the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997. Independence of East Timorese (1999) – East Timor broke away from Indonesian occupation, only a year after the fall of Suharto from power, ending a 24-year guerrilla war and genocide with more than 200,000 casualties. The UN deployed a peacekeeping force spearheaded by Australia's armed forces. The United States deployed police officers to serve with the Interpol element to help train and equip an East Timorese police force. Handover of Macau (1999) – Portugal handed sovereignty of Macau (Portuguese Macau) to the People's Republic of China on 20 December 1999. Dissolution of the Soviet Union (1991) – multiple Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs) declared independence from the USSR. Armenia – the Armenian SSR became the Republic of Armenia following the Declaration of Independence of Armenia. Azerbaijan – the Azerbaijan SSR became the Republic of Azerbaijan. Belarus – the Byelorussian SSR became the Republic of Belarus following its Declaration of State Sovereignty. Estonia – Estonian SSR became the Republic of Estonia. Georgia – The Georgian SSR became the Republic of Georgia. Kazakhstan – the Kazakh SSR became the Republic of Kazakhstan. Kyrgyzstan – the Kirghiz SSR became the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. Latvia – the Latvian SSR became the Republic of Latvia. Lithuania – the Lithuanian SSR became the Republic of Lithuania Moldova – the Moldavian SSR became the Republic of Moldova. Tajikistan – the Tajik SSR became the Republic of Tajikistan. Turkmenistan – the Turkmen SSR became the Republic of Turkmenistan. Ukraine – the Ukrainian SSR became the Republic of Ukraine Uzbekistan – the Uzbek SSR became the Republic of Uzbekistan. Political trends The 1990s saw an increased spread of capitalism and third way policies. The former countries of the Warsaw Pact moved from single-party socialist states to multi-party states with private sector economies. The same wave of political liberalization occurred in the capitalist and newly industrialized countries (including First and Third World countries), such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. Market reforms made incredible changes to the economies of Second World socialist countries such as China and Vietnam. Ethnic tensions and violence in former Yugoslavia during the 1990s created a greater sense of ethnic identity among nations in newly independent countries and a marked increase in the popularity of nationalism. Prominent political events Africa African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela was