The Cold War
The Cold War referred to the competition, the geopolitical tensions and a series of confrontations between the United States and the Soviet Union, backed by their respective allies.
Eastern bloc : USSR and its satellite countries
Western bloc : USA and its NATO allies
The world war ended when the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, causing Japan to surrender.
Some opinions say that the US decision to drop atomic bombs was in fact a strategy to show the Soviet Union that US was the supreme power and stop it from making gains in Asia and elsewhere.
The consequence of the end of the Second World War was the rise of two new powers on the global stage. With the defeat of Germany and Japan, the devastation of Europe and in many other parts of the world, the United States and the Soviet Union became the greatest powers in the world with the ability to influence events anywhere on earth.
The Cold War along with power rivalries, military alliances, and balance of power was accompanied by a real ideological conflict, a difference over the best and the most appropriate way of organizing political, economic, and social life all over the world.
The western alliance, headed by the US, represented the ideology of liberal democracy and capitalism while the eastern alliance, headed by the Soviet Union, was committed to the ideology of socialism and communism.
The end of the Second World War was a major landmark in contemporary world politics, amongst other outcomes it set the stage for the beginning of the Cold War.
There was Arms race in cold war between USSR and USA which led them to spend high on military and weapons which made them leader in world military.
Impacts
· Formation of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO): The western alliance was formalized into an organization, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), established in April 1949.
· Warsaw Pact: The eastern alliance, came to be known as the Warsaw Pact, established in 1955. Its principal function was to counter NATO’s forces in Europe. Europe became the main arena of conflict between the superpowers.
Neutral groups
Non-Aligned Movement also emerged as a new organization which gave the newly independent countries a way of staying out of the alliances.
The roots of Non-Aligned Movement went back to the friendship between three leaders Yugoslavia’s Josip Broz Tito, India’s Jawaharlal Nehru, and Egypt’s leader Gamal Abdel Nasser supported by Indonesia’s Sukarno and Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah.
These five leaders came to be known as the five founders of Non-Aligned Movement.
As non-alignment grew into a popular international movement, countries of various different political systems and interests joined it.
The Cold War Timeline
Key Event:
Ø The Berlin Blockade 1948 :
USSR wanted control over entire Berlin so Joseph Stalin blocked supply routes to west berlin, then USA and UK air dropped supplies to break blockade. Germany officially split into two countries in 1948-1949.
Ø Korean War 1950-53 :
There was proxy war in korea. North korea which was communist backed by USSR and south korea was capitalist backed by USA. The was continued for 3 years. The border was named 38th Parallel where seize fire was established.
Ø Cuban Missile Crisis 1962:
Cube underwent revolution in 1959 bringing communist Fidel Castro to power. USSR benifitted and positioned ballistic missile there in 1962 threatening entire USA. All strategically important cities came under range of USSR nuclear missile. Hence USA blockade Cuba and not allowed any ships to pass by. Then USSR sent its nuclear ships but Nuclear war averted in knick of time.
Ø Sino Soviet split 1962 :
China ( Sino) and USSR split due to ideological differences. Mao Zedong president of people’s republic of china stated that USSR has left original communalism and they changed their policies. But both of them kept supportin north Vietnam in war.
Ø Vietnam War 1960s :
North Vietnam backed by USSR and south Vietnam backed by USA. It was carried on brutal scale. Finally USSR backed north Vietnam won war in 1975.
Ø 1970s De-escalation:
The geopolitical tensions of cold war decreased in 1970s. In 1972 Richard Nixon (president of USA) visited china and established diplomatic relations, started trade and business and gave recognition to china which improve their relations.
Realization of Arms Control
Ø Since the Cold War did not eliminate rivalries between the two alliances, for the time being therefore, the US and USSR decided to collaborate in limiting or eliminating certain kinds of nuclear and non-nuclear weapons. Thus, a system of ‘arms control’ was to be established.
Ø They signed many pacts and these were:
· Limited Test Ban Treaty (LTBT)
Banned nuclear weapon test in atmosphere which was signed by USSR , USA, UK in Moscow on 5th august 1963.
· Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
Allows only nuclear weapon states to hove nuclear weapon and stops others from aquiring it.
· Strategic Arms Limitation Talks 1973 (SALT)
o Reducing Nuclear missiles
o Reducing Anti-ballistic missiles
Areas of Cold War
Confrontations happened in Korea (1950 – 53), Berlin (1958 – 62), the Congo (the early 1960s), Vietnam and Afghanistan.
Many lives were lost in these areas however it did not lead to a full-scale nuclear war.
Afghanistan
As treaty of co-operation signed between USSR and USA but In 1979 USSR send troops to Afghanistan to help newly formed communist government and USA supported mujhaheedin in Afghanistan which was end of co-operation treaty.
End Of Cold War
Many historians believes that cold war started in 1947 and ended with disintegration of USSR into 15 countries in 1991. The cold war had seen advancement in technology,medical,education and military weapons. This era also started space exploration race between USSR and USA. World had seen economic growth in these era Also, many small coutries suffered due to cold war.
By- Anuj Kanade (Team Historic Wednesday)
Refernces:
https://blogs.prepladder.com/cold-war-origin-causes-and-phases-ncert-notes-upsc/
Image Refernces:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Cold_war_europe_economic_alliances_map_en.png
https://slideplayer.com/slide/9019023/
https://quizlet.com/253530069/cold-war-map-diagram/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/50313720819628534/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna_summit#/media/File:John_Kennedy,_Nikita_Khrushchev_1961.jpg
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