Decolonization was a movement following the Second World War in which the various European colonies of the world were granted independence.

There is quite a bit of controversy over decolonization. The end goal tends to be universially regarded as good, but there is much debate over the best way to grant full independence. Some say the post-World War II decolonization movement was too rushed, especially in Africa, and created unstable regimes in the newly independent countries. Others argue that this instability is largely the result of problems from the colonial period, including arbitrary nation-state borders and lack of training of local populations.