Chapter 4 Flashcards
North Atlantic treaty organization(NATO)
Western alliance in the Cold War
Warsaw Pact
Communist alliance in Cold War
Cold War
The global putatively bloodless conflict between the US and the Soviet Union that resulted in massive arms build ups international conflicts and proxy wars
Containment
The policy of the US during the Cold War that checked aggressive soviet actions through military alliances
Iron curtain
A metaphor for the political ideological and physical (no mans land) separation of the SU and western countries during the Cold War
Arms race
The competitive buildup of weapons systems
Potsdam conference
The meeting among wartime allies in July 1945 that produced no agreement on the unification of Germany and other issues
Marshall plan
The western plan to rebuild Germany and the rest of Europe after WWII
Berlin blockade
The first physical confrontation of the Cold War taking place in 1948-49 in which Stalin blocked the land routes in Berlin
Revisionist interpretation
An interpretation of the origins of the Cold War that emphasizes American ideological or economic aggression against the SU and its allies
Spheres of influence
Areas of contested territory divided up and dominated by great powers which agree not to interfere in one another’s areas
Yalta conference
A wartime conference held in February 1945 where the US Soviet Union and GB agrees on the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany and postwar occupation of Europe including a Soviet sphere of influence in Eastern Europe
Balance of terror
A situation in which two or more countries use the threat of nuclear weapons to deter conflicts
Proxy wars
Conflicts in peripheral areas in which nuclear powers tested each other’s military capabilities and resolve
Korean War
A proxy war on the Korean Peninsula in the early 1950’s between Soviet-backed North Korean and Chinese forces and a UN force led by the US
Min deterrence
A strategy of deterrence that relies on a few nuclear weapons to retaliate and inflict unacceptable damage on the adversary
Max deterrence
A strategy that relies on many nuclear weapons to deter both conventional and limited attacks
Extended deterrence
A strategy of deterrence in which one country uses nuclear weapons to deer an attack on the territory of an allied country
Nuclear triad
The combination of nuclear land sea and air based retaliatory weapons
Massive retaliation
The strategy of threatening to unleash a general nuclear war
Mutual assured destruction
MAD
The nuclear deterrence strategy that called for the dominance of offensive or defensive weapons
Strategic arms limitation talks
SALT
Us -soviets talks held in the 1970s to limit offensive weapon systems
Anti ballistic missile (ABM) treaty
A 1972 treaty between the US and SU limiting anti ballistic missiles
National wars of liberation
Soviet term for proxy wars agains western colonialism in developing countries
Freedom fighters
US term for local forces resisting communist revolution in developing countries
Decolonization
The Un led process by which former colonies in the third world gained their independence
Domino theory
A theory held by the superpowers that if one country in a developing region went over to the other side other countries in the region would follow, falling like dominos
Nonaligned movement
A coalition led by India Yugoslavia and Egypt that stressed neutrality in the Cold War
Afghan war
Costly war fought by both the SU in the 1980s and the Us in the 2000s
Vietnam war
Costly war fought by the Us in the SE Asia to contain communism
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)
The space based antimissile systems that formed the core of Reagan program to enhance the US missile defense
Strategic arms reduction talks (START)
US -Soviet talks held in the 1990s to reduce offensive weapons systems
Mutual assured protection (MAP)
Nuclear strategy proposed by Reagan to build up defensive systems and reduce offensive weapons
Truman doctrine
US policy that defined the Cold War in ideological terms
Rollback
John foster dulless policy in the 1950’s of liberating the Eastern European countries from moscows control
New thinking
Gorbachevs ideas of domestic reform known as glasnost and perestroika
Peace research studies
Scholarly inquiry dedicated to the study of the potential for international peace emphasizing collective and common humanity approaches rather than balance of power
Baruch plan
Proposal by the US in 1946 to create a UN agency to control and manage nuclear weapons cooperatively
Détente
A phase of the Cold War beginning in the 1960s when the west initiated diplomatic overtures to Moscow
Helsinki accords
A series of agreements between east and west in 1975 concerning arms control trade and human rights
