Factors for Social and Political Stability in Post-WWII Europe

After 1945, European countries found social and political stability due to several factors. One of the factors include a program called the Marshall Plan. It all started with $13 billion donation from the United States government to Western European countries for food, equipment, and money. This money was meant to restore the regular life of the Western Europeans. Aside from economic assistance, the Marshall Plan was part of the U.S. government containment policy. The Marshall Plan aimed to stop the spread of communism. The idea of the U.S. government was to provide support for war-torn countries in order to make them realize that communism was not the best system to adopt. The Marshall Plan’s goals can be summarized into two points.

1. Increase world trade.

2. Increase the spread of democracy.

The reason for increasing world trade was meant to benefit the nation by improving the conditions of businessmen, farmers, and workers. It also increased world unity during a time where the two large superpowers were polarized. The United States not only wanted to spread democracy to combat communism, but also to promote peace and freedom.

Another important factor was The Truman Doctrine established by President Harry S. Truman. The doctrine allowed the United States to provide political, military, and economic help to democratic nations who were in danger of the spreading of communism. This policy was fueled by Cold War relations between the United States and the Soviet Union.

The Détente period marked an increase in social and political stability for the Soviet Union and the United States in 1972. Détente means to remove tension, this was addressing the current relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union. During this time, Détente decreased the hostility between these two countries. The policy increased trade between the countries, helping relations and reduce the possibility of using nuclear warfare.

At the end, these three factors mentioned above helped maintain political and social stability for Europe in a time of chaos. Mistakes made post-WWI through the Treaty of Versailles, which antagonized the German people and led to more conflicts were corrected by The Marshall Plan, The Truman Doctrine, and Détente.