The Cold War Context of Vietnam

The lecture will cover the context of the Cold War in relation to Vietnam, focusing on decolonization and the Cold War's background.
Vietnam and the Cold War are covered extensively in other videos but this lecture will focus on the assumption that the viewer already has a basic understanding of these topics. It will elaborate on the starting points of the syllabus.

Key events around 1917 were crucial, marking the start of the Cold War and the decolonization process.
The Communist Revolution in Russia (1917) introduced a struggle between the West (Britain, France) and the Soviet Union.
The core conflict was ideologically driven: capitalism versus communism.
- Kapitalisme: vrije markt, democratie.
- Communisme: een door de staat aangestuurde samenleving.
Marxism, the communist ideology of the 19th century, underpinned this.
The Communist Revolution led to a bloody civil war with Western intervention, fostering distrust toward Russia.
Russia was regarded with suspicion in the 1920s and 1930s, even more so than fascist states, until the threat of Nazi Germany and Japan became clear.
Tensions from this period set the stage for the Cold War after WWII.
$Marx$ stated that communism stategodsdienst is waar de geschiedenis op uitkomt.

The First World War spurred decolonization, particularly through Wilson's 14 points.
President Wilson's 14 points advocated for self-determination of nations.
Western countries nominally agreed but maintained control over colonies, claiming they weren't ready for independence which led to the continuation of colonial rule by countries like the Netherlands, France and England.
The League of Nations, a precursor to the United Nations, was created to oversee this but ultimately failed to prevent the perpetuation of colonial rule.
The seeds of conflict following WWII were sown during and after WWI.

During WWII, tensions existed between the allied powers (Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin).
Churchill especially mistrusted Stalin, who was viewed as a power-hungry sociopath.
These tensions predated the post-war period.

The Cold War revolved around the ideological conflict between communism and capitalism.
Ideology played a significant role alongside power politics.
There was a genuine belief in world revolution.
U.S. President Truman lacked foreign policy experience and relied on anti-communist advisors.
Churchill warned against the dangers in Europe in his Iron Curtain speech.
Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union, was responsible for the deaths of millions, with many sent to the gulags.
Ideologies held on both sides (communism, capitalism) can be based on truth.
The Soviet Union won the Second World War at the cost of 20 million Russian lives.
Russia wanted to create a buffer zone between itself and the West for protection.
America also sought to establish spheres of influence.
This situation led to the containment policy by the U.S. and an arms race.
The U.S. was the first and only country to use atomic bombs in war (Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 1945).
The Soviet Union developed its own atomic bomb by 1949 which shocked the Western world.
1949-1950 was a period of heightened tensions with China becoming communist, the Russian atomic bomb, and the Korean War.
The arms race was a major component of the Cold War, expanding armies and nuclear arsenals, but preventing direct conflict due to the threat of nuclear war.
The Cold War was "hot" in places like Vietnam via proxy wars.

The world was divided into two blocs: the Western bloc and the Soviet/Chinese bloc.
Europe was a key battleground, with the