Cold War: Military Alliances, Nuclear Proliferation, and Proxy Wars

Military Alliances

  • Cold War led to the formation of military alliances.
  • NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization):
    • Formed in 1949 by Western nations, including the United States, in response to the Soviet Union's occupation of Eastern Europe (the Soviet Bloc).
    • A mutual defense alliance: an attack on one member is considered an attack on all.
  • Warsaw Pact:
    • Formed in 1955 by the Soviet Union and its satellite states in Eastern Europe.
    • A military alliance mirroring NATO, with the same principle of collective defense.
  • The creation of these alliances increased Cold War tensions.

Nuclear Proliferation

  • The Cold War spurred a nuclear arms race between the US and the Soviet Union.
  • The US developed atomic bombs first, followed by the Soviets in 1949.
  • The US then created the hydrogen bomb, which was more powerful than the atomic bomb.
  • The Soviet Union developed its own hydrogen bomb.
  • Over time, both superpowers accumulated enough nuclear weapons to destroy the world many times over.
  • Cuban Missile Crisis (1962):
    • The Soviet Union, under Nikita Khrushchev, placed nuclear missiles in Cuba after the failed US attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro.
    • The US discovered the missile sites via spy planes and was outraged.
    • The US had previously placed missiles in Turkey, near the Soviet border.
    • President John F. Kennedy ordered a naval blockade of Cuba.
    • The crisis lasted for 13 days, raising fears of nuclear war.
    • The missiles were never fired, and eventually, both sides de-escalated the situation.
  • Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (1968):
    • Created in response to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
    • Called on nuclear powers to prevent non-nuclear countries from developing nuclear weapons.

Proxy Wars

  • The Cold War was characterized by indirect conflicts or proxy wars, due to no direct fighting between the US and Soviet Union.
  • These wars took place in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
  • The US and the Soviet Union supported different sides in these conflicts.

Korean War

  • After World War II, Korea was divided into North Korea (occupied by the Soviets) and South Korea (occupied by the US and its allies).
  • In 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea to unify the country under its communist leadership.
  • The US and the United Nations (primarily the US) supported South Korea.
  • The Soviet Union supported North Korea with weapons and resources, but not troops.
  • The war ended in a stalemate in 1953, with the two Koreas remaining divided.
  • The war resulted in approximately 3 million deaths.

Angolan Civil War

  • Angola was a colony of Portugal with arbitrarily drawn borders encompassing rival ethnic groups.
  • The Angolan ethnic groups fought together for independence from Portugal and won.
  • After independence in 1975, the ethnic groups struggled for power.
  • The Soviet Union, the United States, and South Africa supported different factions, escalating the conflict.
  • The Angolan Civil War became a proxy conflict in the Cold War.

Contra War in Nicaragua

  • In 1979, the Sandinista National Liberation Front, a socialist group, took power in Nicaragua.
  • The United States opposed the Sandinistas and supported the Contras, who attempted to overthrow them beginning in 1981.
  • The Soviet Union supported the Sandinistas.
  • The Contras committed human rights violations.
  • The conflict ended in a ceasefire, and the Sandinistas were defeated in the subsequent election.