The Cold War, Nuclear Weapons, and Global Bipolarity Flashcards
1
Q
What are the key concepts of Realism?
A
- States always act according to their national interests - States work only to increase their own power relative to that of other states - Moral behaviour is very risky because it can undermine a state’s ability to protect itself - Security Dilemma: the world is anarchic: no overarching authority - International organisations and law have no power or force; they exist only as long as states accept them - Each state must rely on itself - It is a Hobbesian world
2
Q
What are the key concepts of Liberalism?
A
- A law-governed international society can emerge without a world government - The progress of freedom depends on maintenance of peace, spread of commerce and diffusion of education - Human society can be based on natural order - Peace is not natural but must be constructed - Domestic analogy - international governance must use the same procedures - Collective security rather than alliance system - State power is not the only variable in IR - Peace, Law, Justice, non-state actors, have a fundamental role in IR
3
Q
What was the Cold War?
A
Refers to the political, ideological and strategic standoff between the US and the Soviety Union and their associated allies between 1945 and 1991
4
Q
What were the dimensions of the cold war?
A
- Ideological
- Capitalism vs Communism;
propoganda
- Capitalism vs Communism;
- Geopolitcal
- Rivalry between two superpowers -
bipolar world
- Rivalry between two superpowers -
- Military
- Arms race, proxy wars, espionage,
military alliances (NATO vs
Warsaw Pact)
- Arms race, proxy wars, espionage,
5
Q
What were the pre-Nazi Germany origins of the Cold War?
A
- WW1 - Russia was part of the Allied
Powers
- 1917 Russian October Revolution and
the withdrawal from WW1
- Bolsheviks (Marxists) came to
power
- Failed Allied (France, Britain, USA)
intervention in Russian Civil War
- Soviet Russia was not invited to WW1
peace talked or the League of Nations
- In 1919, the Soviets established the
Communist International (Comintern)
to spread communism worldwide by all
means
- The result: mutual distrust between
Soviet Russia (from 1922, the USSR)
and Western ‘democratic’/capitalist
countries
6
Q
What were the liberal achievements during the early origins of the cold war?
A
- The League of Nations (1919)
- Woodrow Wilson
- The Health Organization
- The Mandates Commission
- The International Labor
Organisation- Political Disputes Resolved:
- Sweden-Finland,
Germany-Poland,
Greece-Albania, Turkey-Iraq,
Greece-Bulgaria,
Columbia-Peru,
Bolivia-Paraguay
- Sweden-Finland,
- Political Disputes Resolved:
7
Q
What were the Soviet objectives post WWII?
A
- Establish defensible borders
- Encourage/establish friendly
governments on its borders - Keep Germany divided and weak
- To spread communist ideology around
the world (Cominform and Comecon) - In 1949, People’s Republic of China
established under communist Mao
8
Q
What was the Berlin Crisis?
A
- June 1948 - May 1949
- In June 1948, USA, France and UK
decided to unite their zones in a new
country - Western German. They also
introduced a new currency - In response Stalin decided to gain
full control over West Berlin, which
was within the Soviet zone and was
divided between the former allies.
The Soviets cut off rail and road
access to Western Berlin - The USA responses by airlifting
supplies to allow West Berlin to
survive. 277,000 flights were carried
during the blockade, which lasted 318
days (landing every 3 minutes) - On 12 May 1949 Soviets abandoned the
blockade - The result: formation of the
Federative Republic of German (UK,
French, USA) and the German
Democratic Republic (Soviet)
9
Q
What was NATO?
A
- Liberal Perspective (institutions)/ Realist (survival) - The Berlin blockade increased Western Europe’s fear of Soviet aggression - In 1949 the Western nations formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation to coordinate their defence against the USSR
10
Q
What was the Soviet response to Nato?
A
- In 1949, the Soviets successfully
tested its first nuclear bomb
- Warsaw Pact
- Formally, the Treaty of
Friendship, Co-operation, and
Mutual Assistance
- Establish on 14 May 1955
11
Q
What were the major proxy wars of the Cold War?
A
- Korea War 1950-1953
- South Korea (USA) vs North Korea
(China/USSR)
- South Korea (USA) vs North Korea
- Vietnam War 1955 -1975
- South Vietnam (USA) vs North
Vietnam (USSR)
- South Vietnam (USA) vs North
- 1954 Guatemalan coup d’état
- The USA prevents communist
takeover in Guatemala
- The USA prevents communist
- Congo Crisis of 1960-1965
- Government of Congo (USA,
Belgium) vs Rebels
(USSR/China/Cuba)
- Government of Congo (USA,
- Indonesian Killings of 1965-66
- Western powers help Indonesian
government repress a communist
uprising
- Western powers help Indonesian
- 1973 Chilean
- The USA prevents communist
takeover in Chile
- The USA prevents communist
- Angolan Civil War (1975-)
- MLPA (Cuba/Soviet Union) vs UNITA
(South Africa)
- MLPA (Cuba/Soviet Union) vs UNITA
12
Q
What was Domino Theory?
A
Once one country falls to Communism its neighbours will soon follow and eventually Communism will reach America
13
Q
What was Detente?
A
- 1969 - 79
- End of USSR action on commitment to
worldwide communist state - Both sides were still engaged in propaganda war
- Detente Policy
- Relaxation of East-West tensions
- Peaceful coexistence
- Avoiding a major war; pursuing
arms control and disarmament - Joint approaches to regional
conflicts - Trade and investment
- President Nixon’s visit to China
14
Q
What were the results of Detente?
A
- 1971: US recognises the People’s
Republic of China
- 1972: Settlement of the German
Question
- 1972: The SALT-1 Treaty
- 1973: The US-Soviet trade agreements
- 1975: The Helsinki Final Act on
Security and Cooperation in Europe
- Human Rights
15
Q
What interrupted the Detente for a year?
A
Soviet occupation of Afghanistan 1979
