Fundamentally, the Cold War broke out because of a clash of national interests rather than a clash of ideology.Discuss

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"Fundamentally, the Cold War broke out because of a clash of national interests rather than a clash of ideology."

It is mostly accurate to say that the cold war broke out because both countries actively sought to achieve their conflicting national interests, such as territorial, strategic and economic securities. The clash of national interests between the Superpowers was the fundamental reason that led to a series of hostile actions and reactions that culminated into the formation of two opposing blocs in Europe. Although both countries did attempt to spread their conflicting ideologies through their expansionistic actions from 1945 to 1949, spreading their ideologies was to ultimately aid them in securing their national interests.

The understanding of cold war as merely a conflict of national interests was perceived to be over simplified as it ignored the crucial aspect of ideologies and politics. The new cold war historians argues that both sides were attempting vigorously to promote their own ideologies in Europe and beyond hence conflicting ideologies was a root cause of cold war. While this is a possible claim to be the primary reason to the origins of cold war, it fails to fully explain why the