the cold war. what is the cold war? period of no war between major powers 1945-1989 intense...
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What is the Cold War?
• Period of no war between major powers 1945-1989
• Intense hostility between the two super powers: US and USSR
Post-WWII Order
Spheres of influence Solve the “German Problem”
–Occupation zones
–Nuremberg trials
–Assistance
–European integration The United Nations
–UN Security Council
The Beginning: Cold War Escalation
Stalin consolidates power over Poland and Czechoslovakia
US gains influence over Turkey and Greece
Marshall Plan (1947)
Unification of Western Germany begins
Berlin Blockade (1948-1949)
NATO (1949)
Nuclear arms race
War of Ideologies Communism and Soviet Policy
– “X” “The Sources of Soviet Conduct”
Containment: “…Soviet pressure against the free institutions of the Western world is something
that can be contained by the adroit and vigilant application of counter-force at a series of constantly shifting geographical and political points.” (Kennan 1947).
Truman Doctrine (1947)– Protect freedom against Soviet communism
Policies to implement containment– Economic assistance– Support of anti-communist groups– Limited war
Soviet Sphere of Influence
Military assistance and economic subsidies– The Warsaw Pact– Council of Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA)
Ideology
Support communist governments
Power and control – Hungary 1956– Czechoslovakia 1968
US Sphere of Influence
Assistance
– Marshall Plan
– Western Hemisphere
– Middle East and Africa
Ideology – containment, liberty
Use of force
– Bay of Pigs, Cuba (1961)
– Korean War, Vietnam war
– Chile, Guatemala, etc.
War Averted: The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
Shots of Soviet missile sites in Cuba taken by US reconnaissance plains
Khrushchev and Kennedy face-off in the UN
US’s options– “Surgical strikes”– Blockade of Cuba– Appeasement
Kennedy Administration chooses blockade
Soviets back off
Hotline White House-Kremlin
Nuclear Weapons
1945: Hiroshima and Nagasaki
1949: Soviet AB explosion
Today: 1 missile=100 Hiroshima bombs
Nuclear deterrence
Nuclear Cooperation
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (1969-1972); SALT II (1972-1979)
Antiballistic Missile Treaty (ABM), 1972– Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)
– US walked out in 2002: Strategic Defense Initiative
Why No WWIII?
Nuclear deterrence– Anticipate catastrophic consequences– Stigma against using nuclear weapons– No second strike capability (ABM treaty 1972)
Prevent escalation of conflict at every point
Strong anti-war sentiment in both USSR and US
Bipolar structure plus reconnaissance revolution – relatively simple to manage