origins of the cold war -> US, British and USSR relations in 1945 Flashcards
1
Q
Western capitalist democracies: the USA and Britain
A
- cornerstone of all American capitalist thinking lay in belief in individual’s fundamental right to liberty
- right protected by gov through limited controls
- liberty based on free market economies -> enabled competition + free exchange of goods to take place with limited gov intervention
2
Q
The USSR and Communism
A
- founding father of communism was Karl Marx, believing capitalism led to the exploitation of the proletarian majority by ruling bourgeoisie
- post-Russian revolution (1917), Marxist-Leninism was the official ideology of the Soviet Union
- explicitly committed to communism + overthrowing capitalism -> raison d’etre to destroy ‘capitalist’ international system and replace it with a communist world order
- soviet economic system based on a rejection of free markets and free trade
- Stalin promoted himself as the infallible interpreter of communist ideology -> mindset had a fundamental influence on Stalin’s foreign policy thinking in 1945
3
Q
Capitalism vs Communism:
A
- incompatible world views
- juxtaposing views on economic and political handling
- In a capitalist state, the economy is largely free from state control, while the government is democratically elected and freedom of speech is cherished.
- a communist state is administered from the centre, with control of the economy and society concentrated in the hands of the Communist Party-led government and political dissent suppressed
- ideological conviction and a desire for national security through increased global influence became driving obsessions for each side
4
Q
Ideological incompatibility:
A
- fundamental incompatibility in world views- each viewed the expansion of the other as an existential threat
- differences took its course as a reason for paranoia and contest
- drove USSR to practice autarky -> acknowledged reality of a direct conflict
5
Q
Ideological justification for policy:
A
- ideological differences used as a veneer for deeper geopolitical concerns (security and influence)
- Soviet expansionism framed as spreading socialism + defending the revolution against the West
- US policy of containment justified as defending freedom + democracy against spread of Totalitarianism (e.g. Long Telegram)
6
Q
what were the tensions at yalta?
A
- the marriage of convenience, known as the Grand Alliance between the USA, Britain and the USSR against Nazi Germany was beginning to show cracks
- the Western powers had opened a ‘second front’ in 1944 by invading Nazi-occupied France
- by March 1945, the Soviet Union had crossed the Oder River
- Franklin D. Roosevelt committed to post-war reconstruction based on unity among victorious powers
- Stalin’s guarantee of security through a network of EE allies
was in fundamental conflict with this view - this difference was the focus of tension between the East and West in the weeks leading up to the Yalta conference
7
Q
when was the Yalta Conference?
A
4-11 February 1945
8
Q
what were the US aims for the post-war world?
A
- collective security founded on the United Nations
- long-term cooperation with the USSR
- the right to national self-determination and no spheres of influence
- Germany’s reconstruction and re-education as a democratic nation
- world economic reconstruction through the creation of the IMF and the world bank
9
Q
what were the Soviet aims for the post-war world?
A
- the USSR to be in control of its own destiny
- cooperation with the Anglo-Americans
- the USSR’s security guaranteed through Soviet spheres of influence in Europe
- Germany to remain weak for the indefinite future
- economic reconstruction for the USSR with reparations - at Germany’s expense
10
Q
what was Stalin’s standpoint at Yalta?
A
- WWII devastated the Soviet Union (27mil dead, 1700 towns and 70,000 villages destroyed)
- lasting security became a supreme objective for Stalin
- he and Foreign Minister, Vyacheslav Molotov viewed the Grand Alliance allies as fundamentally anti-USSR
- despite this, wanted to keep open an avenue of cooperation with the west
- focused on ensuring that EE lay within a Soviet sphere of influence + to turn the whole of Germany into a communist state atp in the future (kept economically weak until then)
11
Q
what was Roosevelt’s standpoint at Yalta?
A
- clear commitment to cooperation as the basis for a lasting post-war settlement
- based on certainty that post-war world should strongly reflect American concept of democracy
- explains why Roosevelt was willing to cooperate with Stalin
- certain that he could secure a democratic, non-communist future for the states of EE and that international affairs could be managed through an international peacekeeping organisation
12
Q
what was Churchill’s standpoint at Yalta?
A
- convinced Stalin intended to extend Soviet power in post-war Europe
- believed SU threatened Britain’s imperial interests
- essential to establish a close alliance with USA to counter this potential threat
- Oct 1944: determined to protect British interests in EE + Balkans, arrived at the ‘percentages agreement’ with Stalin
- established percentage of predominance Britain + USSR would each have in EE states e.g. USSR had 90% of Romania, Britain had 90% in Greece
13
Q
what was agreed at Yalta?
A
- Germany and Austria would be divided into 4 zones; US, British, Soviet and French (Berlin to be divided similarly)
- To ratify the United Nations organisation
- Countries liberated from German occupation to be allowed free elections to decide their government (The Declaration on Liberated Europe)
- The USSR would join the war against Japan in return for the southern half of the Sakhalin Island and economic rights in Manchuria once Germany surrendered
- The USSR was to gain land from Poland; Poland was to expand to the north and west, at Germany’s expense
14
Q
what was the issue of the Polish government?
A
- at Yalta, Stalin reiterated importance of controlling Poland for Soviet security
- Churchill committed to London gov (anti-Soviet Polish nationalists) being official gov of Poland
- incompatible with Stalin’s plans -> London gov filled with anti-Soviet Polish nationalists
- Stalin set up his own Polish gov in Lublin (a Soviet puppet gov)
- At Yalta, Stalin agreed that he would allow members of the exiled Polish government into his Lublin government. He also promised that Poland would have free and fair elections.
- pleased the USA and Britain as they thought communist influence in Poland would dwindle.
15
Q
what were the developments between Yalta and Potsdam based on the US?
A
- Roosevelt died on April 12th 1945, replaced by Truman
- The US had tested the atomic bomb on 16th July, providing Truman with leverage he felt needed to obtain Soviet co-operation
- US atomic weapons dropped on Hiroshima (6th August) and Nagasaki (9th August), leading to Japan’s surrender on 15th August
