Proxy Wars during the Cold War
Victor Fung IB History November 17, 2008 Proxy Wars during the Cold War In the past, proxy wars have been fought through the use of third parties in order to prevent a full-scale war. During the Cold War, the need to prevent such a full-scale war became extremely important due to the fear of mutually assured destruction. Instances such as the Greek civil war, Korean War, Cuban Revolution, Vietnam War, Bay of Pigs, Afghan Soviet war, Angolan Civil War, were all examples of such proxy wars between the Soviet and the American sides. In a proxy war, either side would strive to implement their own form of government, which would then serve as a beacon for similar revolutions in the region. In addition, such proxy wars were also a test of economic capacity for either the Americans or the Soviets. Thus, these wars were fought to great effect during the Cold War and had long lasting consequences for either side. For wars such as the Greek civil war, the Cuban revolution, and other similar revolutions, the Americans and the Soviets did not advocate direct intervention. For example, the Truman Doctrine allowed American aid and materiel to be sent to pro-Capitalist Greek and Turkish supporters, rather than direct military involvement. This is similarly done by the Soviets, who sent aid to countries such as Cuba in the form of oil and other resources to support the economy, as well
Willy Spears.
Willy Spears * Single young man * Lives with his sister and widowed mother * Bright blue eyes, pale skin, dark black hair * Loner, although easy to talk to * Has a passion for art and enjoys photography * Deep meaningful person, trustworthy It was dark and dingy, and what looked like an old outlet warehouse situated in the centre of the forest. Approaching the dark desolate space made me fell cold and insecure, not knowing what was going to happen next. Amongst the foliage lay axes of different sizes. The sweet aroma of pine and moist bark filled the air. In the far distance beyond the conifers, rest the picturesque view of the mountain ranges, a sight so breathtaking that my heart yearned to meet this place. The fresh breeze sent a cold chill down my spine. I took a step back and realised the harsh reality, I was there to work and nothing else. I sustained myself and walked in. "Willy Spears, you're late!" Protest a bad tempered man. Unsure where the peculiar voice was coming from, I answered. "Sorry man, won't happen again." I realised I was late, 10 minutes infact, but it did not bother me. Gradually, I settled in, cutting timber sounds easier than it looks although I soon got the hang of things. My boss did not seem entirely sure, so suggested that I was to ask him for help if I required it. The other workers seemed distant and kept themselves to themselves with
Capitalism, Communism and the Cold War
Capitalism, Communism And The Cold War The Cold War led to a series of conflicts in different parts of the word where the two superpowers found themselves in confronting each ohter. The War was the period of conflict, tension and competition between the United States and the Soviet Union and their allies from the mid 1940s until the early 1990s. The main U.S. allies were Western Europe, Japan and Canada. The main Soviet allies were Eastern Europe and China. Throughout the period, the rivalry between the two superpowers was played out in multiple arenas: military coalitions;, psychology, and espionage; military, industrial, and technological developments; costly defense spending; a massive conventional and nuclear arms race. In 1947 the term "Cold War" was introduced by Americans Bernard Baruch and Walter Lippmann to describe emerging tensions between the two former wartime allies.There never was a direct military engagement between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, but there was a half-century of military build-up, and political battles for support around the world, including significant involvement of allied and satellite nations. Although the U.S. and the Soviet Union had been wartime allies against Nazi Germany, the two sides differed on how to reconstruct the postwar world even before the end of the Second World War. Over the following decades, the Cold War spread outside
The Causes of The Cold War
The Causes of The Cold War Many young historians ask themselves how did the Cold War start? I for one am wondering. But, I suppose the answer to that is quite simple, not straight foreword, but simple. The steps leading up to the Cold War are not as quite as chronological as they were in WW2, when Hitler broke the Treaty Of Versailles, however, the pieces of the puzzle do fit together, and they do make a complete picture. In 1943 and 1945 two conferences were held between President Roosevelt of USA, Prime Minister Churchill of Britain and Stalin of USSR, currently known as Russia. The first conference was held at Teheran in Persia (1943), planning to defeat Germany. The second conference was held just after the defeat of Germany at Yalta in the Crimea (1945). There, the three leaders decided to split Germany four ways, with each bit being controlled by France, Russia, USA or Britain. Before the Potsdam conference in 1945 many changes took place. For one, Roosevelt died so his vice, Harry Truman replaced him. Also Churchill lost the election back home so Attlee was voted in as Prime Minister. The Allies were growing more suspicious of each other. Stalin wanted complete control over Eastern Europe, therefore despising his approval of the free elections of Eastern Europe. Attlee and Truman suspected this. Furthermore, Stalin had the idea that because Attlee and Truman were
Imperialism, Expansionism, and the Cold War
Joseph Hagan HOTA Pd.1 Mr. Munro April 14 '2004 Imperialism, Expansionism, and the Cold War The Cold War developed after the Second World War as a blend of several unsolved disputes and diplomatic misinterpretations. Ideological differences worsened the matter and made interaction with either side less probable since each other was resented by the other's actions during the previous war. Even so, what really built up and intensified the war was the imperialistic and expansionist nature of the capitalist and communist nations since both sides struggled to obtain better relations with other strong countries and expand their rule or political influence. First of all, the ideological differences between the capitalist and communist parties were probably the main determining factors in the imperialist/expansionist decisions which were taken. In the case of the communists, it was their main principles which defied the capitalists since the communist main points were that the capitalists would eventually destroy themselves. Communists also felt the duty to help the capitalists and this is why they believed that they show impose their rule over these states in order to prevent self-destruction. This is exactly why the domino effect comes into play all around Europe and why the communist nations were thought to follow a strict policy of expansion. Stauchton Lynd put it best, "Why
Who was responsible for the Cold War?
Who was responsible for the Cold War? The slave frees himself when, of all the relations of private property, he abolishes only the relation of slavery and thereby becomes a proletarian; the proletarian can free himself only by abolishing private property in general. (Engels, Principles of Communism) Private property was the original source of freedom. It still is its main bulwark. (Walter Lippmann) The 'Cold War' was an; economic, political, and ideological clash between two superpowers. The above quotes illustrate the fundamental differences between the beliefs of Western capitalists and 'Eastern' Communists, differences that dictated forty five years of competition and one-one-upmanship in the international arena. To understand why the Cold War took place and therefore who was responsible not only do the events that played out in the early 20th century need to be considered but also the inherent philosophy behind each 'bloc' and the driving forces on each side. This essay aims to assess the different historical view points that have developed since the 1950's including; the orthodox view, the revisionist view, and the post-revisionist view. Ultimately however the revisionist view point, that the United States and her Western allies were to blame for the Cold War, is the one that seems to be the most justified. The orthodox view is that the Soviet Union was mostly
When did the Cold War Begin?
When did the Cold War Begin? The 20th century was, from my viewpoint, a century of major changes. At the outset of the 1900s, in 1914, WWI broke out demonstrating a totally new face of combat. Machine guns, heavy artillery, and war planes were tried for the first time after the sword and shield had been the basic fighting tools for the previous thousands of years. Almost 20 years later, WWII took place causing even more destruction than the preceding war. People thought that another change in the style of warfare was hundreds of years away. This projection was, obviously, incorrect. Another type of war, The Cold War (CW), grew out of WWII. I would define the CW as a war with no physical fighting, and a period of threat, intimidation, and conflicting ideologies. These three keywords are important because they brought many results. Threat and intimidation led to a build-up of arms, the formation of political organizations that work together against the enemy, and the use of other countries to work against the enemy. On the other hand, conflicting ideologies led to arguments between the leaders and to the exploitation of propaganda and media. However, it is difficult to identify a starting point for the CW. The main reasons are that there was no significant gap between WWII and the CW, there was no physical battle to mark the beginning of the war, and most of the
Who Was Responsible For the Cold War?
WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE COLD WAR? Revisionist historians tend to regard the outbreak of the Cold War as a result of American hostility or, at least, diplomatic incompetence, while the more traditional view lays the responsibility squarely at the feet of the Soviet Union. Assess the validity of each view. The Cold War, said to have lasted from the end of World War II to the dismantling of the Soviet Union in 1991, was one of the most significant political events of the 20th century. For nearly 40 years the world was under the constant threat of total devastation, caught between the nuclear arsenals of the United States, Great Britain, and France on one side and the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China on the other. Any crisis precipitated by the struggle between the forces of democracy and communism could trigger a nuclear exchange of such stupendous proportions and overwhelming horror and suffering that would render life on earth utterly impossible. In reality, this Cold War was a tense political period between the Democratic and Communist blocs, the East and the West, and most importantly, the United States and the Soviet Union. Although this period has now come to an end, many disputes have been raised concerning the initial conference at Yalta near the end of the Second World War, and the actual causes of the Cold War tensions involving Communist and
The causes of the Cold War.
During the World Wars, America, Britain and Russia enjoyed a (fairly) happy working relationship. However, eventually their reason for being friends was lost and the differences between them started to affect this relationship, making it become more and more awkward. Eventually this break up ended in Cold War. One of the reasons the wartime alliance broke down was deep-seated resentment between the countries from before the war. This meant that the powers already had 'bad experiences' and impressions of each other before they had to work together. In 1939 Stalin signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact: a (public) non-aggression pact (privately) agreeing to share Poland between them. Stalin had seen how weak Britain could be after watching them appease Hitler and after they (as part of the League of Nations) let Mussolini bomb Abyssinia. He saw that he could take advantage of this. Stalin's fears and suspicions grew worse when he signed an agreement with France saying that they would help if Germany invaded Russia, but he was not sure he could trust them after they failed to keep Germany out of the Rhineland. He also felt betrayed after the Western Allies failed to open up a second front because Stalin was fighting off the German forces on his own. In the Russian Civil War, the western European countries supported the Tsarists who were fighting the communists. They actively fought the
A Hollywood Perspective of the Cold War.
Jackie Porter February 17, 2003 Words: 3 867 Title: A Hollywood Perspective of the Cold War Ayn Rand claimed in her 1950's Screen Guide for Americans that "the purpose of the Communists in Hollywood is not the production of political movies openly advocating Communism...[but] ...making people absorb the basic principles of Collectivism by indirection and implication.' This statement illustrates the fact that during this period, fear combined with politics limited the scope of films made by Hollywood. The movie industry became a part of the Cold War in 1947 when the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA) descended upon Hollywood. HCUA's hearings resulted in ten filmmakers going to jail for contempt of Congress. In addition, hundreds of actors, writers, and directors were put on an unofficial industry blacklist. The result was an environment where many film producers felt it was safer to produce films without any political or economic themes or implications at all. However, while some producers focused much less on producing films about social problems, others embraced the new regime. For example, between 1947 and 1954 almost forty explicitly propagandistic anti-Communist films were made in Hollywood. It was not until the 1960's after the Cuban Missile Crisis, the destruction of the Berlin Wall, and the end of blacklisting, that Hollywood created a more
