Chapter 4: The Cold War

Chapter 4: The Cold War I. Introduction A. Explaining the origins of the Cold War B. The Cold War spreads and deepens C. The Cold War winds down D. The end of the Cold War E. Russia after the Cold War II. Explaining the origins of the Cold War A. Individual-level explanations 1. Anti-communism of Western leaders a. Churchill b. Truman 2. Perceptions and beliefs a. Stalin b. Mao B. Unit-level explanations 1. Communism versus capitalism a. Mistrust dates back to the Bolshevik Revolution (1917) b. Lenin argued that for revolution to occur workers had to be led by a communist party c. Revolution occurred in Russia first because it was the weakest link in the chain of imperialism d. Once in power, Lenin imposed a dictatorship and governed according to the principle of democratic centralism e. Stalin also fostered totalitarianism to build socialism in one country, which he pursued by means of forced collectivization of agriculture and rapid industrialization f. Western mistrust was fueled by an aversion to communism g. Mutual suspicions led to the Soviet Nazi Nonaggression Treaty h. The US and Soviet Union were thrown together by Hitler s invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 and the US entry into the war in December 1941 1

i. Each side remained suspicious of the other s political motives throughout the war j. On March 5 1946, Churchill coined the term iron curtain to describe the divide between East and West and argued that another war could be avoided only if Britain and the US acted to form a united front against the USSR 2. The Soviet Union: security and ideology a. Soviet actions in Europe, including refusal to demobilize occupying forces and agree to new boundaries eroded the belief that the USSR designed its policies to maximize power and thus that it was possible to bargain with its leaders (Yalta Axioms) b. Instead US leaders came to belief that Soviet policy was driven by ideology rather than power (Riga Axioms) c. George F. Kennan s Long Telegram (1) Presented a very negative analysis of Soviet motives to leaders in Washington (2) Kennan argued that Soviet ideology warped the Soviet view of the US (3) Efforts will be made... to disrupt national selfconfidence, to hamstring measures of national defense, to increase social and industrial unrest, to stimulate all forms of disunity.... Where individual governments stand in [the] path of Soviet purposes pressure will be brought for their removal from office.... In foreign countries Communists will... work toward destruction of all forms of personal independence, economic, political, or moral. d. Nikolai Novikov s Telegram to Moscow C. System-level explanations (1) A mirror image of the Long Telegram (2) The Soviet ambassador to the US argued that the US sought to achieve global dominance by means of its military power (3) US policy specifically sought to limit Soviet influence in other countries and to inject American capital into foreign economies 1. Bipolarity and the breakdown of Soviet American cooperation a. Neorealists focus on the bipolar distribution of military power as an explanation for the Cold War 2

b. World War II produced a bipolar world in which the US and the USSR were the only countries in a position to influence global politics significantly c. The former great powers Britain, France, Germany, and Japan were devastated by World War II (1) British, French, and Dutch empires were unravelling (2) France and Italy experienced government instability and powerful communist parties d. The only major security threat to each superpower was the other superpower, thereby creating a security dilemma 2. Spheres of influence and Eastern Europe a. Spheres of influence were implicit in postwar diplomacy b. Several summit meetings were held to overcome the differences among the major powers (1) Yalta Conference (February 1945) (a) Struck a bargain over representation in the proposed United Nations in which the USSR was given three seats in the General Assembly and the US could have the same number if it wished (b) Another agreement provided for veto power for the five permanent members of the Security Council (c) Four occupation zones were created in Germany (American, Soviet, British, and French), thus ratifying the division of Germany and ensuring the US remained involved in Europe (d) The most controversial agreement pledged free elections and a guarantee of basic freedoms in all liberated countries (2) Potsdam Conference (July August 1945) 3. The division of Germany (a) The Soviets presented a fait accompli at this conference when they announced they had already reached agreement with Poland s communist government on that country s new boundaries a. Germany remained key to European security owing to its central geographic position, skilled population, and economic potential 3

b. In late 1945 and early 1946, Moscow refused to cooperate in administering Germany as a single economic unit, as agreed at Yalta c. The Western zones were unified in 1947 to ensure they would become economically self-sufficient and could contribute to Europe s recovery d. In 1949, the Western zones became the Federal Republic of Germany and the Eastern zone became the German Democratic Republic D. Interpreting the beginning of the Cold War 1. Realists would argue the Cold War was caused by: a. The existence of power vacuums in Central Europe and East Asia b. The steps that the US and USSR each took to increase its security trapped both in a security dilemma c. Traditional Russian expansionism in search of warm water ports and defensible boundaries 2. Liberals would argue the Cold War was caused by: a. Soviet authoritarianism b. Efforts of Soviet leaders to solidify their authority at home by focusing attention on alleged threats from abroad c. Soviet human rights abuses and involvement in Eastern Europe alienated US public opinion d. The absence of Soviet American interdependence made competition easier 3. Constructivists would focus on the contrasting identities of the superpowers that gave rise to conflicting interests 4. Marxists viewed the policies of the US and its allies as part of a transnational capitalist effort to spread capitalism globally, make non-western countries economically dependent on Western states, and obtain new markets for exports III. The Cold War spreads and deepens A. Containment 1. A US foreign policy that sought to prevent the spread of communism by applying diplomatic and economic pressure on the USSR 2. Containment was first articulated in the Truman Doctrine (1947) 3. George Kennan outlined a policy of containment in an article 4

published in Foreign Affairs (The X Article) later that year 4. Thereafter, the US embarked on a global strategy to confront what it believed to be a Soviet policy of expansionism 5. Containment remained the basis of American policy for four decades a. The US established a global network of multilateral and bilateral alliances b. The US economic aid to fight poverty and despair, starting with the Marshall Plan in 1947 c. Western Germany was reintegrated into Europe and the West B. Militarizing the Cold War 1. NSC-68 a. National Security Council Report 68 marked a dramatic shift in American policy toward the Cold War b. NSC-68 stressed the USSR s growing military capabilities and called for massive enlargement and improvement in American military capabilities to meet the Soviet threat c. NSC-68 advocated an active version of containment to encourage changes in Soviet domestic society d. It viewed the US and Soviet Union as engaged in a zerosum conflict in which cooperation was impossible 2. The loss of China a. In 1949, communists under Mao Zedong took power in China, ending a long civil war b. China s nationalists, the Kuomintang (KMT), led by Sun Yat-sen and then Chiang Kai-shek, cooperated with the communists between 1921 and 1927 c. The nationalists and communists were forced into an uneasy alliance following Japan s 1937 invasion of China d. After World War II, civil war engulfed China again e. As Chiang s armies weakened and the nationalists fled to Taiwan and Mao established the People s Republic of China on October 1, 1949 f. This conflict reinforced Western fears that communism was inherently expansionist and would spread by military means 3. The Korean War 5

a. The Korean War began when communist North Korea invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950 b. In January 1950, US Secretary of Defense Dean Acheson declared that South Korea was outside the US defense perimeter in East Asia c. This may have suggested to the North that aggression would be left unanswered d. On learning of the attack, Truman dispatched US troops to South Korea e. Intervention was authorized by the United Nations f. US leaders believed the communists had invaded South Korea to probe America s willingness to resist aggression and that the invasion was a prelude to possible Soviet military action in Europe g. American leaders believed that if they allowed one country to fall to communism, others would follow and that this must not be allowed to happen h. The Korean War lasted three years, enlarged by the intervention of 200,000 Chinese troops i. The war ended in a ceasefire in 1953, but a treaty ending the war has never been signed j. The impact of the Korean War (1) Propelled the US to militarize the containment doctrine (2) Transformed NATO from a political to a military alliance 4. McCarthyism at home a. The loss of China and the Korean War intensified a climate of fear and hysteria about alleged communist infiltration of American institutions b. The Red Menace (1) Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin and politicians like him exploited sensational allegations of espionage (2) They accused State Department Foreign Service officers and China specialists of losing China c. A similar process unfolded in the USSR d. Purges were conducted against Soviet citizens who had contact with Westerners 6

5. The Vietnam War IV. The Cold War winds down a. The Asian dimension of the Cold War again became inflamed during the Vietnam War, in which the United States sought to resist the unification of that country under a communist government led by Ho Chi Minh (1890 1969) b. Ho Chi Minh unsuccessfully sought self-determination from France at the Versailles Peace Conference in 1919 c. Shortly before World War Two, French Indochina was occupied by Japan. Following Japan s defeat, France sought to reoccupy Indochina d. US leaders were convinced that the struggle in Indochina was a case of communist expansion rather than anticolonialism e. The French were defeated at Dienbienphu in 1954 f. A second Indochina war began in 1959, after the USbacked anti-communist leader Ngo Dinh Diem refused to hold promised elections g. Under Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy, the United States provided South Vietnam with advisors, supplies, and training, but after Diem s overthrow and death in a 1963 military coup, US involvement grew h. Tet Offensive in 1968 persuaded Americans that they could not win the war at an acceptable cost i. After lengthy negotiations and ongoing American military efforts the two sides agreed to a ceasefire in January 1973 j. In 1975 North Vietnam conquered South Vietnam k. Vietnam formally united on July 2, 1976 under a Communist government l. The war deeply divided American politics m. The reasons for American intervention remain unclear but include (1) Ending Chinese support for wars of national liberation (2) Fear that communism would expand to other countries in Southeast Asia (3) Concern that if America showed weakness, the USSR and its proxies would act aggressively elsewhere 7

A. The period after 1962 was known as détente because it entailed a progressive reduction in tension 1. Arms control efforts 2. Confidence-building measures B. In the 1960s, a split emerged between China and the Soviet Union C. After Stalin s death, the two states became engaged in ideological disputes over interpretations of Marxism D. The Sino Soviet schism weakened global communism E. Tacit rules emerged to reduce the risks of conflict 1. Avoid direct military confrontation by using proxies 2. Design weapons systems that could survive an enemy attack and deploy surveillance systems to make surprise attacks unlikely 3. Avoid interference in the adversary s sphere of influence 4. Employ non-military means like propaganda, espionage, and subversion 5. Improve communications between Washington and Moscow F. In the late 1970s, relations were again poisoned 1. The Soviets built up arms and increased involvement in Africa 2. In 1979 the USSR invaded Afghanistan 3. The US pushed the USSR on human rights issues G. The second Cold War commenced with the election of Ronald Reagan in the US V. The end of the Cold War 1. Reagan set out to win the arms race by means of a massive arms buildup 2. The USSR initially responded in kind 3. Cracks appeared in the USSR s social and economic fabric 4. The economy was no longer able to support large-scale defense spending A. Mikhail Gorbachev, who assumed power in the USSR on March 11, 1985, realized that unless conditions changed, the USSR would gradually become a marginal actor in world affairs B. Gorbachev pursued wide-ranging reforms 1. Perestroika: a program of economic political and social restructuring 2. Glasnost: a policy of openness in public discussion that would 8

enhance the legitimacy of Soviet institutions and the communist party 3. Domestic pressures to pursue reform were an incentive for Gorbachev to seek an end to the Cold War C. A new attitude developed in Washington, too 1. America s arms build-up was producing alarming budget deficits 2. Public opinion favored greater cooperation with Moscow, especially in arms control 3. President Reagan himself concluded it was possible to end the Cold War 4. Summit meetings and major arms control agreements followed. The most dramatic example of US Soviet cooperation followed Iraq s invasion of Kuwait in August 1990 D. Germany was key to ending the Cold War 1. More and more East Germans took advantage of eased travel restrictions to Austria and Hungary 2. Soviet leaders did nothing to stop the massive flight and on November 9, 1989 the Berlin Wall was opened E. Democratic movements led to the replacement of communist regimes with democratic ones throughout the Eastern bloc F. At the Malta (December 1989) and Washington (June 1990) summits, the Cold War was formally ended G. Gorbachev s policies eventually led to the dissolution of the USSR H. Explaining the end of the Cold War VI. Russia after the Cold War 1. Individual-level explanations: Gorbachev and Reagan 2. Unit-level explanations: Soviet economic weakness, technological backwardness, and social malaise 3. System-level explanations: a changing distribution of power A. Russia remains a major factor in global politics B. Economics 1. Russia faced enormous economic challenges following the Cold War a. Real incomes b. Production c. Hyperinflation 9

VII. Conclusion d. Erosion of public health and social security systems 2. Reform has been slow a. Needed to educate Russians on the basics of capitalism b. Corruption and crime was endemic c. Reform brought unemployment, rising prices and taxes, and declining production 3. There was a gradual improvement until Russia became victim to Asia s 1988 economic crisis 4. Since 1998 there has been a sustained economic recovery 5. Serious economic problems remain C. Politics a. Poor infrastructure b. Complex rules c. Corruption d. Economic inequality e. Ethnic conflict 1. President Putin s policies gradually eroded earlier political reforms a. Consolidated political power in the presidency, producing a managed democracy b. Enfeebled regional governments c. Limited the reach of independent media and nongovernmental organizations 2. Putin stepped down as president in 2008 and publicly backed Dmitry Medvedev as his successor 3. Medvedev appointed Putin as Russia s Prime Minister 4. Putin won reelection as President in 2012 D. Foreign affairs 1. Russia s policies have been nationalist and suspicious of the United States a. NATO expansion b. US efforts to build a missile defense system in Europe c. Intervention in South Ossetia in 2008 d. Annexation of Crimea in 2014 10