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Reasons for Cold War in Europe - Coggle Diagram
Reasons for Cold War in Europe
Ideological conflict between USA and USSR
USA (democratic/capitalism)
Ideology of USA (since 1671)
democratic system of government
supported
self-determination
(The right of the people of a country to govern themselves and choose the type of government they want)
political system
country to be governed by
2 or more political parties
(e.g. Democratic, Republic)
people were
allowed
to vote for politicians to represent them in the government
Economic system
Free market economy
individuals/companies were
free
to develop, own and control
resources
and
capital
government would only need to
ensure
that there is
free/fair competition
USSR (communist
/authoritarian)
Ideology of USSR (since 1917)
to create a "
global classless system
" where all people are equal and all property and work are shared equally among people
Political system
country to be governed by a
single political party
(communist party)
power to be
centralised
in the hands of the communist party
people could
only vote
for communist party
Economic system
Command
economy
all
land
/all forms of
production
to be
owned/provided
by state
government to
plan/allocate
resources depending on what the economy should produce for the state (e.g. Stalin Five-Year Plan, collectivisation)
Result
Western power
wary
of
spread of communism
Viewed communist Russia as a
threat
, and tried to
overthrow
communist government (provided aid (e.g. 5000 American troops) to Russian anti-communist forces/Whites during Russian Civil War)
Russia
retaliated
by forming
Communist International
(Comintern) in
1919
, then forming
Soviet Union
with Ukraine, Byelorussian and Transcaucasion republics in
1922
Soviet Union
not recognised
by USA until
1933
and
not allowed
to join LON until
1934
WWII: A necessary alliance with continued distrust
Alliance to resist German advance in Britain and USSR
By
June 1941
, almost
all of Europe
has fallen to German Army
except Britain
This caused Hitler to
concentrate
his main forces on
Soviet Union
instead
Stalin decided to
form an alliance
with Britain to
prevent
Soviet Union's fall to Germany
Perceived delay in opening a second front
Soviet Union was
under a lot of pressure
from invading German army
Stalin urged Allies to
open a second front
in France to
relieve
the pressure
Only until
June 1944
then the second front opened (In Normandy, France)with the
D-Day Landings
Allies
delayed
the second front to ensure a
successful invasion
However, this instead made Stalin feel that Allies did this
only to minimise their losses
and wait for
Germany and USSR to destroy each other
Disagreements during negotiations for a post-war settlement
Yalta-Conference
(
Feb 1945
)
Discuss arrangements
for post-war Europe
All three leaders had
different agendas
Stalin:
future
and
security
of Soviet Union
Churchill: have a
close relationship
with USA to
deter rise of Soviet Union
Roosevelt: Needed
Soviet help
to fight against Japan and
end the war in Asia-Pacific
, which led to him making
many concessions
to Stalin
Conflicting goals
between Allies and the Soviet Union
e.g. For the control of Poland: "Western powers" just wanted Poland to be able to
hold free elections
to choose its
own government
, but "Soviet Union" wanted Poland to be
under Soviet influence and control
(Poland had history of conflict with Russia and had always been the
invasion route
through which other countries attacked Russua
Potsdam Conference
(
July-Aug 1945
)
Held after
German surrender
(Attlee, Truman and Stalin)
Between Yalta and Potsdam conference,
relations
between western powers and Soviet Union
worsened
Instead of
free elections
Poland, Stalin
arrested non-communist leaders
and established a
communist government
in Poland
USA also
developed
the
first atomic bomb
, which made Soviet help unnecessary against Japan
Stalin
insisted
no government should be
hostile
to Soviet Union
Negotiations
did not
proceed as
smoothly
as a result
Examples of conflicting interests between Soviet Union and USA
What to do with Germany?
Stalin: Cripple Germany completely
Truman: Did not want to repeat same mistakes as during the TOV
Should Germany pay reparation?
Stalin: Yes, 20 million Russians killed during the war
Truman: did not want to repeat same mistakes of TOV again
What to do with
eastern Europe
?
Stalin: agreed at Yalta that these would be under the Soviet sphere of influence; with united Eastern Europe, no one will dare to move a finger against them.
Truman: adopting firmer stance against communism
American nuclear monopoly and the dropping of atomic bombs in Japan
USA dropped the
first atomic bomb
on
Japan
in Aug 1945 to
end the war
in the Asia-Pacific
quickly
President Truman also hoped that the bombs would
give him an advantage
against the
Soviet Union
in the post-war negotiations
However
, info of
Manhatten Project
has already been
leaked
, and Stalin sought to
rapidly catch up
with US's military prowess
Stalin later detonated their first atomic bomb in Aug 1949, which led to an
arms race
(
competition between two or more countries for superiority
) between USA and Soviet Union
Post WWII: A worsening relationship between USA and USSR
Devastation of Europe and rise of the superpowers
Many
of the
European countries
including Britain and France were
devastated
economically and politically post WW2, which made them
unable
to revitalise themselves without external help
Gave the USA and the Soviet Union the
chance
to
take up a dominant role
in the
reconstructing
of Europe/also the chance to
increase
their
political and economic influence
USA: USA was
left intact
after the war (WW2 fought on European soil). It also had a
powerful
economy and military
Soviet Union:
established
its
influence
in Eastern Europe, military production was
second
to USA
End of wartime alliance and competition for influence between the superpowers
Common enemy (Germany) removed, which meant that the need to remain as allies have dissappeared
USA:
Feared that the Soviet Union would
stir up communist movements
and establish
communist governments
in Europe
The USA would
lose
trading markets
(Losing their own sphere of influence)
also have to deal with countries that
opposed
its
ideology
Soviet Union:
feared
for its own
security
and
survival
if it was surrounded with
anti-communist
(e.g. capitalist countries in Europe)
American adoption of the containment policy
The USA wanted to
stop
the
spread of communism
not through war or conflict but
through
the
policy of containment
Containment would be carried out by:
Containing/limiting
communism to Russia/Soviet Union
Increase own influence
to the rest of Europe
Policy of Containments
Truman Doctrine
start
of containment policy
Economic
and
military aid
to Greece and Turkey, where pockets of communists were
gaining communist influence
Truman believed that weak states were
likely
to be
influenced
by communism, so it was necessary to provide aid to make Greece and Turkey
strong
and
curb communist activities
from within
Marshall Plan
grant aid
from the USA to
all countries
($13 billion USD) in Europe
regardless
of whether the country was under communist influence or not, and make them
economically strong
weak economic situation
in Europe would
provide opportunities
for the
communist
to
promote
communism as a way of solving the post-war problems
Marshall Plan would make communism
less appealing
and
minimise
the chances of European countries from
embracing
communism
This also made USA
look sincere
and
active
in helping Europe rather than the Soviet Union which was
being concerned
about its
own survival
Soviet response to containment policies
set-up of
Comecon
and
Cominform
Comecon
Was set up to
coordinate
Cominform's
economic policies
united economies
of Eastern Europe and and Soviet Union to help each other recover from the war
Cominform
Aim to
tighten
control of
satellite states
states were to
implement Soviet-style communism
trade was only to be done by
cominform members
discourage contact with
non-communist countries
offered
economic aid
to satellite states
However, Soviet Union was not able to offer
aid on a similar scale
as the
Marshall Plan
arrangements also tended to
disadvantage
satellite states and only
profit
Soviet Union
Establishment of Soviet satellite states in Eastern Europe
Stalin established a
ring of satellite states
around Soviet Union through the use of
'Salami Tactics'
(Eliminating opposition by slicing off eastern Europe (pruning non-communist leaders) one by one)
defensive measure
to
strengthen
the security of the Soviet Union
However, USA perceived this as an aggressive plan to expand
global communist influence
Manifestations of Cold War
Carving out political and economic spheres of influence
Setting up of
Cominform
and
Comecon
,
Truman Doctrine
and
Marshall Plan
led to formation of
2 distinct
and
competing blocs
in europe
Led to the
division
along
political
and
economic
lines
Start of Cold war
bi-polarity
Superpower confrontation in the Berlin Blockade
Berlin Blockade background:
During the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences, Germany was divided into
4 zones of occupation
Although the Soviet Zone was only
one-third
of Germany but Stalin wanted to use it to
transform
the whole of
Germany
into a
communist state
The Western powers wanted to
prevent poverty
, that might encourage the Germans to seek
social change
by turning to communism
Berlin Blockade events
Stalin tried to
block
movement of supplies into
West Berlin
by cutting off all
land
and
water
pathways, as well as
electricity
(i.e. western occupied zones)
Stalin’s aim was to
starve
West Berlin and to keep Germany
divided
and
weak
However, USA and Britain agreed to
transport
supplies
by air
, which was not blocked by Stalin
Berlin Airlift
: for 11 months western powers
flew supplies
into Western Berlin, and Soviets
could not shoot
the planes as it will be seen as an
act of war
Blockade failed: Stalin had no choice but to
reopen
the
land and water routes
-> ending of Berlin Airlift in
30 September 1949
Humiliated
Soviet Union,
boosted credibility of USA
May 1949- East and West Germany formed
Forming military alliances
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
The USA
feared
that the
Western European countries
would deal with their own security concerns by
negotiating independently
with the Soviet Union
An
alliance
of USA and the Western European countries was needed to
strengthen
the
security
of Europe
Western Europe countries
feared
Soviet Union's
aggression
, interested in
collective security agreement
Formation
of NATO
in April 1949
- members agreed to
come
to each other's
defence
if
attacked
Warsaw Pact
In reaction to NATO, Soviet Union formed
Warsaw Pact
(
May 1955
Alliance with
East European states
same agreement
as NATO made between Warsaw Pact members
Extension and international impact of Cold War
Cold War tensions between the USA and the Soviet Union
centred
on
Europe
in the
1940s
Tensions subsequently
extended
to other parts of the world
Led to outbreaks of
conflicts
and compelled the rest of the world to
support either side
or to be
non-aligned
(not supporting neither major powers)