Nuclear Arms Race - A cold war investigation.

COLD WAR INVESTIGATION Nuclear Arms Race An arms race is a competition between two or more countries for military supremacy. Each party competes to produce superior numbers of weapons, larger armies, or superior military technology in a technological escalation, "as described by http://en.wikipedia.org". During the cold war there was a nuclear arms race between the U.S.S.R and the United States. Throughout my essay I will be explaining why the United States and the U.S.S.R became involved in an arms race, the aims of the arms race, why this arms race continued, the advancements in technology and weaponry, which contributed to the arms race and how the arms race came to an end. The nuclear arms race began with the Americans under the leadership of Harold Truman dropping the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the Sixth and Ninth of August 1945, which levelled two cities and is still killing people today of radiation related disease. Once Stalin and the U.S.S.R saw the power and extent of damage caused by these weapons of mass destruction the U.S.S.R began its own nuclear weapons program, so that it could compete with the power of America's arsenal. In turn the United States began to build an arsenal of nuclear weapons and nuclear weapon related devices to improve the efficiency of there nuclear weapons the amount that they had, which began

  • Word count: 1408
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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How important was the nuclear arms race in the development of tensions during the Cold War 1945-1962?

The Cold War was a silent war which took place between the USA and the USSR from 1945 to 1991. No physical war took place, hence it being a cold war. Despite the Cold War starting after World War Two, it is believed tensions arose prior to the Second World War. This period of time dramatically changed the political scene of Europe and the rest of the World. The war was built on a foundation of tensions caused by three factors: Eastern Europe, ideologies and an arms race. This essay explores the main factors contributing to the development of tension from 1945 to 1962. An arms race is a competition between nations for superiority in the development and accumulation of weapons. Historians believe that the arms race was the most prominent factor causing tensions. The significant turning point of the USA and USSR’s relationship, and trigger event to the arms race, was the bombing of Japan. In August 1945, the USA dropped two atomic bombs on Japan. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed and thousands of people died. The bombs were the most powerful weapons invented. The fact that the USA had not informed their ally, the USSR, before dropping the bombs created suspicion from the USSR. Russia did not have any bombs and this meant that the USA could potentially attack the Soviet Union and they could not do a thing to prevent it. Adding to the tensions, both the USA and USSR had

  • Word count: 2314
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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To what extent was the nuclear arms race a more stabilising factor in the cold war from 1949 to 1963?

To what extent was the nuclear arms race a more stabilising factor in the cold war from 1949 to 1963? From the period of 1949 up until 1963 saw increasing developments in nuclear technology by both the two superpowers, the USA and USSR. The 'race 'meant that both superpowers aimed to match each other and even gain the upper hand in terms of nuclear missile technology. Nuclear arms were seen as a form of scare tactic against the other superpower as both felt threatened by each other's ideological capability. It was also used as a form of defence mechanism in case of future attack however, the power and destruction of the weapons in which these countries created would have proved fatal not only for the opposing country but for the world. The nuclear arms race has been argued that it stabilised relations between the countries especially after the Cuban missile crisis although there is much evidence that proves otherwise, in which relations between the soviets and the United States were as tense as ever. On the 6th of August 1949, the USSR tested the first atomic bomb in the north of what would be now Russia. This was to start a fury of nuclear testing between the nations. However the first 'testing' was actually in 1945 when the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing thousands of civilians. This immediately threatened not only Japan, the enemy of

  • Word count: 1070
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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The Nuclear Arms race between the USA and the USSR

The nuclear arms race has, with quite considerable justification, been looked upon as the most dangerous characteristic of the Cold War; certainly, to see it as the defining event of that conflict would not be far removed from the truth. For the first time in history, nuclear weapons threatened the extinction of the entire human race; their sheer magnitude of destruction meant that millions of years of history could be wiped out in the event of a nuclear war. Yet it was precisely because of this magnitude that the nuclear arms race remained an arms race: two nations competing for nuclear supremacy, without trying to hurt the other. They did come close to doing to - the Cuban crisis in 1961 and the Yom Kippur war in 1973 - but in the end the bluster of leaders on both sides about nuclear war remained largely rhetoric. Thus we have to look at how the arms race managed to bring about this potential for destruction and the forces which moved the arms race along. In examining the nuclear arms race and why it precipitated such a "mad momentum", there are four areas of study to be considered: the conception of an arms race, the principle of action-reaction, the strategic and political concerns of the superpowers and the nuclear arms race in the larger context of the Cold War. Once President Truman ordered the atomic bomb to be dropped on Hiroshima, the nuclear arms race started

  • Word count: 2884
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Historical and Philosophical studies
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To what extent was the arms race the key cause of the Cold War?

To what extent was arms race the key cause of the cold war? Cold war is the era of hostility, high tension and rivalry between the superpowers that emerged in the post second world war period which is USA and USSR. Previously, the two nations had an alliance, a wartime alliance so that they could be united in defeating Germany, which at that time seemed very hard. The end of Second World War itself meant that there was no common interest holding the new superpowers together as Germany was defeated. This wartime alliance of the USA and USSR could not sustain as rivalry became apparent. The initial battle of the alliance was to defeat Germany, later it seemed the battle was for influence, power and authority in the ruins of Europe. When the two countries emerged as the new superpowers of the world each of them had already had the status as USA had become the number one air force power and USSR had become the number one land force power in the world. Thus, the race for arms and status had started early, even before there was any possibility for a cold war. The arms race was a competition for supremacy between the USA and USSR and their allies. The race for superior technology was for world domination and a stepping stone for the expansion of the sphere of influence. The superpowers wanted to "become the first one" rather than being ranked at the same level. This could only be

  • Word count: 882
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: History
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In what ways, for what reasons and with what success have the Eastern and Western blocs attempted to control the arms race since the start of the Cold War?

Shehtaaz Zaman IB SL History per. 5 October 29, 2003 In what ways, for what reasons and with what success have the Eastern and Western blocs attempted to control the arms race since the start of the Cold War? Arguably the most remarkable exhibitions of US military and foreign policy is the containment of Soviet supremacy in the Post-War era. Upon the conclusion of the Second World War, both superpowers emerged due to the amount of influence each country had over certain areas of Europe creating a bipolar world. Thus, surfaced the Cold War, the struggle for ideological, economic and military supremacy and global influence between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, constantly battling for the expansion of their hegemony. During the military aspect of this struggle emerged the arms race, or the battle of firepower, with both superpowers 'racing' to produce greater numbers of nuclear weaponry and the overall expansion of their own military arsenal than the opposing force. The two superpowers led two individual conflicting blocs. During the post-war era, Eastern Europe could be elucidated as two distinct definitions. Eastern Europe could be referred to as any part of the European continent lying on the Soviet side of the Iron Curtain, including European countries which had been integrated into the USSR and those which had not. However,

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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To what extent did the nuclear arms race make the world a more dangerous place in the years 1949-63?

To what extent did the nuclear arms race make the world a more dangerous place in the years 1949-63? The arms race arguably made the world a more dangerous place, the word 'dangerous' could be defined as an unsafe threat to the world and human population. This was demonstrated through the tests of 'brinkmanship' in the Cuban missile crisis. The increased spending, in order to impress the 'third world', leading to new delivery systems, such as the ICBM's in 1957, the destructive power of the new H-bomb and Lithium bomb. However, the arms race acted as a strong deterrent through promise of 'Mutually Assured Destruction' and also creating a limited war due to the capacity of the nuclear weapons. The nuclear arms race made the world a more dangerous place; it evoked a threat coming from the two world superpowers. The destruction capacities of this developed nuclear weapon have increased thousand times more than the atomic bomb. The world greatly changed when the USA exploded the Hydrogen bomb in 1952; following by the Russians creation of the Hydrogen bomb in 1953 this led to the world becoming a much more dangerous place. This stimulated the arms race and creating a resilient competitive atmosphere between the world powers. In result obviously the damages of the consequences would be greater than of the atomic bomb more, therefore this placed the world in a dangerous position.

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  • Word count: 1119
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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How important were nuclear weapons in shaping the cold war?

How important were nuclear weapons in shaping the cold war? The 'Cold war' was a unique chapter of the 19c as for the first time in history nuclear weapons were involved. Conventional warfare no longer existed and the terrifying prospect of utter destruction was much more likely than ever before. Two superpowers the U.S and the U.S.S.R dictated the balance of power existing in a bi-polar structure. Many historians argue that this bi-polarity was the defining aspect of the Cold War. However others contend that the existence of nuclear weapons prevented the conflict from escalating and directly contributed to the nature of the conflict. This essay well attempt to ascertain what contribution the existence of nuclear weapons made to the shaping of the Cold War. In order to address this it is important first of all to determine what is meant by 'shaping'. Shaping is used to describe the nature of the conflict and the course that it took. Any conflict is inevitably affected by the environment that it exists within. External constraints and boundaries affect everything down to the decisions that are made and the way in which they are enacted on the world stage. However, any one factor can never account for the entire nature of any given conflict. Nuclear weapons although an integral part in explaining the nature of the conflict have to be considered along with the other

  • Word count: 2581
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Historical and Philosophical studies
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Outline the main features of Russian nuclear strategy in the post-Cold War era

Outline the main features of Russian nuclear strategy in the post-Cold War era The evolution of present Russian nuclear strategy can be traced through the post- World War II epoch of Soviet- U.S. nuclear arms race. According to Greg Sheridan we can find ourselves in a new era of international relations- the post-Cold War era. This new period is characterised by bilateral efforts and disarmament agreements (for example the START treaties) and 'strategic drift and entropy' (Sheridan, 2002: 27) between the United States and Russia. The collapse of the Soviet Union had caused a 'global transformation and shift in power' (Hartle & Sikonen, 1991: 215) and as a result the new, democratic Russian Federation emerged in 1991. Although this new state is a regional superpower, it is only a great power in the multipolar contemporary international system, but it is still regarded by United States as the only compatible country which could as its adversary cause the unaccepted damage in a single-large scale nuclear attack (Wallander, 2002: 25). The future relationship between these nuclear superpowers will play the key-role in international relations, especially in the spheres of international security, crisis management, nuclear strategy and maintenance of global stability. It is necessary that in today's era of 'global insecurity' (Podvig, 2000: 12) Russian Federation and the United

  • Word count: 2362
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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Is nuclear deterrence a viable strategy in the post-cold war period?

Is nuclear deterrence a viable strategy in the post-cold war period? The question refers to the concept of deterrence. Non-nuclear or conventional deterrence has existed for many centuries. It usually involves an attempt by one state to influence the policies and decisions of another by using the threat of punishment or denial. That is, either by destroying assets that a state highly values, or by preventing a state from achieving its objectives, respectively. (Payne and Walton, 2002 p161-162) However, previous to the invention of nuclear weapons, it was not such a prominent strategy since conventional force was not a large enough threat and could often be ignored. It also involved risks for the deterring power since they would have to send forces to the enemy state. Nuclear deterrence, as referred to in the question is most closely associated with strategy during the cold war. It uses the same basic logic as conventional deterrence but it is much more effective. Before responding directly to the question it is important to explain and outline the crucial part that nuclear deterrence played until the end of the cold war. This will provide the context against which its present situation can be compared. Examples from the last decade will be used in order to analyse whether and when nuclear deterrence strategy played a part within them. Arguments from either side of the

  • Word count: 2525
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
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