History flashcards- THE COLD WAR (MOCKS 2025)

Describe 2 effects of the 3 conferences on superpower relations

1) short term effects- initial sense of cooperation within the 3 superpowers (ussr, usa, britain) due to initial agreements made during the conferences, like collaborating to control Germany by creating 4 occupational zones, each controlled by the us, ussr, france and britain (this promise was eventually broken as Germany was divided into East and West by the US and USSR). they also agreed upon creating the united nations as a platform to foster peace and for stalin to allow a free voting process, which created a short-lived sense of collaboration

2) long term effects- increased tension and suspicion was prevalent after the 3 conferences as a result of broken promises and new threats being surfaced. for instance, the US mentioned the development of its new atomic bomb in potsdam. stalin believed that this was the us’s way of intimidating him, which prompted him to begin the arms race.

Describe 2 effects of the Korean War (1950)  on superpower relations

1) strengthening of the US’s influence- the us sent their troops and resources to support south korea, which demonstrated a strong military presence.

2) increased tensions between the us and ussr

Describe 2 effects of the Hungarian Uprising on superpower relations (1956)

1) increased tensions as it demonstrated the soviet union’s dominance- finding out that nagy (who replaced rakosi) was attempting to remove hungary from the warsaw pact alarmed krushchev, as he believed that if hungary left, more countries of the pact would start leaving. because of this, krushchev sent in 200,000 troops and 1,000 tanks to restore soviet control and order. this sent a message to members of the warsaw pact that going against the pact would have serious consequences.

2) weakened us credibility amongst other countries- the us not intervening in the uprising made other countries believe that the us was disingenuous with its anti-communist propoganda, as the us said that they would help other countries if they were faced with communist rebellion. as a result, this encouraged satellite states of the ussr less likely to rebel in the future, as they could no longer expect the ussr to step in.

Describe 2 effects of the Changes in Leadership (1950s) on superpower relations

1) initially decreased tensions between the us and USSR- Krushchev was more liberal than Stalin. Khruschev stated that the us and USSR could simply coexist without the need for war, which moved away from the confrontational and aggressive demeanour of Stalin. This thawed cold war tensions between the two, as there was no longer an expectation on both sides to act aggressively/harmfully towards the opposing country 

2) exacerbated tensions between the us and ussr in the longrun- as a result of krushchev being put in charge, there was an increased number of enforcements that allowed the ussr to develop more nuclear weapons. this accelerated the arms race, which was incredibly expensive (contributed to 5.5 trillion usd/29% of US spending) which increased tensions, as both the us and ussr were in this race to gain a military advantage over the other (kind of like a competition) 

Describe 2 effects of the Arms race (1950s) on superpower relations

1) increased tensions between the us and ussr- they both knew that they were doing this to gain a military advantage over the other

2) mutually assured destruction- neither of them wanted to use the weapons on the other party as they feared the retaliation that they would receive from destroying the other country