the bipolar Cold War system Flashcards
“Grand Alliance” : members, basis and conferences
- US, UK, USSR
- basis: Atlantic Charter
- Conf: Teheran, Yalta, and Potsdam
atlantic charter
- august 1941 (US/UK)
- defend the fund freedoms + fight barbaric forces
conference of Teheran
- nov 1943
- Stalin, Wilson, Churchill
- remain united, to fix the goal of winning the war
Conference of Yalta
- Feb 1945
- occupation of G and consolidation of the UNO
Conference of Potsdam
July 1945: confirmation of sharing out, status of G (5N’s), reparations
creation of UNO + founding members
1945
San Francisco Charter
51 founding members
UNO organs
- general assembly
- security council (all decisions on peace and security) = “4 policemen” (Roosevelt)
- secretariat
- international court of Justice
UNO principles + objectives
collective security: non aggression, international law, collective action, disarmament
peace and security, friendly relations among countries thanks to the respect of equal rights and self-determination, achieve international co-op to solve issues
collective security
principle of maintaining peace between states by mobilizing international opinion to condemn aggression
financial institutions completing the UNO + date of creation
Bretton Woods (International Monetary Fund and the World Bank)
Conference of Bretton Woods, 1944
GATT
1947
suppress trade barriers and organize free trade system
origins of the Cold War
- ideology and values : goals clashed
- pb of balance of pw
- geopolitics : opp btw sea pws and continental pws
MacCarthyism
1959
virulent anticommunism
balance of power
system of mutual military deterrence and of co-operation
pb of balance of pw : characteristics of great pws and wants
- US : global hegemony, containment, ag authoritarianism and colonialism
- USSR : expansionist, worried about its own security, decolonization
- UK + FR : weakened by WWII but wants to preserve their Empire
- Ch : civil war
- G + Jpn : defeated, divided
Opp btw sea pws and continental pw
- A. Mahan, The Influence of sea upon History (1890) : sea pw = fund element to dominate IR
- H. MacKinder, Heartland (1904) = “the geographical pivot of History” => who dominated Heartland dominates the world = threat to sea pws
- N. Spykman, Geography of Space (1943) : Heartland = USSR, Rimland = all countries bordering Heartland => should make a collar to prevent its expansion
=> containment
design of containment
- Kennan’s Long Telegram
- Churchill’s Fulton Speech
- Truman doctrine
- Marshall Plan
- NATO, CENTO, SEATO
- doctrine of nuclear massive retaliation : US could respond to all external threats
Kennan’s Long T + Churchill’s Speech
1946
- K: tradition in soviet foreign policy = develop an expansion towards Europe…
- C: iron curtain + no freedom in the East
Truman Doctrine & Marshall Plan
1947
- T: political, military and eco aid to all dem nations under threat
- M : financial aid
Cominform
1947
to promote com
replace the Comintern demantled
Prague Coup and Berlin Blockade
1948
- B: Stalin wanted B to be fully part of Eastern G : blocked the access to W B for 1 year
cold war in Asia
- civil war in Ch
- korean war
- indochina war
civil war in Ch
1945-49
com won => sino-soviet alliance in 1950
korean war
1950-53
NK aggression => internat action => ch support of NK => truce line
to what the korean war led ?
rapid militarization, globalization of CW, exp of containment Sino-Soviet (SEATO)
indochina war
1946-54
vietminh (com) vs fr (us)
=> division of Vietnam
peaceful coexistence dates
1953-1962
peaceful coexistence principles
mentionned in the Sino-India Border treaty
- respect of sovereignty and territorial integrity
- non-aggression
- non-interference in internal affairs
- equality and mutual benefit
(- peaceful coexistence)
Sino-India Border treaty
1954
destalinization
- proposed in 1956 by Khrouchtchev at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party
- liberalisation + IR = peaceful coexistence (competition in fields other than war)
bipolar system btw E and W
- military deadlock
- consolidation of the 2 camps
- cooperation and competition
- indirect confrontation in the 3rd World : Cuba, Vietnam
military deadlock
soviet nuclear weapon in 1949 + US military buildup with NSC68 => mutual assured destruction
=> arms race for superiority seek
cuba missile crisis => “peace impossible, war unlikely” (R.Aron)
nuclear deterrence has to be recognized as fact of IR
consolidation of the 2 camps
W: NATO + troops in W Europe for security guarantee (containment)
E: Warsaw Pact + crackdown in Budapest => E remain com + Berlin Wall
+ Asia divided
creation of NATO
after the Washington Treaty in 1949
Warsaw Pact
1955
Budapest Crackdown
1956
coop and competition
coop: treaty creating IAEA = International Agency on Atomic Energy, high level summits
competition: soviet success in space = space race
treaty creating IAEA
1956
