01. BEGINNINGS OF COLD WAR - Origins of the Cold War.pptx

01. BEGINNINGS OF COLD WAR - Origins of the Cold War

1. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE BLAME FOR THE COLD WAR 01 COLD WAR HISTORY

2. BIBLIOGRAPHY Michael L. Dockrill , The Cold War . NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. JPD Dunbabin , The Cold War. The Great Powers and their Allies . Pearson Longman; United Kingdom, 2008. Mike Sewell, The Cold War . London: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Ralph B. Levering, [et al.], Debating the Origins of the Cold War. American and Russian Perspectives . Oxford: Rowman& Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2001.

3. COLD WAR DEFINITION The Cold War has been defined as a state of extreme tension between superpowers, stopping short of all-out war but characterised by mutual hostility and involvement in war by proxy . War by proxy is the war in which the main combatants are not in front of each other , but they are helping other countries to hurt the interests of their enemies. Example: the conflict in Ukraine in which Ukrainians are helped by USA and NATO countries vs. the pro-Russian militias in Donbas are helped by Russia and its allies (China, North Korea, Iran).

4. TENSIONS IN THE COLD WAR The Cold War remained Cold because of the development of the nuclear weapons, which was the best deterrent for engaging into war . Any atomic war would have been suicidal and devastating for both sides. Instead, both sides started an all-spies war, and a struggle to acquire more sophisticated arms . From the Western perspective (mostly American) there was a big preoccupation of the governing elite with the evils of communism , which was the enemy of the capitalist state. US diplomats’ warnings about the Soviet misdeeds were numerous in the 1930’s and in the 1945-1946 period, it was clear that cooperation will prove more difficult than anticipated , mainly because of ideological reasons.

5. AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE American historians were focused on the fundamental antagonism of the communist and capitalist system , exaggerating the Soviet threat to the West. Generations of American students created a hysteria which was present everywhere in the USA, during the 1950’s. Appeals to restraint were immediately dismissed . When Cold War tensions started to decrease, American historians detached themselves from the Orthodox view (that Soviet Union is to blame). The Revisionist views (blaming USA) of the 60’s and 70’s stated that USA is to blame for the Cold War and for extending it. They were affected by the human and material costs of the endless conflict in Vietnam. Stalin was seen as a cautious and defensive leader.

6. AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE CONT. American government was seen as misinterpreting and overreacting to Stalin’s efforts to protect Soviet Union . In the American historians’ opinion, this state of affairs was making a tense situation even more dangerous . The American writers believed that America wanted to extend its immense financial and military power throughout the world . This capitalist view clashed with the Soviet Union insistence on preserving the communist system. Post-revisionist school appeared during the late 1970’s and it was more balanced, attributing the blame to both sides equally . The theory was that the clash of these 2 superpowers were generated by the misunderstandings of policies and over-reacting .

7. AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE CONT. The last interpretation is the post-archives one , in which, based on documents, Stalin is blamed for creating most of the situations during the Cold War.

8. SOVIET UNION PERSPECTIVE Soviet writers were schooled in the Leninist view . This was a political ideology developed by Lenin that proposes the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat (workers) led by a revolutionary vanguard party as the political prelude to the establishment of communism. The Soviet Union perspective was that the capitalist system is fundamentally hostile to communism , which was partially correct. Important to remember, when analysing any Soviet opinion: it would have been unwise (impossible) to voice contrary opinions while Stalin was consolidating his hold on Russia!

9. SOVIET UNION PERSPECTIVE CONT. The Soviet Union policy towards USA was dictated by the need to protect the country for being overwhelmed by American capitalism. The result of this would have turn the Soviet Union into a “raw materials and resources base for the West”. The Cold War started when USA wanted to exercise its economic strength in Central and Eastern Europe, through Marshall Plan and other forms of financial aid. This area was under the control of the Soviet Union , and it was vital for the security of the union.

10. SOVIET UNION PERSPECTIVE CONT. Stalin himself advocated for an anti-American campaign that was spreading into all corners of Soviet society. Knowing who the current enemy in Soviet society was a matter of life and death for Soviet citizens and it is not surprising that people reacted to the ideological campaigns. In the aftermath of Stalin‘s death, Khrushchev advocated for peaceful coexistence with the West , which softened the anti-American official focus. A 1955 “revival” of cultural relations with the United States was noticeable to everyone involved in the cultural bureaucracy. With the revival came hands on experiences and face-to-face encounters with the enemy but the increased knowledge about the outside world also created confusion and sometimes even strong doubts about the Soviet strategy of relating to the USA.

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