In considering the first half of the twentieth century with an emphasis placed on the changing realities of nationalism, how was the world a...

1919 saw the beginning of serious nationalist movements in the developing world; these were encouraged by Wilson's goal of self-determination as part of his Fourteen Points.  However, this program was only carried out in Europe at the time, and the lines of self-determination were often drawn up rather arbitrarily not according to nationality but according to what each nation wanted.  It took the high cost in terms of money and soldiers that brought nationalism movements to the developing world in Africa and Asia. Many of the old colonial powers had lost or were in the process of losing their colonies.  This is partially due to the fact that colonies are very expensive to maintain, and the Axis powers showed Britain and France how vulnerable their assets were in Africa and Asia--it would be far simpler to let these people go run their own nations.  Of course, these independence movements took place gradually over several years, and many places such as French Indochina needed a war to get rid of their colonial overlord.  Upon independence, these former colonies often looked for a patron in either the Soviet Union or the United States.  This was the main driver of the Cold War--the developing world was not so much in favor of using the ideology of these nations as it was gaining their financial and military support.