The Cold War: A Comprehensive Overview

Introduction

• Began after WWII between USA and USSR
• Ideological conflict: Communism vs. Capitalism
• No direct fighting, use of proxy wars
• Central themes: nuclear weapons, propaganda, espionage, psychological warfare
• Key figures/events: Stalin, Reagan, CIA, KGB, Berlin Wall, Hiroshima, Chernobyl

Pre-Cold War Context

Industrial Revolution Impacts

• Great economic divide: wealth for industrialists, poverty for workers
• Karl Marx: Observed economic inequality, predicted revolution
• Marxism: Advocated common ownership, eliminate wealth disparity

Rise of Communism

Bolshevik Revolution (1917)

• Led by Vladimir Lenin, established a one-party state
• Use of propaganda, military action, terror
• Creation of USSR (1922)

West and Capitalism

Post-Great War Scenario

• Capitalism’s flaws: economic turmoil, Great Depression, fascist aggression
• Woodrow Wilson’s vision: Political self-determination, economic liberalization, League of Nations

WWII Impact

Different Experiences

• USSR: Defensive war, high casualties (27 million), delayed Western front
• USA: Low casualties (400,000), economic boom, shift towards greater international presence

Post-War Security Strategies

USA

• United Nations, World Bank, IMF
• Collective security, economic revival

USSR

• Pro-Soviet governments in Eastern Europe
• Demilitarization of Germany, reparation demands

Start of Cold War

Diverging Paths

• Truman Doctrine (1947): Containment policy to curb Soviet expansionism
• Berlin Blockade and Airlift (1948-49)
• Formation of NATO (1949) and Warsaw Pact (1955)

Escalation of Tensions

Nuclear Arms Race

• Soviet atomic bomb (1949), USA’s hydrogen bomb development
• Eisenhower: Advocated limited use of nuclear weapons
• Khrushchev: Destalinization, Warsaw Pact, space advancements (Sputnik, ICBM)

Key Conflicts and Crises

Berlin Wall (1961)

• Erected under Khrushchev, symbol of Communist oppression

Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)

• USA's naval blockade, near nuclear war
• Resolution: Soviet withdrawal, USA’s non-invasion pledge

Proxy Wars and Global Struggles

Southeast Asia

• Korean War (1950-1953): Containment success
• Vietnam War: Proxy war failure, anti-war sentiments, policy shifts

Middle East and Africa

• Egypt’s Nasser: Skillful manipulation of superpowers
• Iranian coup (1953), Guatemalan coup (1954), and Congo’s Lumumba assassination (1960)

Detente and Renewed Tensions

Period of Detente

• SALT I (1972), Helsinki Accords (1975)
• Nagging distrust, Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1979)

Reagan Era

• “Peace through Strength” policy, SDI (Star Wars)
• Increased tensions: Soviet shootdown of Korean airliner (1983), Able Archer 83

End of Cold War

Gorbachev’s Reforms

• Perestroika (restructuring) and Glasnost (openness)
• Economic stagnation, Eastern European uprisings
• Revolutions of 1989, fall of Berlin Wall

Collapse of the USSR

• Gorbachev-Yeltsin rivalry, Coup attempt (August 1991)
• Official dissolution (December 25, 1991)

Epilogue

• The Cold War shaped politics, economies, and societies globally for over four decades
• Legacy of the ideological struggle continues to influence modern geopolitics

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