Superpower Relations and the Thaw in the Cold War
The Post-Stalin Thaw and the bid for Peaceful Co-Existence? 953-1961 In the 1950s the Cold War, although in many ways the same, was changing in character * Globalization of the Cold War * Nuclear Arms Race * Stalin’s death in ’53 and the Thaw However, a more thorough relation of tensions – détente – was not to emerge until after the shocks of the Berlin crisis ’61 and more particularly the Cuban Missile Crisis ‘62 Timeline of coexistence and confrontation characterising 1953 – 61 951 – Churchill elected PM, and in a surprise move from his reputation as a ‘Cold War warrior’ pressed for a summit with the Soviet Union to end the Cold War. November 1952 – Election of Eisenhower, reflecting a ‘hardening of US attitudes’ March 1953 – Death of Stalin, the politburo avoided one person consolidating power and confirmed the collective leadership of Malenkov, Molotov, Beria, Bulganin and Khrushchev. Policy of destalinisation introduced July 1953 – End of the Korean War. It had a traumatising effect on the US population with 32,629 US killed, 103,284 injured and the deaths of 3m aprox. Korean civies. * American anger was reflected in the policies of Dulles – rollback and massive retaliation * Limitations of these policies demonstrated by the lack of a US response to Soviet suppression of protest in East Germany (1953) and more
Investigation: The Cuban Missile Crisis as a Thaw in the Cold War
Completed in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the IB Diploma Programme John Paul Chunga IB History Internal Assessment 2011-2012 Candidate Number: 0345-006 IB Instructor: Nicholas Investigation: The Cuban Missile Crisis as a Thaw in the Cold War Word Count: 1,963 Section A I want to know more about politics in the 1960s at the height of the Cold War when John F. Kennedy's New Frontier combats Soviet ambition. The United States and the Soviet Union were the superpowers of the world with two competing ideologies. With this competition came fear of that the other would best them in technological advancement. The nuclear arms race had begun after the Second World War and on October 16, 1962 culminated with the Cuban missile crisis that had the world inches from destruction. After this event the arms race did not flex its power as the Cold War thawed, however what evidence supports this supposed thawing in the Cold War? In other words, to what extent did the Cuban missile crisis lead to a thaw in the Cold War with the Soviet Union? To reach a conclusion for the research question, the conditions leading up to, during, and following the Cuban missile crisis will be assessed. The lessons learned from the administrations following will be used to assess whether a thawing occurred. The sources Thirteen Days by Robert F. Kennedy and The Fog of War directed by Errol
Cold War Revision
Cold War Revision A war short of full scale war because of the development of the Atomic bomb. CAUSES OF THE COLD WAR [BARE] . Beliefs: Russia was a Communist country, ruled by a dictator who cared little about human rights. America was a capitalist democracy, which valued freedom. 2. Aims: Stalin wanted reparations from Germany/ a buffer of friendly states. Britain and the USA [led by President Truman] wanted to help Germany recover/ to prevent large areas of Europe from coming under Communist control. 3. Resentment about history: The USSR did not trust Britain and the USA - They had tried to destroy the Russian Revolution in 1918/ Stalin thought they had not helped the USSR enough in WW2. Britain & USA did not trust USSR - Stalin had signed the Nazi-Soviet pact in 1939. 4. Events turned the mistrust into war: Yalta/ Potsdam/ Salami tactics/ Fulton/ Greece/ Truman Doctrine/ Marshall Plan/ Cominform/ Czechoslovakia YALTA CONFERENCE (February 1945) . Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt agreed to Divide Germany into 4 zones (France, Britain, USA, USSR)/ to hold free elections in Eastern European countries./ to set up the United Nations./ to set up a government of Communists and non Communists in Poland. 2. On the surface, everything seemed friendly, but there was tension behind the scenes POTSDAM CONFERENCE (July 1945) . At Potsdam the tensions surfaced.
Was USA losing cold war
To what extent was the USA losing the Cold War 1949-1960? During this period the USA was increasingly concerned with its global position and the need to contain the growing threat of international communism. The period started badly with the 'fall' of China to communism in 1949. The measure of US success in the Cold War at this time depends upon perception of the American position and whether the USA was content to keep communism contained or showed a willingness to 'roll back' the influence of the USSR and communist expansion. The USA showed different levels of success and failure in different regions and with different technologies. American success overall was much higher than critics have suggested. In 1949 the USA held the nuclear monopoly, this gave an additional force to US diplomacy throughout the world. With the development of the Soviet A-bomb, nuclear stalemate was established. This was a setback for the Americans who then carried out a massive investment programme to develop the more powerful H-bomb, the US dismay it took the Soviets only a year to catch up on this new technology. Although the USA was not behind in this part of the Cold War, the loss of advantage was acutely felt within Washington and broader American society, fear of the Bomb and the effects of radiation were common in US culture and attitudes. American citizens no longer felt as safe
To what extent you would agree that the period 1948-1953 there was a thaw in the superpower relations
To what extent would you agree that the period 1948-1953 saw a 'thaw' in super power relation? By 1948, US-Soviet relations were deteriorating which made post-war co-operation seemed impossible. The establishment of Soviet's Berlin Blockade consolidated the position of the two superpowers in Europe. Ironically, now that there was a clear territorial division, USSR and USA seemed more comfortable to put forward proposals for a more collaborative effort, especially in regards to the German problem. The idea of 'thaw' in the Cold War was paradoxical as there was a long stretch of time of conflicts due to ideological differences and a tight arms race. However, both sides adopted a new approach in policy and methods that arguably helped thaw the icy relationship between the East and the West. The consolidation of both superpowers in Europe help paved the way for a dialogue to be established between the two. US military commitment to NATO in 1949 against the aggression of Soviet communists and USSR's Warsaw Pact against the perceived US imperialistic nature forced both sides to accept resulting division of Europe. Stalin was always concerned for the security of USSR and this eradicated that fear. Through the establishment of the Iron Curtain where Soviet sphere of influence was recognized, the antagonistic relationship between both powers was considerably improved which allowed
The Origins of the Cold War.
The Origins of the Cold War are widely regarded to lie most directly within the immediate post-Second World War relations between the superpowers of the United States and the Soviet Union in the years 1945 - 1947, leading to the developed Cold War that endured until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Both the superpowers contrasted in their views, and their political regimes were totally different. Some historians look back to Lenin's seizure of power in Russia (the Bolshevik Revolution of late 1917) as forming the more extended origins of the Cold War; others, such as Walter LaFeber, go back to the 1890s, when the U.S. and Tsarist Russia became political and economic rivals in Manchuria. From 1933 to 1940 the United States and the Soviet Union had a sort of detente, but relations were not friendly. After the USSR and Germany became belligerents in 1941, Roosevelt made a personal commitment to help the Soviets (Congress never voted any sort of alliance). The wartime cooperation was never friendly, and it became increasingly strained by February 1945 at the Yalta Conference, as it became increasingly clear that Stalin intended to spread communism to Russia's neighbouring countries (of which he succeded and of which lead to the birth of Cominform) and then, to spread communism throughout Western Europe. [edit] Escalation and Crisis Two opposing geopolitical blocs had
How Important Were The Policies Of Gorbachev In Bringing An End To The Cold War In Europe?
How Important Were The Policies Of Gorbachev In Bringing An End To The Cold War In Europe? In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became the new leader of the Soviet Union. His new policies had an impact on Eastern Europe. As he was from a younger generation, his viewpoint on Communism and the Soviet state differed from previous Soviet leaders. His policies aimed to make the Communist Party more responsive and to liberalise the faltering economy. In effect, he called from an end to the Cold War. His policies were only one factor in bringing an end to the Cold War and other factors such as his new approach, his attitudes and Western pressure eventually led to the end of the Cold War. Gorbachev wanted to change the Soviet Union for several reasons. Firstly, the Soviet Unions economy was extremely weak. Its expenditure on the arms race was too much and the war with Afghanistan was unwinnable. Previously, there had been no new thinking about how to run the Soviet economy since the days of Stalin. Each leader had followed the same policies and ignored and warnings that the economy was in trouble. Gerontocracy was used to describe the Soviet leadership between 190-1985. At this time, the Soviet Union was in need of reforms, but all the leaders were in too poor of condition to do anything effective. For example, Brezhnev died in 1982; therefore there was no change in Soviet foreign policy.
How did the Cold War develop after 1945
Kate Bystrova 11CLM How did the Cold War develop after 1945? At the end of 1945 World War II had finished and had left Europe in ruins. Not only did the war have obvious disruptive, destructive effects, but it was as if a powerful iron curtain had been drawn across Europe, dividing it; East and West, communist and capitalist. This happened because, when the recent war had ended, the USSR liberated Western Europe, Britain and America the East. A conference between the Big Three held at Yalta in February 1945 rationed Germany to the victorious Allies, learning from their mistake of Versailles, 1919, after WWI, when Hitler had simply claimed that the country had been betrayed, and had not lost the war. Now that the Second World War was over, however, the allies feared and distrusted each other. Furthermore, the super powers already had reasons to distrust one another; for example, the Second Front ordeal during the Second World War, when Stalin was himself convinced that the Western Allies, hating Nazis similarly to Communists, wanted the two systems to obliterate each other. Other events such as the Russian Revolution or the Western Allies' initial disposition on the communist system worked to further tense the Allied relationships. The next notable event in the Cold War development was Winston Churchill's 'Iron Curtain' speech, made at Truman's hometown Fulton, USA, in March
The Cold War.
According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy", one apt definition of war is this: war is an actual, intentional and widespread-armed conflict between political communities." (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/war/). This definition did not seem fit for the conflict between capitalism (United States of America), communism (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), and their followers. The struggle was later dubbed the Cold War, referring to its lack of physical conflict. However, if every aspect of this struggle is examined, the name "Cold War" does not serve justice to what it stands for. The dispute between communism and capitalism was not limited to political distrust and competition. Thus, the struggle should not solely be classified as a "Cold War". There is no exact date that marks the beginning of the Cold War, but its deepest roots are found in early 1900s with the Russian revolution. The people of Russia were unsatisfied with the czarist government in place. In 1917, the government was overthrown and Vladimir Ilich Lenin established a new communist government. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was formed. Under the new rule, all opposition to the government was eradicated, including external obstruction. The Soviets called for a worldwide revolution against capitalism, which they viewed as an enemy and a threat to their state. This was the first
The Cold War.
The Cold War Introduction During the Second World War, the USA and the USSR fought on the same side against Nazi Germany. At the end of the war the two sides fell out. This was because the USA was a capitalist country and the USSR was a communist country. After the war the USSR took control of a large part of Eastern Europe and helped Eastern Europe countries to set up communist governments. By 1949 Europe was divided between the East and the West. The dividing line became known as the 'Iron Curtain'. The USA and the Soviet Union were enemies but a 'hot war' never developed. Instead, from the 1940s to the 1980s, the two superpowers entered into a cold war using espionage and propaganda. On its borders, the USSR was surrounded by Western powers. This made the USSR feel threatened which meant it closed in on its-self. The USA wanted to learn about how technologically advanced in the arms race and space the USSR was. However, the USA was unable to do so as information was being restricted. The U2 Plane Incident On May 1st 1960, an American U2 spy plane was shot down over the USSR. Francis Gary Powers was the pilot of the daring mission to fly completely over Russia taking pictures of secret military bases in order to find the status of the USSR's military capabilities. Before this historic U2 flight no American spy plane had been shot down over the USSR during the Cold
