Cold War and International Relations

This set of flashcards covers key terms and concepts related to the Cold War and international relations as presented in lecture notes.

United Nations (UN)

Established in 1945 to prevent future global conflicts through international diplomacy.

UN Security Council

The core decision-making body with five permanent members (US, UK, France, Russia, China) holding veto power.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

A 1948 milestone document outlining fundamental rights for all people globally.

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Created to ensure global exchange rate stability and provide loans to struggling economies.

World Bank

Focused on long-term economic development and post-war reconstruction of infrastructure.

World Trade Organization (WTO)

Formed in 1995 to regulate international trade, evolving from the post-war GATT.

COMECON

The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance; a Soviet-led economic union for Eastern Bloc satellite states.

Social Democracy & Mixed Economies

Post-war Western model combining free-market capitalism with state intervention to ensure stability.

Potsdam Conference

The 1945 meeting where Allied leaders finalized the division of Germany and Austria into four occupation zones.

The Iron Curtain

Winston Churchill’s 1946 metaphor for the boundary dividing democratic Western Europe from the communist Soviet East.

Berlin Airlift (1948-1949)

The first major Cold War conflict; Western Allies flew supplies into West Berlin after a Soviet land blockade.

Truman Doctrine

The US policy of providing military and economic aid to nations resisting communist takeover.

Marshall Plan

A massive US financial aid program to rebuild Western Europe’s economy and prevent the spread of communism.

NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization; a 1949 military alliance for the collective defense of Western nations.

European Integration (ECSC & EEC)

The European Coal and Steel Community and European Economic Community; ancestors of the EU designed to link economies.

Nuclear Weapons States

Countries currently possessing nuclear arms include the US, Russia, China, France, UK, India, Pakistan, North Korea, and Israel.

Khrushchev’s Secret Speech

A landmark address denouncing Stalin’s purges and terror.

Khrushchev’s Thaw

A period of slight liberalization, reduced censorship, and 'peaceful coexistence' with the West.

Berlin Wall (1961)

Erected by East Germany to stop the 'brain drain' of citizens fleeing to West Berlin.

Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)

A 13-day standoff over Soviet missiles in Cuba; led to the creation of a direct hotline between DC and Moscow.

Cold War 'Hot Spots'

Proxy wars where the US and USSR fought indirectly through local allies.

Brezhnev Doctrine

The Soviet policy asserting the right to intervene in any Eastern Bloc country where socialism was threatened.

Prague Spring (1968)

A period of reform in Czechoslovakia crushed by a Soviet-led Warsaw Pact invasion.

Détente

A period of 'thawing' tensions characterized by trade agreements and arms control treaties.

SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks)

Treaties aimed at limiting the number of nuclear missiles held by the US and USSR.

Anti-Communist Figures of the 1980s

Key individuals like Saint John Paul II, Margaret Thatcher, and Ronald Reagan who opposed communism.

Polish Solidarity Movement

The first independent labor union in the Soviet Bloc, led by Lech Walesa.

Mikhail Gorbachev’s Reforms: Glasnost

'Openness'—increased transparency and freedom of speech.

Mikhail Gorbachev’s Reforms: Perestroika

'Restructuring'—attempts to modernize the failing Soviet economy.

The Fall of the Soviet Union

Driven by economic failure and rising nationalism in Soviet republics.

First Free Elections in Poland (1989)

Solidarity’s victory signaled the end of communist dominance in Eastern Europe.

Fall of the Berlin Wall (Nov 1989)

The symbolic end of the division of Europe after East German borders were opened.

Velvet Revolution (Dec 1989)

The peaceful overthrow of the communist government in Czechoslovakia.

Dissolution of the USSR (1991)

The Soviet Union officially broke apart; Boris Yeltsin emerged as the leader of the new Russian Federation.

Containment

The goal of stopping the geographical spread of communism.

Brinkmanship

Going to the edge of all-out war to force an opponent to retreat.

Espionage

Using intelligence agencies to gather secrets and sabotage rivals.

Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD)

The military theory that neither side will launch a nuclear strike because both would be destroyed.