Causation in Global Conflict Practice Test

By the early twentieth century, Japan had industrialized rapidly, defeated China (1894–1895) and Russia (1904–1905), and gained influence in Korea and Manchuria. During World War I, Japan seized German holdings in Shandong and the Pacific and later issued the Twenty-One Demands to China. In the 1930s, Japan established Manchukuo and expanded further on the Asian mainland, arguing it needed resources and security. Which development most directly contributed to Japan’s turn toward aggressive expansionism in this period?

After 1945, many Asian and African colonies gained independence. New states often faced border disputes, ethnic divisions, and economic dependence. Superpowers offered military and financial aid, sometimes supporting coups or insurgencies to secure allies. Conflicts in places like Angola and Afghanistan became prolonged and destructive. Which factor most directly explains why decolonization sometimes intensified global conflict during the Cold War?