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The Cold War

Kaiqi Chen

October 16th, 2021

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According to “David Emory” (2015.p.1113), The cold war was a battle in the

ideologies of communism and capitalism that began immediately after the Second World

War. During wartime, the US and the Soviet Union established contemporary cooperation

against the common fascist enemy. With the defeat of Germany and Japan, both the US and

the Soviet Union hoped to continue their wartime cooperation to maintain world peace and

stability (Dockrill and Hopkins, 2006). However, both the US and the Soviet Union found

intensive differences in international policies due to the essentially ideological difference

between capitalism and communism. The US preferred ideological freedom, whereas the

Soviet Union hoped for ideological conformity through controlling its neighbors. Both the US

and the Soviet Union hoped to gain more influence and control over the world. A relentless

war in ideological areas began and lasted for about forty years. The Soviet Union planned to

build military strength while subverting to the stability of capitalism (David Emory., 2015.

p.1115). In response, President Truman inaugurated the containment policy of Soviet

expansion and provided economic assistance to post-war Europe. The formation of the

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949 marked the peak of the Soviet expansion

containment.

“Emory, D” (2015.p.1124) argues that the cold war also greatly affected the unstable post-

war world. The economic assistance of post-war Germany eventually divided the country

into two parts, West Germany and East Germany, in 1949. In Asia, tensions between North

and South Korea erupted into conflict. The United Nations and some twenty other nations

were involved in the conflict, which became stalemated at the 38 th parallel in 1951. Together

with the foundation of Communist China, the conflict resulted in the "militarization" of the

cold war (Dockrill and Hopkins, 2006). The arms race was also enhanced in the cold war. For

example, the US and the Soviet Union performed atomic bomb tests in 1945 and 1949.
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However, these weapons of mass destruction were never used to avoid the third world war.

The origins of the cold war have been controversial for a long time. Some people believe

that the Soviet Union under the leadership of Stalin violated the promises at the Yalta

conference. What is more, the Soviet Union also organized ethnic cleansing in Soviet-

controlled nations. As a consequence, the US had to defend democratic values. Others think

that the United States, under the leadership of Truman, chose confrontational rather than

cooperative foreign policy towards the Soviet Union (David Emory. (2015.p.1116). The

deeper reasons for the cold war may be ascribed to the history and tradition of the nation. It

is widely believed that the US and the Soviet Union were the two most powerful nations

after the Second World War, each of which had some allies. Even so, neither of them could

impose its will and policies on all the world, a process during which conflict is inevitable

eventually.
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References

Dockrill, M. L., & Michael, F. (2006). Hopkins. The Cold War. Studies in European History. New York:
Palgrave. https://books.google.com/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=UckcBQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR10&dq=Michael+L.+Dockrill+and+Michael+F.+Ho
kins+(2006).+&ots=wy32mvJZGJ&sig=30Vmz_KTQwk1WTfiL0THdaoNXJE

Emory, D. (2015). Schools and the Construction of Identity and Individuality: A Comparative Study
Between Malawi and Canada. McGill University (Canada).
https://search.proquest.com/openview/5aa9c8aab74070d814bc2a60e04461ee/1?pq-
origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y