Fill in the Blanks DecolonisationOnline version Activity for students of 1st level of Bachillerato. by Maite Fresnillo Beneitez 1 active factors elite power War changes rule boost attempted challenged colonial Western Asians independence process territories Cold Three interconnected produced large - scale decolonization in the years after 1945 : opposition developed within the non - self - governing to the continuation of colonial ; some colonial powers introduced political and constitutional that aimed eventually to transfer ; also power - political changes in the international system , linked especially to World War II and the developing , compelled disengagement from the colonies . Organized opposition to rule , often referred to as nationalist movements , emerged at different times and took different forms . Initially , political pressure for self - government or independence came from groups . Early political organizations demanding greater self - government or were given a by World War II . A war fought for freedom was interpreted by many educated and Africans as a war that would lead to independence from colonial rule . As colonialism was , colonial rulers to justify their roles . From the late 1930s in the United Kingdom , officials saw themselves as having a more role in preparing peoples at less " advanced " stages of development for self - government . In the post - 1945 period , the new international order also influenced the decolonization . The weakening of all the powers apart from the United States also made it more difficult for colonialism to be maintained by force .
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