Between 1945 and 1960, three dozen new states in Asia and Africa achieved autonomy or outright independence from their European colonial rulers. There was no one process of decolonization. In some areas, it was peaceful, and orderly. In many others, independence was achieved only after a protracted revolution.

Asia’s Anti-Colonialist Journey. After the Russian Revolution, a host of activists saw Communism as the way to end European imperialism. Their diverse fates provide an unexpected key to Asian.

Paul Ehrlich’s book The Population Bomb (1968) connected the dots and helped the public realize that the issues were all related: an exponentially growing population meant an increasing demand for limited resources, which led to unwise decisions about resource use. Driven by fear and empowered with information, the American public was poised.