Cold War; Meaning, Causes, and Summary

Cold War meaning

It describes the struggle /hostility between the capitalist West and the communist east i.e. The West – the USA and her allies championed the capitalist system. The East -USSR and her allies advocated communist policies

The hostility created mistrust and suspicion between the superpowers but the mutual hostility was not expressed in open fighting

Weapons of war were:

• Propaganda
• Economic sanctions
• Military assistance to the enemy/allies of the enemy
• Financial aid to the enemy
• The general policy of noncooperation Note: In some cases, it developed into real war e.g. in Vietnam, Korea, and Afghanistan.

Causes of the Cold War

• Mistrust and suspicion based on ideological differences between the capitalist West and the communist Soviet bloc
• The USA and USSR disagreed on disarmament and hence continued to stockpile weapons
• The Iron Curtain policy adopted by the USSR sealed Eastern Europe from the West. This made international relations to deteriorate
• Conflicts in Europe in the late 1940s, such as the civil war in Greece increased the tension between the 2 superpowers
• The formation of military alliances by the 2 power blocs
• The Marshall plan of 1947, initiated by the USA intensified the cold war
• The declaration of the Truman Doctrine of 1947 by the USA threatened the spread of communism by the USSR.

Cold War Summary;  Factors that led to the end of the Cold War

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• The adoption of the détente policy — geared to the easing of hostility between the USA and the USSR
• Khrushchev assumed the presidency in the USSR in 1953. He favored a policy of peaceful co-existence
• Convening of disarmament conferences e.g. in 1955 signing of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
• 1968—the Non-proliferation Treaty was signed (to halt the spread of nuclear weapons)
• 1972 — signing of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT)
• 1972 — signing of SALT 11
• The collapse of communism and the establishment of the Western democracies in former Soviet-controlled areas in Eastern Europe e.g. in East Germany, Poland
•  The accession of Mikhail Gorbachev to power in the Soviet Union in 1985. – He adopted a liberal policy, – Initiated reforms based on  glasnost’ i.e. openness and ‘Perestroika ’ i.e. economic restructure
• Attempts by the USA to foster friendship ties with USSR
• 1985 — the reopening of talks between USA and USSR on limitation of strategic arms
• 1991 — Cancellation of the Warsaw pact
• 1991 — Disintegration of the USSR into separate republics

Effects of the Cold War

• Led to the splitting up of countries e.g. North and South Korea
• Suspicion and mistrust between nations
• Led to international insecurity and disruption of world peace
• Led to the space race, spearheaded by the USSR in 1957
• Intensified the arms race and stockpiling of weapons
• Competition for dominance between the 2 power blocs culminated in crisis in various regions e.g. The Suez Canal crisis in Egypt, the Cuban missile crises
• In certain areas, the 2 powers engaged in direct armed conflict e.g. In Vietnam
• Superpower rivalry in Africa
• Division of Germany into 2 (has now reunited).

Effects of The End of The Cold War on International Relations

• It led to the emergence of nationalism e.g. in former states of the USSR
• It led to the secessionist movement
• Yugoslavia which broke up into 5 states; 1) Serbia — Montenegro 2)Bosnia- Herzegovina 3)Croatia 4)Slovenia 5)Macedonia
• The unification of Germany created a refugee problem as Germany had to host refugees from Eastern Europe. Nations such as Poland were suspicious of a united and powerful Germany
• Differences have emerged between the Western allies over a) Trade issues b) Provision of peacekeeping forces
• Former communist states have suffered from economic collapse and intense poverty
• Establishment of better weapons supervision and control of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons

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