Introduction
Cold war was a sequence of events after the World War II (1939-45) till the disintegration of the USSR in 1991, whereby the two super powers, USA and USSR, competed for hegemony in domains of economy, science and technology, politics and military. Each side adopted policies to strengthen itself and weaken the other falling short of an actual war. It is called as the “Cold” War because US and USSR did not fight directly in a war and all
the wars fought among third countries remained localized and there was no general widespread war. During the cold war the world was divided into two blocs- the communist bloc led by USSR and the capitalist bloc led by the USA.
Cold War: Causes
Bipolar World:
Presence of two equal super powers with two very different ideologies of state/society/government clubbed with competing military, political and economic interests.
High role of old suspicions:
- After the Russian Revolution (1917), capitalist states were distrustful of USSR.
- During the Russian Civil War (1918-20), the western powers (US, France, Britain) and Japan sent troops to fight on the side of the “Whites” (Mensheviks, Social Revolutionaries Party, Cadets) against the Bolsheviks.
- Class interest: workers supported communism while the propertied class supported capitalism.
As a Defensive Approach:
- The intention was to preserve one’s own system (capitalism or communism) and one’s frontiers. The two super-powers tried to create as many buffer capitalist/communist states as possible in this process.
Role of Leaders:
- Stalin tried to occupy as much territory as possible in Finland, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia and Germany during the WW II. While Truman was more suspicious of USSR. Roosevelt gave arms, raw material, food supplies etc. to USSR during the WW II under the Lend Lease Act of 1941.
- After Roosevelt (April 1945), Truman became the President of USA. He dropped Nuclear bomb on Japan (1945) without taking Stalin into confidence. Truman also did not allow Russia to participate in sharing of Japanese territory and its colonies after WW II. Statements by leaders like Stalin and Churchill aggravated the tensions in international relations.
Domino Effect:
- Leaders of capitalist countries feared communism. US President Eisenhower (1953-61) feared a Domino Effect whereby if one country was allowed to become communist then the neighbouring countries would soon follow the suite.
- Due to this US fought Vietnam war (1961-75) because after China and North Korea, turning of Vietnam into a communist state would have put Japan under threat of communism.
- Psychological fear of communism among the public due to massive anti-communist propaganda brought the public in support of the actions taken during cold war.
Failure of UN:
- Lack of confidence of major world powers in United Nations to provide a solution to the important problems, lack of impartiality in functioning of UN and lack of powers available to UN- all these weaknesses added to reasons for causing the cold war.
Former Allies Diverge
US was angry with Stalin to sign non-aggression treaty with Germany in 1939, while USSR complaint about the non-action of allies in the western front in 1944. Driven by these and other conflicts, the two allies began to pursue opposing goals.
- Yalta conference: In February 1945, United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union—met at Yalta. They agreed to divide Germany into zones of occupation controlled by the Allied military forces. Germany made to pay for loss of life and property.
- Stalin promised that Eastern Europeans would have free elections (if they follow Russia friendly policy) In return, Stalin agreed to join the war against Japan.
They joined 48 other countries in forming the United Nations. This international organization was intended to protect the members against aggression. It was to be based in New York.
The Soviet Union Cages Eastern Europe
History: Napoleon overran Moscow in 1812. The Germans invaded Russia during World War I. So Soviets Build a Wall of Satellite Nations as the war drew to a close. By the end of the war, Soviet troops occupied a strip of countries along the Soviet Union’s own western border. The Soviet Union regarded these countries as a necessary buffer, or wall of protection. Stalin ignored Yalta agreement and installed or secured Communist governments in Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Poland, and Yugoslavia.
Truman, Stalin, and Churchill met at Potsdam, Germany, in July 1945. Truman pressed Stalin to permit free elections which he refused and said that war between the United States and the Soviet Union was certain.
Germany was divided into two. Soviets controlled the eastern part, including half of Germany’s capital, Berlin (German Democratic Republic). The western side was Federal Republic of Germany in 1949.
United States Counters Soviet Expansion
Soviet-American relations continued to worsen in 1946 and 1947. President Truman adopted a foreign policy called containment (blocking Soviet influence and preventing the expansion of communism) through creating alliances and helping weak countries resist Soviet advances.
Truman Doctrine: policy that pledges American "support for democracies against authoritarian threats. Foreign aid ($400 million) was given to Turkey and Greece. Truman wanted nations to reject communism.
Marshall Plan or Assistance policy: In June 1947, U.S. Secretary of State George Marshall proposed that America give aid to any European country that needed it (food, machines, and other materials). When the Communists seized power in Czechoslovakia, Congress immediately approved the Marshall Plan.
The Cold War and a Divided World
Beginning in 1949, the superpowers used spying, propaganda, diplomacy, and secret operations in their dealings with each other. Same year, ten Western European nations joined with the United States and Canada to form a defensive military alliance later called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Where attack on one member means attack on all. In response, the Soviets developed an alliance system in 1955 as part of their own containment policy. It was known as the Warsaw Pact (Soviet Union, Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Albania).
While US had the nuclear bomb by 1949, the Soviet Union exploded its own atomic weapon. The superpowers had both become nuclear powers. President Truman authorized work on a thermonuclear weapon in January 1950 (hydrogen or H-bomb). By 1952, both had H-bomb.
Brinkmanship: John Foster Dulles (US secretary of state) said that if the Soviet Union or its supporters attacked U.S. interests, there would be “retaliate instantly, by means and at places of our own choosing.” This willingness to go to the brink, or edge, of war became known as brinkmanship. So, the United States strengthened its air force and began producing stockpiles of nuclear weapons. In response, the Soviet Union made its own collection of nuclear bombs. This arms race would go on for four decades.
The Soviets used an Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile technology to push the first unmanned satellite above the earth’s atmosphere (Sputnik I). By January 1958, the United States had successfully launched its own satellite.
U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) authorized secret high altitude spy flights over Soviet territory in planes called U-2s. In May 1960, the Soviets shot down aU-2 plane, and its pilot, Francis Gary Powers, was captured. This U-2 incident brought mistrust and tensions between the superpowers to a new height.