Unit 6 - The Cold War

origins and causes of the cold war

tension brewed between the US ad the USSR for multiple reasons, including:

• most obvious, their contrasting ideologies

• second most obvious, after the war, the US and USSR no longer had a common enemy to focus their efforts against

• disputes about how to treat Germany after the war

  • USSR wanted reparations and a weakened Germany, US wanted a strong German economy/unified Germany

• US aid to postwar Europe had “strings attached”, which pissed of the USSR

• Stalinization began in 1945, where the USSR worked to instate communist governments in any country they had sway over

how was Germany divided after WWII

Germany was split into West and East Germany, as well as Berlin being split into West and East Berlin

The US/allies had control over the West, which held liberal policies. the USSR had control over the East, which now was a communist state.

Berlin, although residing in East Germany, had US/Allied control in its West half, and USSR in its East

why were the USSR and US considered superpowers?

both had emerged from WWII stronger than when they entered it, both had greatly expanded their influence and reach as they liberated Europe, and both were strong economically

the nuclear arms race and weapons development

roughly a week after a meeting in Potsdam Germany, American President Harry Truman unleashed the world’s first nuclear weapons upon Japan, working to end a long war between the two. It worked, but suddenly everyone is hyper-aware of the US’ capability to kill like everyone.

as a result, Stalin realizes that if the USSR ever wants a chance of defending itself, and being able to actually make demands of the US during negotiations (because Stalin wants to spread communist influence and secure his borders), he needs nukes too. so, the US and USSR become locked into an arms race for the rest of the Cold War, where both try to have the most nukes, the strongest nukes, etc, as deterrence against the other.

Notable Conflicts in the Cold War

• the Korean War (1945): was originally divided up into two zones which would have free elections. this did not happen, and when the communist north invaded the liberal south, it became a site for a proxy war between USSR and US. resulted in massive casualties. the war isn’t technically over, only held under a ceasefire between the north and south

• the Vietnam War (1954): very similar to the Korean War, two zone, failed elections, and then the site of a proxy war. communist north against liberal south, both backed by their respective allies. in the end, communists won

• Afghanistan (1979): the USSR invaded Afghanistan to instate a pro-soviet regime, and in response, CIA (US) funded Afghan resistance fighters with weapons, funds, up to $750 million in its late stages. Soviet soldiers retreated in 1989, but the resistance fighters were so well equipped and birthed some notable factions like Al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden

the Cuban missile crisis

a notable example of brinkmanship

from 1956 to 1959, a revolution was led in Cuba by Fidel Castro, who ended up toppling the capitalist (US-supported) dictator. Castro instated a socialist government, which immediately sparked a relationship with the USSR. The US wanted this guy gone, and started the Bay of Pigs invasion, where US-trained Cuban exiles were armed and sent against the standing government. Obv this failed horribly, and tensions between US and Cuba got worse. Meanwhile, the Soviets were buddy-buddy with Castro, even building missile bases, aimed at the US, and sending nuclear-armed submarines that way too.

the threat of nuclear war got very close, but eventually, a diplomatic breakthrough was reached, where JFK agreed to remove missiles form Turkey and not invade Cuba if Stalin (Khrushchev) would take his ships out of the area.

this crisis actually helped both leaders realize that they should tone it down, and led to a period of more peace

how did the Cold War end?

• unsustainability of the arms race

• some say Reagan and the neocons (neocons love military spending, so Reagan went insane with it cuz he had an excuse, but because of the nature of the arms race, the USSR lowk bankrupted itself trying to keep up)

• Gorbachev’s reforms

• the failures of communism/inevitability of liberalism

• self-determination of Soviet Bloc states

• soft power of liberalism (stronger economies)

why did the soviet union collapse?

many people blame gorbachev’s reforms, which made the country a lot more liberal:

• Restructuring (Perestrokia)

• Reform of the Soviet Economy

• Openness (glasnot)

• Reform of the political structure— more freedom

and then as a result, liberation movements swept through occupied countries:

• In East Germany and Czechoslovakia, mass popular uprisings toppled their Communist governments in 1989.

• 1989, Hungary and Poland organized open, fair elections.

• Violent overthrow of the government in Romania.

• Soon enough, the nations that were part of the Soviet Union began to declare their independence.

• December 30 1991, the Soviet union was officially dissolved.