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
- 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
