwide economic and political
systems. The world has, however, remained divided: The rich nations
of Europe, North America, and East Asia stand in contrast to the
developing nations of the Third World.
The first moon landing made science-fiction dreams reality in the
year 1969.
Space technology has made considerable progress as the search for
new
possibilities of using space continues.
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Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania
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SINCE 1945
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see also: United Nations member states -
Australia,
New Zealand,
Fiji,
Kiribati,
Marshall Islands,
Micronesia,
Nauru,
Palau,
Papua New Guinea,
Samoa,
Solomon Islands,
Tonga,
Vanuatu
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Australia and New Zealand are wealthy and stable democracies based on
the Anglo-Saxon parliamentary model, in which conservatives and social
democrats alternate running the government. The original inhabitants in
both countries—the Aborigines in Australia and the Maori in New
Zealand—demand greater recognition of the centuries-long suppression of
their cultural identities. As colonies of settlement in the British
Empire, their transition to independence was smooth, and both
voluntarily maintain strong links to Great Britain as members of the
Commonwealth.
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Australia
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Since 1945, Australia has been a stable democracy, firmly aligned with
the West during the Cold War. Its pluralistic society has yet to achieve
a full reconciliation with the Aborigines, who remain economically and
socially marginalized.
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1 Australia, a constitutional monarchy and member of the
4
Commonwealth, was threatened by Japan in 1942 in the Pacific War—an
experience that brought the country closer to the US.
This relationship
was maintained after the war, and in April 1952 Australia entered into
the 5 ANZUS pact with New Zealand and the United States for security in
the Pacific region.
1
Symbol of the Australian capital: The Sydney Opera House, 1996
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4
Elizabeth II, Australia's official head of state, March 22, 2000
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5
Meeting of ANZUS members's
representatives, August 1952
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It sent troops during the Korean and Vietnam wars. Since 2001, Australia has been one of America's
closest allies.
Over the last two decades, Australia has looked to forge better
relations with its Asian neighbors. The Australian government has worked
to establish free-trade agreements with China and ASEAN (the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations). It has also tried to prevent conflicts in
Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
Liberals, conservatives, and social democrats compete in shifting
coalitions over the formation of the government. After a long period
with Labour in power (1983-1996), the Liberals won the 1996 elections
and John Winston Howard became prime minister. The proposal of the
constitutional assembly of 1998 to transform Australia into a republic
was rejected in a referendum in November 1999, and Queen Elizabeth II
remains the head of state.
Economically, Australia is a major exporter, and since 1966 Japan has
been the country's largest trading partner. Mineral resources (bauxite,
nickel, oil) began to be mined more intensively in the 1950s. Liberal
and competitive economic policies have attracted substantial foreign
investment, especially from Europe and the United States.
Since the late 1970s there has been a growing recognition of the need to
reconcile with the island's native inhabitants, the
2, 3 Aborigines,
whose culture has long been suppressed and their living space
progressively encroached upon.
They have been granted wide-ranging
cultural autonomy and targeted economic assistance, and in 1993 a law
was passed opening the way to land restitution.
Environmental issues
arouse strong feelings in Australia and massive
6 protests have taken
place against nuclear tests carried out in the Pacific.
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2 Native of Australia: An Aborigine prepares for a traditional dance
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3 Aborigine plays in a Brisbane street, June3, 2004
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6
An Australian demonstrates against
nuclear weapon tests, August 2001
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Australian Aborigines
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New Zealand and the Islands of Oceania
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New Zealand is a stable and prosperous democracy. The islands of the
Pacific region gradually gained their independence after 1945 but for
the most part maintain strong economic and political relationships with
the major powers.
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New Zealand became a sovereign state within the British Commonwealth
on November 25,1947. It has remained close to Australia, the United
Kingdom, and the United States in its foreign policy, although there was
a period of strained relations with the United States after New Zealand
declared itself to be a nuclear-free zone in 1987. It joined the United
States and Australia in the ANZUS defense pact. Domestically, the
National Party and Labour are the two major political parties in the
parliamentary system.
The Labour party has led most of the governments
since 1945, and since 1999 Labour's 9
Helen Clark has been prime
minister, supported by shifting coalitions.
Although New Zealand has
diversified significantly since the 1980s, 10 animal husbandry,
especially sheep farming, remains a key economic sector.
9 Helen Clark, first female prime minister of New Zealand,
November 28,
1999
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10
View over the green mountains of New Zealand,
used for the sheep
breeding that is the focus of
the country's agriculture
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Most of the islands of Oceania fought for and won their independence
after 1945. Relationships with former colonial powers often proved
problematic. Today, most of the islands arc ruled by elected
governments. Conflict between ethnic groups sometimes erupts into
violence, as happened on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands in 1998.
Most of the island groups of Oceania formed the South Sea Forum with
Australia and New Zealand in 1971 to promote further economic and
cultural cooperation in the Pacific region.
The United States took over
the administration of 11 Micronesia in 1947.
After proclaiming the
Federated States of Micronesia in 1979. the islands joined an
association agreement with the United States in 1983. In 1986. the
Marshall Islands also voted for a "free association" with the United
States but declared independence in 1990.
In 1956-1957, the French-controlled territories of Oceania and Polynesia
were given their own constitutions. Many former British territories,
including Tonga and Fiji, have declared their independence; in the face
of protests from Great Britain, a military regime seized power in
7 Fiji in 1987 and declared a
republic.
A June 2001 peace deal
put an end to a conflict between the central government of
8 Papua New
Guinea and militant separatists on the island of Bougainville that had
raged since 1988-1989 and cost more than 10,000 lives.
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11
Young women and girls wearing traditional headdresses and dancing
costumes, Micronesia
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7 Contrasts: Arcades from the colonial era next to a modern multi-story
building on the Fiji island of Viti Levu
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8
Men in Papua New Guinea wearing necklaces
and headdresses made of plants
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Micronesia
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Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islander, Fiji, Vanuatu
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Beautiful Papua New Guinea young ladies
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Solomon Islander; Papua New Guinea Highlander; Papua New Guinea
Chief; Solomon Islander
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Papua New Guinea
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Fiji guys and girls
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Vanuatu
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see also: United Nations member states -
Australia,
New Zealand,
Fiji,
Kiribati,
Marshall Islands,
Micronesia,
Nauru,
Palau,
Papua New Guinea,
Samoa,
Solomon Islands,
Tonga,
Vanuatu
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