Origins of the Cold War Flashcards
2 impacts of Soviet Expansion
Believed to be ‘much more ambitious’ than the ‘buffer’ the soviets claimed which had already forced another 500 million people to live under communist regimes by 1948, popularised ‘iron fist’
It began the geopolitical competition in Europe allowing Berlin crises and end of co-operation like 1955 Austrian state treaty
2 Economic impacts
Aim of preventing a massive slump from war-time spending of 45% in 1945 to pre-war spending of 2% of GDP created MIC which funded conflicts such as US takeover from GB funding Greek nationalists against a communist
‘Marshall Aid’ which in 1947 provided $13billion so that their markets were open to trade, passive aggression especially when Marshall Aid was expanded to West Germany with a payment of $510million in 1948
3 Great Power rivalry
1950 NSC-68 stated coexistence of superpowers only option if USSR ended pursuit of nuclear weapons and ‘treat American diplomats properly’ show aim of US to establish itself as lone superpower
Stalin’s unwillinging to concede influence in E.Europe
Agreements on control ove Europe
4 Personality factors
FDR’s disinterest in involvement in a European settlement and appeasing Stalin’s aims it can be said Churchill was forced to travel to Moscow in October 1944
Proof of personality significance is It wasn’t until Khrushchev succeeded Stalin in September 1953 that a thaw between tensions could begin
Stalin’s paranoia motivated expansion and caused hardliner attitude felt entitled to E.Europe influence as despite formal agreement FDR had agreed it
4 Ideology factors
Churchill gave speech ‘strangle the infant Bolshevism in its cradle’ support of the white army with soldiers and weaponry 1917-1922
West wanted new world order of capitalist-democracy, USSR’s expansion concerning as 500mil extra by 1948
Led to misjudgements as US believed by creating buffer zone USSR following Lenin’s constant revolution therefore satellites viewed as aggression
Stalin provision of T34-85 and MiG 15 worth millions despite economic weakness of USSR and similarly US supporting SK despite 30,000 KIA
3 National interests factors
Detonation of 1945 A-Bomb
Economic interests
As part of the Yalta deal for the Soviet Union invades Japan August the 8th 1945, Roosevelt promised Stalin Sakhalin and the Japanese Kurile islands, and zones of influence in Manchuria and North Korea which in LR hurt relations as it added Soviet presence to Asia and so began competition
