cold war essay Flashcards
what’s a general overview
orthodox interpretation
- background to its origin
- how it started at the end of WWII
- US strength was what brought it to an end
revisionist interpretation
- replaced the orthodox view in the 50s and 60s
- placed most blame on the US for the start, Soviets acting defensively
- Soviet internal failures brought it to an end
post-revisionist interpretation
- argue both sides share equal blame, both acting defensively
- started because they were both defending themselves (poli theory of security dilemma)
- both interfering in countries without their consent
- ended because of a combination of the above points, no one clear action
thesis?
- Overall the post-revisionist format is the most convincing as it doesn’t take such a binary approach
- Orthodox interpretation reflects western propaganda at the time and ignores key arguments as well as being dominant before the cold war even ended so can’t take all the factors into effect
- The revisionist interpretation does a good job of acknowledging American weakness but fails to recognise Soviet expansionism, takes too much of a black and white approach when the issue is not that simple
who supported the orthodox interpretation?
Pushed by Western leaders, US officials, Winston Churchill (iron curtain)
when did the orthodox perspective emerge?
Emerged in the late 40s and 50s
according to the orthodox perspective, when did the cold war start?
- tensions came from the Yalta and Potsdam conferences
- triggered specifically by Soviet expansion into eastern europe
- this prompted a necessary western response
when did the USSR expand into eastern europe
- at the end of WWII
- Liberated eastern european countries from Germany rule but continued to occupy them
- By the end of WWII many countries had been taken including Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria
what was the western response to soviet expansion into eastern europe right at the beginning
- The Truman doctrine and the Marshall Plan 1947 ($13 billion of aid to western europe to stop the spread of communism
- This was a heroic and necessary response according to the orthodox viewpoint
according to the orthodox perspective why did the cold war end
- It ended due to US strengths, portrayed as a great hero, as well as the inherent failures of the communist system
- The US economy and ideology was overall stronger, seen in collapse of Berlin Wall 1989, strong policies of Reagan and stronger military under him
- Military strength against Soviets, economic dominance and a strong moral stance
- They purposefully bankrupted the Soviets through arms buildup
when did the revisionist perspective come about
50s-60s after the orhtodox perspective came under attack
according to the revisionist perspective, when did the cold war start
- the US’s use of the atomic bomb at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nuclear weapons were used to intimidate the Soviet Union so they had to be defensive
- Followed by Truman’s harsh stance against communism and the Marshall Plan
- Churchill’s iron curtain speech created tangible divisions, also Somalia and Mozambique
- Soviet policy in eastern europe was really no different to the US’s policy in Latin America or Africa
what are some US actions in Latin America
Assassination and orchestrated coups in Guatemala with Arbenz removed by the CIA, Cuba ofc, backed 1973 coup with Pinochet in Chile, supported right wing rebels in Nicaragua
what are some US actions in Africa
Assassination of Lumumba in the Congo, involved in South African apartheid, supported UNITA rebels in Angola against the MPLA
according to the revisionist perspective, why did the cold war end
- It was internal failures and mismanagement from the Soviets that brought it to an end, not the power or strength of the US
- the actions of Gorbachev
- Soviet Union had stagnated economically and communist ideology was disenchanting to most
what were some of Gorbachev’s actions that brought an end to the Soviet Union and the Cold War
- cooperated more with the US and Reagan
- abandoned the Brezhnev doctrine
- Perestroika (‘restructuring’) and glasnost (‘openness’) at home weakened authoritarianism and fuelled dissent rather than saving the system
- Allowed for largely peaceful collapse of Soviet bloc without military intervention
what is the argument of the post-revisionists?
- see them more as equally guilty
- some prescribe slightly more blame to the USSR
- takes a significantly less binary approach
according to post-revisionists, when did the Cold War start?
- there was no aggressive actor who started it
- both parties were acting out of fear and defensiveness, the security dilemma, rather than being inherently expansionist
what does Gaddis think
- post-revisionist
- draws distinction between empire by invitation and empire by imposition
- this would be valid but only if you were looking at europe
who is Leffler
- post-revisionist
- wrote ‘a preponderance of power’
- argues both superpowers were acting out of fear and insecurity not blatant expansionism
according to post-revisionists why did the Cold War end?
- a combination of Soviet failures and US strength, not one or the other
- both Gorbachev and Reagan’s leadership was crucial
- it was a mix of decisions and actors
