The Cold War

Key historical events that

defined US-Soviet relations include:
World War II: The US and Soviet Union were allies during World War II, but tensions began to
emerge between the two countries as the war came to an end. The Soviet Union was suspicious
of US intentions in Europe and sought to expand its influence in the region.
The Cold War: The Cold War was a period of geopolitical tension between the US and the Soviet
Union that lasted from the late 1940s to the early 1990s. The US and Soviet Union were both
global superpowers and engaged in a variety of proxy wars and diplomatic struggles throughout
the Cold War.
The Arms Race: The US and Soviet Union engaged in an arms race during the Cold War, with
each country seeking to develop new weapons and military technologies to gain an advantage
over the other.
The Space Race: The US and Soviet Union also engaged in a competition to explore space, with
both countries launching satellites and sending humans into space.
The Cuban Missile Crisis: The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13-day political and military standoff
between the US and Soviet Union in 1962 over the installation of Soviet nuclear missiles in
Cuba. The crisis brought the US and Soviet Union to the brink of nuclear war.
The Collapse of the Soviet Union: The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 marked the end of
the Cold War and represented a significant shift in global power dynamics. The US emerged as
the world's sole superpower in the post-Cold War era.
The Essence of the Cold War
The essence of the Cold War political order was the global struggle
between the United States and the Soviet Union for political, economic,
and military dominance.
The Cold War lasted from the end of World War II in 1945 until the collapse
of the Soviet Union in 1991, and it was characterized by intense ideological
differences between the capitalist, democratic West led by the United
States and the communist East led by the Soviet Union.
During the Cold War, the United States and its allies formed military
alliances like NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), while the Soviet
Union and its allies formed the Warsaw Pact. Both sides engaged in a
massive arms race, with the development and deployment of nuclear
weapons being a central feature of the conflict. The Cold War also saw
numerous proxy wars and interventions around the world, as both sides
sought to extend their influence and control over other nations.
The Cold War had a profound impact on global politics and international
relations, shaping the post-World War II world order and setting the stage
for the geopolitical conflicts of the 21st century.
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a military alliance
formed by the United States, Belgium, Canada, Denmark,
France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway,
Portugal, and the United Kingdom, was established on April 4,
1949.
The alliance, based on the principle of collective defense,
committed the United States to the defense of its European allies
against the threat from the Soviet Union in the budding Cold War
and to helping to defend each other from any attack.
It was the first-ever U.S. peacetime military alliance outside the
Western Hemisphere, marking a significant departure from the
longstanding U.S. tendency toward isolationism.
NATO has endured as a linchpin of the Western order throughout
the Cold War and beyond, expanding over time to twenty-nine
member states.
The Warsaw Pact
The Soviet Union and its satellite states in Eastern
Europe established the Warsaw Treaty Organization,
better known as the Warsaw Pact, on May 14, 1955.
It was intended as a counterweight to NATO and a way to
entrench Soviet influence throughout the region. Along
with the Soviet Union, the Warsaw Pact included Albania,
Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic
Republic (East Germany), Hungary, Poland, and
Romania. The organization disbanded in 1991, after east
European states had shed their Communist governments
and months before the Soviet Union’s collapse.
The “Iron Curtain”
Winston Churchill introduced the “iron curtain” as the defining
image of the Cold War in a speech at Westminster College in
Missouri on March 5, 1946.
• “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic,” he said, “an
iron curtain has descended across the continent. Behind that
line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and
Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest,
Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia, all these famous cities and the
populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet
sphere…”
At the time, Churchill was the leader of the British opposition
after having lost his position as prime minister in elections the
previous year. His phrase underscored the reality that, for the
United States and its European allies, the Soviet Union was
no longer a partner, as it had been in World War II. Instead, it
was a rival.
The term “Cold War”
The Cold War is so called because it involved a decades-long
confrontation in which the two principal powers, the United States
and the Soviet Union, never directly entered into armed conflict with
one another.
The term is often credited to Bernard Baruch, a financier and advisor
to several U.S. presidents, who used it in a speech in the South
Carolina House of Representatives on April 16, 1947. At the time, it
was growing increasingly clear that the Soviet Union, a U.S. ally in
World War II, was becoming a fierce rival.
“Let us not be deceived,” Baruch said. “We are today in the midst of a
cold war. Our enemies are to be found abroad and at home.”
However, the term appeared earlier as well. For example, George
Orwell used it in a more theoretical sense in his 1945 essay, “You
and the Atom Bomb,” where he pondered the prospect of “a state
which was at once unconquerable and in a permanent state of ‘cold
war’ with its neighbors.”
A Divided Berlin
In 1945, as World War II came to a close, allied
leaders divided the defeated Germany into 4 zones
of occupation:
• British, French, and U.S. zones in the west, and a
Soviet zone in the east.
• Berlin, located within the Soviet area, was itself divided along the
same lines. This made West Berlin a small island of Western
control, vulnerable to potential absorption into the Soviet sphere.
• On June 24, 1948, the Soviet Union blocked ground access to
West Berlin, imperiling supplies of electricity, food, and other
essentials. The United States and the United Kingdom responded
days later with a dramatic airlift of vital supplies into Berlin; more
than one plane landed per minute at the operation’s peak. The
airlift, sustained for nearly a year, demonstrated the allies’
commitment to preventing the Soviet domination of Europe.
• The Soviets lifted the blockade on May 11, 1949.
The Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban missile crisis began in mid-October 1962, when U.S. spy
planes discovered Soviet nuclear missile sites under construction in
Cuba.
To help him navigate the crisis, President John F. Kennedy convened
a special group of advisors called the Executive Committee of the
National Security Council, which became popularly known as ExCom.
Though some of his advisors favored air strikes on the missile sites,
Kennedy opted for a more measured step, a quarantine (essentially a
blockade) on Cuba to stop further Soviet weapons from reaching the
island. Kennedy also exchanged several letters with Soviet leader
Nikita Khrushchev in an effort to resolve the crisis without military
action.
Following several days of tension, Kennedy and Khrushchev reached
a deal in which the Soviets would remove the missiles from Cuba in
exchange for a U.S. pledge not to invade the island. The United States
also assured the Soviets that it would withdraw its nuclear missiles
from Turkey, a step that was already planned and was not publicly
acknowledged as part of the deal.
Propaganda
During the Cold War, which lasted from the late 1940s to the early 1990s, both the
United States and the Soviet Union engaged in propaganda efforts to promote their
respective ideologies and gain support from people around the world.
In the US, anti-communist propaganda was a major tool used to promote the idea that
communism was a threat to freedom and democracy. This propaganda was
disseminated through a variety of channels, including government-sponsored media
outlets, educational materials, and popular culture, often depicting the Soviet Union as
an aggressive and expansionist power that posed a threat to the United States and its
allies.
The Soviet Union, on the other hand, engaged in propaganda efforts to promote the
idea that communism was superior to capitalism and that the Soviet system was a
better alternative to Western-style democracy. Soviet propaganda was disseminated
through a variety of channels as well, including government-controlled media outlets,
literature, and art, often depicting the United States as a warmongering and
imperialistic power that sought to dominate the world.
Both sides used propaganda to promote their respective ideologies and to discredit the
other side. Propaganda was used to shape public opinion and to gain support for
policies and actions that advanced each side's interests during the Cold War.
Figure 1.1 is a poster produced by the U.S.
Information Service in 1951 that calls for
everybody to help in containing Communism.
A national personification of the Philippines stands
ready with the machete of democracy on the island
nation to defeat the looming Communist threat of
the hammer and sickle spreading across the
islands.
The poster presents a plucky Philippines as part of
the global war of containing Communism but fails
to note that the islands were annexed by the
United States as part of its overseas imperial
expansion and only achieved independence in
1946. As part of the agreement, the Philippines
had to concede twenty-three military bases with
ninety-nine-year leases over to the United States.
There was a Communist presence in the
Philippines, but it was more of an indigenous
movement, with a long history of resistance to
Japanese and American occupation and to the
entrenched political power of the economic elite of
the islands.
The poster ignores all of this but highlights the
envisioning of nations of the world as part of the
struggle between two global forces, one good and
the other very bad.
Figure 1.2 is a poster produced by the Soviet government around 1950.
It depicts a U.S. soldier planting American flags and bases to encircle the USSR.
There is an image of an olive branch hiding an atomic bomb. The anti-Semitic
Jewish caricature, a gun, and a pile of dollar bills completes the picture of U.S.
expansionism.
There was also the direct military response to the U.S. buildup suggested by figure
1.2.
Factors leading to the end of the Cold War

Economic pressure:
•The Soviet Union was struggling economically, and its command economy was not able to keep pace with the
technological advancements and productivity of the Western capitalist economies, ultimately leading to political
reforms.
Political reforms:
•Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev implemented political reforms, such as glasnost (openness) and perestroika
(restructuring), which allowed greater freedom of speech and some market-based reforms. These reforms
helped to ease tensions between the Soviet Union and the West and created a more cooperative atmosphere.
Diplomacy:
•There were also several key diplomatic efforts that helped to ease tensions and bring about an end to the Cold
War. These efforts included the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) negotiations, which led to the
reduction of nuclear arms on both sides, and the 1989 Malta Summit between President George H.W. Bush and
Gorbachev, which marked the first time that U.S. and Soviet leaders had met since the Cold War began.
Popular uprisings:
•In
Eastern Europe, popular uprisings against communist governments in Poland, Hungary, East Germany,
Czechoslovakia, and Romania played a significant role in bringing an end to the Cold War. These uprisings
weakened the Soviet Union's hold over its satellite states and contributed to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
Military exhaustion:
•Both the United States and the Soviet Union were militarily exhausted by the end of the Cold War. The arms
race and military spending had drained the resources of both countries and had created a situation where
neither side could afford to continue the competition.
Importance of the end of the
Cold War
The end of the Cold War marked a significant turning point in world politics. With the collapse
of the Soviet Union in 1991, the bipolar world order that had dominated international relations
since the end of World War II came to an end. This led to a period of profound change and
uncertainty in world politics, as new actors and forces emerged to shape the global landscape.
One of the most notable changes was the rise of the United States as the world's sole
superpower.
•With no other major challenger to its global dominance, the US was able to assert its
influence in ways that had not been possible during the Cold War. This was particularly
evident in its military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan, which demonstrated the extent of
its military capabilities and willingness to use force to achieve its foreign policy objectives.
Another important development was the spread of globalization and the growth of the global
economy.
•The end of the Cold War opened up new opportunities for trade and investment, as well as
increased economic integration across national borders. This led to the creation of new
institutions, such as the World Trade Organization, that aimed to regulate and facilitate global
trade and investment.
However, the post-Cold War era was also marked by new security challenges and conflicts,
including ethnic and religious tensions, terrorism, and the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction.
Gorbachev
Served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the
Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991. He was the last leader of the
Soviet Union before its dissolution in 1991.
Gorbachev is known for his policies of glasnost (openness) and
perestroika (restructuring), which aimed to reform the Soviet
political and economic systems. Under his leadership, the
Soviet Union embarked on a process of democratization and
decentralization, allowing greater freedom of expression and
promoting economic liberalization.
Gorbachev's reforms ultimately led to the end of the Cold War
and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 for his efforts to promote
international cooperation and reduce tensions between East
and West.
INTERNATIONAL
ORGINAZATIONS
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a military alliance
formed by the United States, Belgium, Canada, Denmark,
France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway,
Portugal, and the United Kingdom, was established on April 4,
1949.
The alliance, based on the principle of collective defense,
committed the United States to the defense of its European allies
against the threat from the Soviet Union in the budding Cold War
and to helping to defend each other from any attack.
It was the first-ever U.S. peacetime military alliance outside the
Western Hemisphere, marking a significant departure from the
longstanding U.S. tendency toward isolationism.
NATO has endured as a linchpin of the Western order throughout
the Cold War and beyond, expanding over time to twenty-nine
member states.
OPEC
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
was founded in 1960 by five oil-producing countries: Iran, Iraq,
Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. Today, OPEC has 13
member countries, including the original five, as well as Qatar,
Indonesia, Libya, United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Nigeria,
Ecuador, and Gabon.
OPEC's primary objective is to coordinate and unify the
petroleum policies of its member countries in order to secure fair
and stable prices for petroleum producers and a regular supply
for consumers. The organization has significant influence on the
global oil market, as its member countries collectively produce a
large share of the world's oil supply. OPEC often meets to
discuss and set oil production quotas, which can affect oil prices
and the global economy.
UN
The United Nations (UN) was founded in 1945 with
the overarching goal of preserving peace and
advancing international cooperation after the
horrors of World War II.
Its best-known elements include the General
Assembly, in which essentially all the world’s
independent countries are represented, and the
Security Council, a smaller forum meant to make
binding decisions on issues of war and peace.
The broader UN system includes a wide variety of
entities, from humanitarian organizations to
research institutes.
WHO
The World Health Organization (WHO), with
194 member countries, is the most prominent
international organization in the field of global
health. Among its tasks are monitoring health
situations and coordinating international
responses to disease outbreaks. It is among
the many specialized agencies of the United
Nations.
NAFTA / USMCA
NAFTA stands for the North American Free Trade Agreement. It is a
trilateral trade agreement between the United States, Canada, and
Mexico that was signed on January 1, 1994. The agreement created
a free trade area among the three countries, eliminating tariffs and
other trade barriers for goods and services traded among them.
NAFTA has been instrumental in increasing trade and economic
integration among the three countries. It has facilitated the flow of
goods and services across borders, increased investment, and
created jobs. However, it has also been criticized for leading to job
losses in certain industries and exacerbating income inequality.
In 2020, NAFTA was replaced by the United States-Mexico-Canada
Agreement (USMCA), which updated and modernized certain
provisions of the original agreement. The USMCA includes provisions
related to digital trade, intellectual property rights, and labor and
environmental standards.
ILO
The International Labour Organization, which is a specialized agency of the
United Nations system. It was established in 1919, and is headquartered in
Geneva, Switzerland. The ILO is the ONLY tripartite UN agency, meaning it
brings together representatives of governments, employers, and workers
from its 187 member states.
The primary goal of the ILO is to promote social justice and decent working
conditions for all. The organization works to develop and promote
international labor standards, policies, and programs to improve working
conditions, promote social protection, and advance the rights of workers. It
also supports the creation of productive and sustainable enterprises and
provides technical assistance to member states in developing and
implementing policies and programs related to labor and employment.
The ILO has played a key role in shaping the global labor agenda and has
been instrumental in the development of international labor standards, such
as the fundamental conventions on freedom of association, collective
bargaining, forced labor, child labor, and discrimination in employment.
UNHCR
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is a
UN agency that is responsible for protecting and providing
assistance to refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons,
and other forcibly displaced persons around the world.
UNHCR was established in 1950, in the aftermath of
World War II, to help millions of Europeans who had been
displaced by the war. Today, it operates in more than 130
countries and has over 17,000 staff members working to
provide life-saving assistance to people who have been
forced to flee their homes due to conflict, persecution, or
other reasons.
IMF
The IMF (International Monetary Fund) is an international
organization that was established in 1944 with the goal of
promoting international monetary cooperation, facilitating
international trade, promoting economic growth, and
reducing poverty around the world.
The IMF operates in nearly every country in the world and
has 190 member countries. Its primary role is to provide
financial assistance to member countries that are
experiencing economic difficulties or facing balance of
payment problems. This assistance comes in the form of
loans and technical assistance.
In addition to providing financial assistance, the IMF also
provides policy advice and conducts research on economic
issues. It aims to promote sound economic policies and
financial stability around the world. The IMF also serves as
a forum for cooperation and dialogue among its member
countries.
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that was
established in 1944 with the goal of promoting economic
development, reducing poverty, and improving living standards
around the world.
It is made up of two main organizations: the International Bank
for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International
Development Association (IDA).
•TheIBRD provides loans, credits, and grants to middle-income
countries and creditworthy low-income countries for specific
development projects.
•The IDA provides low-interest loans and grants to the world's
poorest countries, with a focus on financing development projects
that promote economic growth and reduce poverty.
IAEA
The IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) is an
international organization that was established in 1957
with the goal of promoting the peaceful use of nuclear
energy and preventing the spread of nuclear weapons.
It is a specialized agency of the United Nations and is
headquartered in Vienna, Austria.
The IAEA works with its member states to promote the
safe, secure, and peaceful use of nuclear energy,
while also ensuring that nuclear materials and
technologies are not used for military purposes. It
provides technical assistance and training to member
states, conducts research and development, and
provides guidance and standards on nuclear safety,
security, and safeguards.
EU
The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 29 member
states located primarily in Europe and is the product of a gradual process
of European integration that began with the European Coal and Steel
Community after World War II.
The EU was established by the Maastricht Treaty in 1993, and it has since
expanded to include new member states through various rounds of
enlargement. The EU is based on the principles of freedom, democracy,
respect for human rights, and the rule of law.
The EU has a single market that allows for the free movement of goods,
services, people, and capital among member states. It also has a common
trade policy and a common currency, the euro, used by 19 member states.
The EU also has its own institutions, such as the European Commission,
the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, and the
Court of Justice of the European Union.
* The EU is now 30 members with the recent addition of Finland. For the
purposes of the exam, you will need to remember 29.
WTO
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental
organization that regulates international trade between nations. It
was established on January 1, 1995, as a successor to the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which was created after
World War II to promote free trade and reduce trade barriers
between nations.
The WTO has 164 member countries, and its main goal is to
promote and liberalize international trade by eliminating barriers to
trade such as tariffs, quotas, and other trade restrictions. The WTO
also provides a forum for member countries to negotiate and
resolve trade disputes.
The WTO plays a crucial role in the global economy, and its policies
and decisions have a significant impact on businesses, consumers,
and governments around the world.
UNESCO
UNESCO stands for United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization. It is a specialized agency of the United
Nations that was established in 1945 with the aim of promoting
peace and international cooperation through education,
science, culture, and communication.
UNESCO's mission is to contribute to building a world of peace
and sustainable development by promoting international
cooperation and dialogue in the fields of education, science,
culture, communication, and information.
UNESCO works towards the development of policies and
strategies that help to improve access to quality education,
protect cultural heritage, promote scientific research and
innovation, and foster freedom of expression and media
development.
UNDP
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is the
United Nations' global development network. Established in
1965, the UNDP works in over 170 countries and territories
around the world to help countries eradicate poverty, reduce
inequality and exclusion, and promote sustainable
development.
The UNDP supports countries in a variety of ways, including
by providing technical assistance and policy advice, helping
to build national capacities for sustainable development,
and promoting innovative solutions to development
challenges.
The organization works closely with governments, civil
society organizations, and other development partners to
promote inclusive and sustainable growth, advance
democratic governance and human rights, and promote
resilience and disaster risk reduction.