Lecture 5

Question 1

Conditions surrounding the Atomic bomb

Answer 1

The US asked Japan for unconditional surrender, but Japan wanted to keep some positions like the Emperor. Japanese would not allow the US to arrest the Emperor, wanted him to remain as a symbol of power. After the first test of the atomic weapon, Japan surrendered. The US allowed them to keep their Emperor

Question 2

Why are nuclear weapons game changers?

Answer 2

• extreme destruction
• projected power
• ultimate deterent

Question 3

Why was the nuclear weapon used when Japan was surrendering anyways?

Answer 3

• the official narrative was to avoid American deaths in battle
• the British had been decoding Japanese intel, and they informed the US that the Japanese were debating how to surrender.
• the nuclear weapon was a major sign to the Soviet Union.

Question 4

What did Truman say to Stalin about the nuclear weapon?

Answer 4

We have a nuclear weapon, we are more powerful.

Question 5

When did the Cold War arms race begin?

Answer 5

in the final phases of WWII

Question 6

What was the state of the US during the beginnings of the Cold War?

Answer 6

• US had not suffered as badly as European countries in WWII, exports more than doubled pre war levels
• US had 3/4 share in the global invested capital

Question 7

What arae the two main institutions of global capitalism established by the US in 1944?(Bretton Woods)

Answer 7

1. IBRD

2. IMF

Question 8

What are the two ways of life that Truman argued that the world had to choose between?

Answer 8

1. based on majority, distinguished by free institutions, representative government, free elections, guarantees of individual liberty, freedom of speech and religion, and freedom from political oppression
2. Based on the will of a minority forcibly imposed upon the majority. It relies upon terror and oppression, a controlled press and radio; fixed elections, and the suppression of personal freedoms

Question 9

What is the Marshall Plan?

Answer 9

aimed at the economic recovery of Europe, US gave 12 bil to rebuild Western Europe

Question 10

Why was the Marshall plan effective?

Answer 10

it would prevent another global economic crisis that had occurred in the 30s

• served American political and ideological interests as well as economic interests.

Question 11

When was NATO created?

Answer 11

1949, 12 countries signed the north atlantic treaty

• the military alliance commits member states to mutual defense in case of an attack by external party

Question 12

What was enacted in response to NATO?

Answer 12

The Warsaw Pact, 1955

Question 13

What is the Domino theory?

Answer 13

In case of a communist revolution in one country, neighbouring countries would also become infected with the communist contagion

Question 14

What was used to build public support for the Vietnam war?

Answer 14

An unprovoked act of aggression, the Gulf of Tonkin incident.

Question 15

Realists perspectives on the Cold war

Answer 15

Waltz and Mearsheimer: a time of stability, due to the bipolar structure. Gaddis called it the ‘long peace’ in 1987

Morgenthau: criticized US foreign policy for being too ideological

Kennon: criticized it for being too dependent on military containment

Question 16

Who was responsible for the Cold War?

Answer 16

US foreign policy has been described as reactionary towards Soviet policy of aggression

Gaddis challenged this, arguing that Stalins actions were attempts to ensure basic security interests of the Soviet Union

Stalin’s moves were wrongly interpreted as aggressive expansion based on communist ideology.

Question 17

What is a realist understanding of the Cold War?

Answer 17

• emphasizinv the role of material and geopolitical factors in the rivalry between the US and USSR
• Soviet presence in the East and Central Europe was a major concern for the US
• USSR’s growing geopolitical influence was call for alarm

Question 18

Constructivist understanding of the Cold war

Answer 18

• focuses on the ideological character of the rivalry
• commitment to liberal democratic values
• American exceptionalism
• scholars in favour of such an approach argue that each of the two superpowers established institutions and systems in Europe based on their ideology
• hostility towards the communist ideology

Question 19

Socio-economic Understanding of the Cold War

Answer 19

• US was concerned with the economic security and prosperity of the capitalist system
• the international capitalist system not only benefitted the elite of the US but also the state. As a result, the very foundation of the US was under threat.
• The war was not over ideas, but rather the fact that the expansion of the Soviet economic model eliminated areas of the globe which had the potential to become part of the capitalist system, and a market for US business and global capital