Which process led to Africa and Asia shedding colonial rule after World War II?

• A. Great Recession
• B. Occupy Wall Street
• C. Decolonization
• D. Iraqi War

Answer: (C)

Decolonization is the process by which colonies won independence from imperial rule, and it surged after World War II. The war left European powers weakened economically and militarily, making it harder to maintain overseas empires. At the same time, nationalist movements within colonies grew stronger and gained international support for self-rule, especially as the United Nations and global opinion promoted self-determination. This combination of internal push and external legitimacy led many African and Asian territories to shed colonial rule in the 1950s and 1960s.

The other options don’t explain the broad shift toward independence after WWII: the Great Recession is an economic crisis years later, Occupy Wall Street is a post-2008 protest movement, and the Iraqi War is a 2003 conflict unrelated to the wave of decolonization that followed WWII.