The Origins, Conflicts, and Consequences of the Cold War
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The Cold War: Definition and Origins
The Cold War was the most important political issue of the early post-war period. It originated from long-lasting disagreements between the Soviet Union and the United States regarding their political and economic ideologies.
The Western Bloc defended a liberal democratic political regime within a capitalist economy, where corporations were the beneficiaries. The Soviet Union and its allies defended a form of state socialism. In reality, this system often resulted in a group of dictatorships within a state-based economic system where the hierarchy of the sole party, the Communist Party, became the new dominant class.
Key Events Triggering the Cold War
The Abandonment of US Isolationism: The Truman Doctrine. The containment of the Soviet Union was the cornerstone of American policy in the post-war years.
The Marshall Plan. This plan was designed to subsidize Western Europe with funds for economic recovery. The US needed economically strong allies and a market for its goods. The first step involved reconstructing Japan and Germany, as well as France and Britain.
The Berlin Blockade. As a result, the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) was created in the Western zone, and shortly after, the Democratic Republic of Germany (GDR) was created in the Eastern zone. Germany was thus divided into two countries.
Major Conflicts and Consequences of the Cold War
During the Cold War, there were a series of conflicts, including the Korean War, the construction of the Berlin Wall, and the nuclear confrontation of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The concern over communism led to the McCarthy Era in the 1950s, where many Americans were persecuted and accused of being communists.
Soon after World War II, there was also the process of independence for European colonies. Although these newly independent nations maintained ties with the former metropolises and the USA, they often remained economically dependent. A key example is the Indochina War.
Also during this time, the Israeli-Arab conflict began when the UN decided to create a Jewish state, Israel, dividing Palestine into two areas: one with an Arab-Palestinian government and another with a Jewish-Israeli government.