Whole topic revision Flashcards
What were actions that deteriorated relations before WW2?
1917 - Russian Civil War. West got involved and Stalin saw that as an invasion.
1938 - West allowed Hitler to invade Czechoslovakia, which is close to USSR. Stalin thought they did this because they wouldn’t mind if Germany invaded them again.
1939 - Nazi-Soviet Pact. Germany + USSR agreed to split Poland between them. West felt betrayed.
What actions deteriorated relations during the war?
1941-1944 - West delayed the opening of 2nd front. Stalin thought this was done to deliberately make them weaker.
1945 - Creation of A-bomb kept secret from Stalin.
1945 - Declaration of Liberated Europe not followed by Stalin.
1945 - Red Army occupied most of Eastern Europe. All countries becoming communist. USA worried USSR was trying to make Europe communist.
1945 - Different leaders: Attlee replaced Churchill and Truman replaced Roosevelt. New leaders stricter on communism.
Impact of A.Bomb on relations
USA used bomb for stronger position in negotiations.
Western Europe felt more secure about US protection.
USSR needed buffer zone to protect themselves.
Started an arms race (increased tensions and rivalries).
Effects of Marshall Plan on Cold War relations
Made relations even more tense. This is because it increased division between two sides. For example, as a response USSR created COMECON which prevented trade with west. This led to…
2nd effect: made relations more stable. Both sides had already settled and were fighting to keep their countries, not to take each others’ countries. For example, COMECON didn’t allow buffer zone to receive marshall aid. This led to…
Why did Stalin do the blockade?
According to Stalin: because of creation of Deutchsmark and Trizonia. Violated Yalta agreements (Germany be divided in 4 parts controlled by different countries).
What West thought: to steal West Berlin from them.
Effects of Berlin blockade on superpower relations
1st effect: made relations more tense. This is because USA saw Stalin’s intentions and that he was cruel. For example, by doing this he was trying to starve a whole city just to take control of it. This led to growing tensions…
2nd effect: it made both sides more divided/further apart/rivalry grew. This is because the Berlin blockade led to the formation of institutions which further formalized the division of Germany. For example, the West Germany was merged in 1949 to form the Federal Republic of Germany. Then East Germany formed their own constitution and called themselves German Democratic Republic. This division of Germany led to more rivalries…
Effects of division of Germany on superpower relations
1st effect: Suspicions between the two sides grew. This is because USSR thought West Germany had been united against the USSR to invade them again. For example, the USA’s, France’s and Britain’s part of Germany united their economies to for Trizonia in 1949 and then formed their own country (Federal Republic of Germany). This was enough evidence for Stalin to think that the West was building up Germany to attack them and destroy communism.
2nd effect: Rivalries between the two sides grew. This is because the two sides (of Germany) were now officially separated into two different countries. The alliance they used to have was now completely gone, and rivalries between the USSR and the USA increased. (no se me ocurre ningún ejemplo para este).
Two effect of the Korean War on superpower relations
1st effect: both sides felt more vulnerable. This is because they are both afraid of a future attack. For example, the USA created SEATO in 1953 and the USSR created their version of NATO in 1955 which they called the Warsaw Pact. This is evidence of their vulnerability as both sides felt the need to create alliances to feel more safe and protected and hopefully prevent a destructive war.
2nd effect: it made relations more hostile. This is because it led to both sides increasing their spending on military. For example, Truman asked for 10 billion dollars on armed forces, and 260 million dollars for hydrogen bomb. This led to the development of the arms race and both sides started competing against each other to see who has a better arm force. This is rivalry is and example of more hostile relations.
Two effect of the Hungarian Uprising on international relations
One effect of the Hungarian uprising was that it made the USSR look bad. This is because it was evident that despite Khrushchev’s speech on Peaceful Co-Existence and de-stalinization, he was actually also cruel and violent. This is evident as he sent 200,000 tanks and troops to suppress the Hungarian uprising which involved no more than 1,000 soldiers and other untrained people. This not only showed that Khrushchev was a bad person and a dictator, but it also showed that it was hard for the USSR to control their buffer zone, and that people there didn’t like communism.
Another effect of the Hungarian Uprising was that the USA looked bad. This is because the Hungarian uprising made they USA look untrustworthy as they didn’t back up words with actions, and some capitalist countries were unsure if they could trust the USA. For example, the USA funded Radio Free Europe, which was a radio channel which encouraged the uprisings in Eastern Europe, however when the Hungarians upraised (partly because of the propaganda), the USA only gave food and resources to the Hungarians, and nothing to fight the USSR with, causing 26,000 to be executed by the USSR. This led to the USA being seen as untrustworthy and bad as people felt they were responsible for the deaths and imprisonments of the Hungarian civilians.
Two effects of the Berlin Wall on superpower relations
1st: Relations became more hostile. This is because West saw KHHH was evil just like Stalin. For example, over 130 people died trying to cross the death strip and he separated millions of families. This worried Kennedy and he resumed nuclear testing, resuming with it the arms race which brought with it more tensions, rivalries and hostilities.
2nd: It made relations better and reduced chances of a war. The Berlin War soften relations because it ended the arguments and tensions that both sides had had for years about Berlin. For example, back in 1948 Stalin created the Berlin blockade to try to get West Berlin and in 1958 KHHH introduced the Berlin Ultimatum. This means that it had been more than a decade of the USSR and USA arguing about West Berlin, however, now with the Berlin Wall being built, KHHH has admitted defeat and ended all arguments concerning Berlin. As the arguments disappeared relations because less tense.
Two effects of the Arms Race on superpower relations
1st: more tension. This is because it fed the rivalry between the two sides and both were trying to do better than the other. For example, in 1952 the USA created a hydrogen bomb and in 1953 the USSR created a better version which was the Lithium bomb. In 1957 the USA created the first ICBM and that same year the USSR created their first ICBM.
2nd: made a potential war less likely. This is because the weapons they were creating were better, more efficient and more powerful each time. For example, the hydrogen bomb the USA created was 1,000 times stronger than the original atomic bomb. The fact that the weapons were becoming more powerful mean that a war between USSR and USA would destroy the whole world and neither side wanted that. This meant that if there were any disagreements, it was unlikely it would escalate to a war as they know what that would lead to.
Effects of Cuban Missile Crisis on superpower relations
1st: Led to more hostile relations. This is because it led to new leaders. For example, KHHH got humiliated (for backing down first) and sacked in 1964 + Kennedy died in 1963. This led to two new leaders which de-stabilises relations.
2nd: Led to softening up relations. This is because they realized brinkmanship is dangerous so they worked towards improving relations. For example, the ‘Hot Line’ was introduced which allowed both presidents to be able to communicated almost instantaneously. The Cuban Missile Crisis was such a close call that both sides were looking to do whatever they could to improve relations and avoid something like that ever happening again.
Reasons for detente (could be 16 marker)
- Economic reasons: the arms race was paying a toll in both countries’ economy USA spending 170 billion dollars on Vietnam War. In USA many social problems and in USSR people had low living standards.
- Foreign policy failures. There was a lot of protesting against Vietnam War for USA. For USSR their control over their “buffer zone” was weakening e.g. Czechoslovakia 1968, strikes in Poland, etc.
- (most important) China. USA became friends with China. USSR felt threatened so will be nice to them and will work towards better relations to avoid conflict which could end up badly for USSR. e.g. China got nuclear bomb in 1964 and nuclear missile in 1966.
Effect of Yalta Conference
One effect of the Yalta conference on international relations is that relations became better. This is because Stalin made the USA think that communism wasn’t going to be much of a threat to capitalism. For example, in the Yalta conference the declaration of liberated Europe was signed, which stated that free elections would occur in the communist countries in E.Europe, which allowed the countries to do what they would prefer, which Roosevelt felt would be capitalism. This led to better relations because the USA was happy that free elections were going to be implemented into E.Europe, and were more comfortable seeing the USSR didn’t plan the continual growth of communism.
Another effect of the Yalta conference on international relations is that relations became worse. This is because the USA were worried by the Red Armies expansion in Eastern Europe, and what the continued growth of communism would do to capitalism. For Example, by the time of the Yalta conference the USSR had control over Bulgaria, Poland and East Germany as well as more, and were looking like they were going to add Communisim to other countries such as Czechoslovakia as well, which worried the USA. This suggests that the relations were worse as the USA viewed the expansion of communism as a threat to themselves, meaning they felt they couldn’t trust the USSR, worsening relations.
