The Global Cold War and its Fallout: From Yalta to Malta Study Guide

These flashcards cover key terms and concepts related to the Global Cold War and its major historical events.

Cold War

A geopolitical tension between the Soviet Union and the United States, characterized by mutual distrust and hostility, lasting from after World War II until the early 1990s.

Yalta Conference

A meeting in February 1945 between Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin to discuss post-war reorganization of Germany and Europe.

Berlin Blockade

A 1948-49 crisis where the Soviet Union blocked access to West Berlin, prompting the Western Allies to establish an airlift for supplies.

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

A military alliance established in 1949 for mutual defense against aggression, primarily formed by Western countries.

Warsaw Pact

A collective defense treaty established in 1955 between the Soviet Union and seven Eastern Bloc socialist republics in Central and Eastern Europe.

Truman Doctrine

A U.S. policy declared in 1947 to provide military and economic assistance to countries resisting communism, initially aimed at Greece and Turkey.

Brezhnev Doctrine

A policy articulated by Leonid Brezhnev in 1968 which justified the Soviet Union's intervention in countries where socialist rule was threatened.

Kennedy's Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

An agreement signed in 1963 between the U.S., USSR, and UK to cease nuclear weapons testing in the atmosphere, outer space, and underwater.

Operation Condor

A covert operation from the 1970s to the 1980s where South American dictatorships coordinated to suppress political opposition and leftist movements.

U-2 Incident

A diplomatic crisis that occurred in May 1960 when an American U-2 spy plane was shot down over Soviet airspace, escalating Cold War tensions.

Cuban Missile Crisis

A 1962 confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over Soviet missiles in Cuba, which brought the superpowers close to nuclear war.

Détente

The easing of hostilities and improved relations between the U.S. and the USSR during the Cold War, particularly in the 1970s.

Vietnamization

A U.S. policy during the Vietnam War aimed at reducing American involvement by training and equipping South Vietnamese forces to take over military operations.

Glasnost

A policy of increased openness and transparency in government actions initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev in the 1980s, leading to greater freedoms in the USSR.

Perestroika

The reform policy introduced by Gorbachev in the 1980s aimed at restructuring the Soviet economy and political system to improve efficiency and responsiveness.