IB History What Were the Conditions That Led to Mass Displacement? Key Definitions

An agricultural policy in which private farms are combined into large state-controlled or cooperative farms. In Vietnam, collectivization was imposed on the south after 1975, eliminating private land ownership and requiring farmers to work collectively under government direction.

The Communist Party of Kampuchea, led by Pol Pot. The Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979 and attempted to create an agrarian utopia through forced collectivisation, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 1.5 to 2 million people.

The process by which a government takes ownership of privately owned businesses, industries, or property. In post-1975 Vietnam, the Communist government nationalized private enterprises as part of its transition to a socialist economy.

Rural resettlement areas where the Vietnamese government sent urban residents after 1975. The programme aimed to reduce urban overcrowding and develop agricultural land, but conditions were often harsh and many relocations were forced.

A ceasefire agreement signed in January 1973 between the United States, South Vietnam, North Vietnam, and the Viet Cong. It ended direct US military involvement in the Vietnam War but did not stop fighting between North and South Vietnam.

The Lao Communist movement that gradually took control of Laos in 1975. The Pathet Lao abolished the monarchy and proclaimed the Lao People's Democratic Republic in December 1975.

Detention facilities run by the Vietnamese Communist government after 1975. Former military personnel, civil servants, and professionals associated with the South Vietnamese regime were sent to these camps for political indoctrination and forced labour. Detentions lasted from months to over 15 years.