Polisci 240 Topic 3: The cold war and post war international order

Marshall Plan

This was an economic recovery program aimed at restoring the political and economic stability of western Europe in the post WW2 era.

Breton Woods System

The economic order negotiated among the Allied nations in 1944 which led to a series of cooperative arrangements involving a commitment to relatively low barriers to international trade and investment (eg. Included the GATT (future WTO), IMF, World Bank etc)

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

a military agreement declared post WW2 (1949) during the cold war for the purpose of building up power against the USSR due to a perceived communist threat. Though it brings up questions of freeriding and cost sharing.

United Nations

an international organisation which was formed in 1945 after the end of World War Two with the aim of maintaining international peace.

Warsaw Pact

A military alliance formed in 1955 to bring together the USSR and its Cold war allies in Eastern Europe and elsewhere, dissolved in 1991 when the USSR collapsed. This was a direct counter-balance to NATO.

Decolonization

the process of colonial possessions winning independence, especially during the rapid end of the European empires in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean between the 1940s and 1960s. (Though there was also a period of this during Pax Britannica when European power decided that colonies weren’t economically viable)

Capitalistic Peace

Countries with significant trade alliances and economic connection are very unlikely to go to war (Think EU, Bretton Woods system, NAFTA aka USMCA) 

European Union

an international organization meant to enhance European political and economic connections by using an international currency and removing barriers to trade. Originally the European Cola and Steel Community in 1951 -> EU by 1995