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The Cold War

The Cold War. 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

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The Cold War

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  1. The Cold War

  2. What is the Cold War? • Period of no war between major powers 1945-1989 • Intense hostility between the two super powers: US and USSR

  3. Post-WWII Order • Spheres of influence • Solve the “German Problem” • Occupation zones • Nuremberg trials • Assistance • European integration • The United Nations • UN Security Council

  4. 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

  5. Berlin • vv

  6. 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

  7. Iron Curtain

  8. 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

  9. 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.

  10. 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

  11. Nuclear Weapons • 1945: Hiroshima and Nagasaki • 1949: Soviet AB explosion • Today: 1 missile=100 Hiroshima bombs • Nuclear deterrence

  12. 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

  13. 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

  14. The Fall of the Berlin Wall

  15. The End of the Cold War • Failure of structural theories? • Perestroika and the Velvet Revolutions • Gorbachev in power • Domestic reforms – perestroika and glasnost • Semi free elections in Poland • Velvet revolutions across Easter Europe • Berlin wall opened: 1989

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