Assess the importance of ideological differences in the outbreak of the Cold War
Assess the importance of ideological differences in the outbreak of the Cold War. After the Second World War two major power blocs were formed in Europe. The first was dominated by the USA and it's capitalist democracy and the second was dominated by the USSR and communism. These powers never fought directly but rather fought a 'cold' war through their economics and ideological rivalry. This essay will demonstrate how ideological differences was important in the outbreak of cold war as well as the combination and interconnection of other factors. The origins of the Cold War are often traced back by historians to the Russian Revolution during 1917 which established the profoundly different Marxist ideology of the USSR with the capitalist ideology of the West. During the Russian civil war the USA sent aid to the White Army who were also ideologically opposed to the communist Red Army. The Bolsheviks created the Comintern, an organisation dedicated to the spreading of communism. This shows how ideology played an important role in the start of the Cold War. The Comintern would have spread mistrust and fear in the West, and the USSR would have felt alienated by the West in their attempt to help the White Army. The relations between the USSR and the USA started of shakily due to ideological differences as well as mistrust. This shows how it was the interconnection of few factors
Who was responsible for the outbreak of the Cold war to 1946?
Who was responsible for the outbreak of the Cold war to 1946? The Cold war was a conflict based on Ideologies, it stemmed from the misinterpretation and lasting resentment of the Russian revolution moving on to the division of Europe after the defeat of the Nazis. The fear of the new Nuclear weapon caused the Soviets to create a buffer zone of protection whereas the USA rightfully saw or misinterpreted this as a purely expansionist policy leading on to total communist world domination. The Cold war can be seen as stemming from the start of the Russian revolution in 1917, the USA fought on the side of the royalists opposing the Communist Bolsheviks who would later win and rule the country up until the end of the Cold war. The USA failed to interpret the Cold War as a conflict based on ideologies and resentment, ideologies based on the principles of Capitalism and Communism which doctrinally opposed each other. Between the periods of the end of the Russian revolution and the beginning of the second world war neither the USSR or the United states had anything to do with each other both diplomatically and economically both countries had adopted a purely isolationist policies and mistrusted each other. During the second world war because there was a common goal both countries put there differences aside so as defeat Germany but after the war there was no common goal and each
How far was the USSR responsible for the outbreak of the Cold War?
How far was the USSR responsible for the outbreak of the Cold War 1945-1949? To a certain extent, the USSR's responsibility of the Cold War cannot be underestimated as their policies following the Second World War may have been seen as aggressive by USA. The forceful take-over of Eastern Europe through the Red Army occupations, especially in distinctive cases such as Poland and Czechoslovakia, can be seen as being far from the "liberation" over which the two war-time allies had agreed, while the rigging of elections did not conform to the Yalta agreement of the organisation of free ones. Stalin responded to the Americans' policies of containment by creating his own agencies, therefore creating even more hostility between the two superpowers, while also refusing the existence of anything but Soviet puppet states in Eastern Europe. However, the event which cemented the outbreak of the Cold War was Stalin imposing the Berlin Blockade, taking direct action towards weakening the Americans' position. One may see that Stalin's blockade resulted in the official creation of two separate German states, one of the most significant events of the Cold War. On the other hand, revisionists point out that the USSR was taking defensive measures to protect itself from anything that could have caused as much damage as the Second World War, while the Americans, who were superior economically,
To what extent was Soviet expansion responsible for the outbreak of the Cold War in Europe?
To what extent was Soviet expansion responsible for the outbreak of the Cold War in Europe? I believe that Soviet expansion was one of the main factors for the outbreak of the Cold War, there are other factors to consider as well which puts the blame on America as well, but the Soviet's spreading their message of communism into other countries post WW2 was the main reason. By early 1946, the Soviet Union had tightened her control over Eastern European Countries. Stalin had started to promote communism in the region and tried to consolidate the communist rule in Bulgaria, Rumania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Poland. During the elections, communism lost most of them. However, Stalin forced the countries to be ruled by a communist government and a one party dictatorship was set up in these countries. They became the Soviet satellites. This made the western side felt suspicious. At first, Yugoslavia was also on of the satellites, however, in 1948, she left the Soviet bloc. Marshal Tito was able to maintain a communist government in Yugoslavia, which was independent on Moscow. The spread of communist control in the east made the capitalists in the west think that their democratic policy was being threatened. This Soviet expansion in East Europe also worried the U.S who (under Truman) decided to take action to stop the Soviet expansion by introducing the Truman Doctrine in 1947.
Critically evaluate the revisionist position that it was the expansion of US power that led to the outbreak of the Cold War.
| Page ________________ Critically evaluate the revisionist position that it was the expansion of US power that led to the outbreak of the Cold War. Historians have disagreed as to who was responsible for the breakdown of Soviet-U.S. relations after the Second World War, therefore creating different schools of thought such as Orthodox , Revisionist and Post-revisionist interpretations. Scholars’ analysis concerning the origins of the cold war have changed and developed, due to the context in time and access to previously closed sources. The Orthodox view was the dominant thesis of cold war literature for 20 years, as few historians saw any reason to challenge the official American interpretation of the beginnings of the Cold War, due to the Mc Carthy years, which was a manipulative and propaganda era. This however changed due to the events of Vietnam, which allowed the revisionist thought to flourish. This is because America’s involvement in Vietnam dissatisfied many historians with the premises of the containment policy and, also, with the traditional view of the origins of the Cold War. This paper sets out to critically evaluate the revisionist assumption that it was the expansion of US power that led to the outbreak of the cold war. Through intensive reading and research of the three different theses, a critical evaluation has been made and criticisms of the
The Cold War
The term `Cold War' was first used by an American banker in 1947. He was describing the hostility that existed between the USA and the USSR. By calling the war `cold' he meant that the two countries were doing all that they could to harm each other without using their own armed forces to fight a `hot' war. There has always been controversy concerning the causes of the cold war. The orthodox view of the late 40's/ early 50's was that the `expansionist USSR was responsible for the outbreak and continuation of the Cold War.' The revisionist view of the 70's and 80's stated that the `blame was on the US for misunderstanding and over reacting to the Soviet Union.' The post-revisionists believed the Cold War was the `product of mutual mistrust and over -reaction on both parts.' However, when discussing the causes of the Cold War it is also necessary to consider the context on the war and the other factors involved such as different ideologies, post -WW2 Europe and feelings on mistrust and suspicion. Most historians would agree that the root cause of the Cold War was the opposing ideologies of the USA and USSR; Communism vs. Capitalism. This conflict of ideology can be dated back to the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution and successive Russian Civil War. The Americans hoped thee revolution would bring about an age of democracy in Russia but watched I alarm as Lenin and
Differing Viewpoints on the Origins of the Cold War
Irena Gettinger 09/02/08 The Origins of the Cold War: Differing Explanations The Orthodox or Traditional View The origins of the Cold War have always been a point of contention between scholars. The question is; who was primarily responsibly for the outbreak of the Cold War? Basically there are only two options for who was primarily responsible, either the Soviet Union or the United States. Winston Churchill, with his declaration in 1946 that the Soviet Union had dropped an "iron curtain" around the Eastern European states sparked the orthodox or traditional view of the origins of the Cold War. Scholars who argue for this explanation generally believe that the origins of the Cold War originate in the Marxist-Leninist ideology of a class based revolution and the need for the Soviet leader (Stalin) to create a fear of an external threat to maintain internal power. Traditionalists see Soviet foreign policy as a threat to the United States and as aggressively expansionist, spreading the Communist ideology into Eastern European countries. In order to prevent the spread of Communism, and protect their country, the United States chose to practice a policy of "containment". The actions of the US were simply driven out of the desire to prevent any more loss of liberty. In addition to George Kennen, a key architect of the traditional view, one of classic advocates of the
What was responsible for the start of the Cold War?
The Cold War was a period of extreme tension between the two superpowers of that time: USA led by Roosevelt later replaced by Truman, and USSR led by Josef Stalin. The war was mostly due to the ideological conflicts between the two superpowers and fear or paranoia of the other party. It was termed the “Cold War” as they never fought directly but was constantly filled with threats of annihilation of each other and nuclear arms race. The Cold War devastated many countries in terms of politics, economy and social living. There were many different interpretations as to which country was responsible for the outbreak and development of the war. To begin with is the orthodox view that generally states that the Soviets were to blame for the Cold War. They place the responsibility on USSR due to several reasons; the Red Army Occupation in Eastern Europe, their policy of expansionism using ‘Salami tactics’, Stalin in accordance with the Marxist theory, the Czechoslovakian Coup, and the Berlin Blockade. Red Army refers to the national army of the Soviets. The Red Army occupied states to be converted into Soviet Satellite states such as Poland, Hungary, Romania and East Germany. Traditional historians state that the movement was an example of paranoia of Stalin towards the world. Salami tactics was a way the Soviet Union influenced and dominated Eastern Europe through divide and
The outbreak of the First World War
Thesis statement: The war was premeditated by the 'Central powers' (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire), un-avoided and accepted by the allied powers (Russia, France, Italy, Britain, Portugal and Greece) and the result of acts deliberately committed in order to make it unavoidable. Body German Responsibility Topic sentence: A.J.P Taylor and F.Fischer: Germany deliberately engineered the war in pursuit of expansionist aims which were really a prelude to the designs of Hitler. * An assumption of basic German liability * Criticism of the negative policies of the Allies * Broader survey of the whole system of alliances and war schedules. * Germany didn't feel certain of her allies, and didn't want to be isolated amidst hostile neighbors. * As a result of this dilemma, Bethmann Hollweg decided on a 'diagonal' policy. * He decided to encourage Austrian government after Sarajevo to take military action against Serbia so that war would break out & Germany would smash the Entente with the Schlieffen plan. Austria-Hungary Responsibility Topic sentence: The harsh ultimatum was not to make Serbia climb down, but instead, was intended to provoke Serbia's rejection and therefore provide a pretext for an Austrian invasion. * Assassination at Sarajevo produced two main reactions/: * Foreign Minister and Chief wanted to settle Serbian threat from fear of
USA to blame for Cold War?
"The USA was solely to blame for the outbreak of the Cold War" How far do you agree with this statement? Historical debate has often attempted to study which 'superpower' was the main cause behind the Cold War. Clearly, the Cold War began as a result of a number of factors between both the USA and Soviet Union. To label one country as "solely" responsible neglects true analysis of the subject. Essentially, the Cold War inevitably began due to the conflict of historical ideologies coupled with the catalyst of World War Two. For every action from the USSR, there was a reaction of equal or greater proportions from the USA. Antagonism between the USSR and USA began as early as the end of the First World War. After Lenin's swift communist revolution, tensions grew between Russia and the West for Russia's retreat from the war. However, tensions mounted even further due to the fact that the allied forces fought in the civil war on the side of the anti-Bolshevik "Whites". Underlining discontent also increased after America entered World War Two. In the Teheran Conference, the USSR felt disappointed by Churchill and Roosevelt in their procrastination of allied support into France. This only served to heighten Stalin's paranoia. Hence, from this it could be argued that the individual figure of Roosevelt played a significant part in the escalation of the Cold War. However,
