Cold War Overview

Introduction

• Post-World War II ideological struggle between two superpowers: United States (capitalism) vs. Soviet Union (communism).
• Emergence of proxy wars: regional conflicts backed by superpowers to promote their agendas.
• Nuclear arms race along with propaganda, espionage, and psychological warfare.
• Technological rivalry leading to the space race.
• Key figures and events: Stalin, Reagan, CIA, KGB, Berlin Wall, Hiroshima, Chernobyl.

Origins of the Cold War

• Industrial Revolution led to economic disparity, noted by Karl Marx, resulting in Marxism.
• Bolshevik Revolution in Russia (1917), establishment of a one-party state under Lenin.
• USSR’s emergence post-World War I failures, Stalin’s rise, and transformation into an industrial superpower.
• Failures of capitalist systems noted by President Woodrow Wilson, leading to attempts at international cooperation.
• WWII alliances between the USSR, Britain, and the USA strained by differing war experiences.
• Post-war US initiatives: United Nations, World Bank, and IMF vs. Soviet buffer zones and reparations from Germany.

Early Cold War Tensions

• Truman Doctrine and policy of containment against Soviet expansionism.
• McCarthyism and anti-communist sentiment in the US.
• CIA’s role in suppressing communism abroad, e.g., Italy’s elections.

Cold War in Europe

• Berlin Blockade and Airlift (1948-49), division of Germany.
• Formation of NATO (1949) as a counter to Soviet expansionism.

Cold War in Asia

• Post-war Japan’s transformation under US occupation.
• Chinese Communist victory (1949), Mao Zedong’s alliance with the USSR.
• Korean War (1950-53) and its implications for US foreign policy.

Nuclear Arms Race and Crises

• US-Soviet nuclear arms race, introduction of hydrogen bombs.
• Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) and resulting US-Soviet diplomacy.

Middle East and Africa

• CIA-led coups in Iran (1953), Guatemala (1954), and involvement in Congo.
• Nasser’s nationalization of the Suez Canal, leading to the Suez Crisis (1956).

Detente and Arms Control

• SALT I (1972) marking a period of eased tensions.
• Helsinki Accords (1975) and their impact on Soviet bloc and US domestic policies.

Late Cold War Developments

• Reagan’s military buildup and Strategic Defense Initiative (1980s).
• Gorbachev’s reforms: Perestroika and Glasnost.
• Decline of Soviet economy and rise of Eastern European independence movements.

Collapse of the Soviet Union

• Democratic revolutions across Eastern Europe (1989).
• Fall of the Berlin Wall (1989) and German reunification (1990).
• Dissolution of the Soviet Union (1991) under Gorbachev.

Conclusion

• End of a conflict that shaped global politics and societies for over four decades.