Understanding Post-War Geopolitics and the Cold War

Rights Defender

A rights defender is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. There are no distinctions based on sex, age, race, or religion.

Maintaining Peace

Maintaining peace requires resignation, strength, and commitment to resolving employment disputes peacefully.

Self-Determination of Peoples

People will not accept any sovereignty other than their own.

Cooperation Between Peoples

International cooperation is fostered through organizations focusing on:

• Education, science, and culture (UNESCO)
• Labor (ILO)
• Health (WHO)
• Legal protection for children (UNICEF)
• Food and agriculture (FAO)

Important decisions are made by the Security Council (U.S., Britain, France, USSR, China).

The Cold War (1945-1991)

Political, economic, and ideological differences between the US and the USSR led to the Cold War. The world was divided into two blocs:

• The US-led Western bloc, with allies in Western Europe sharing similar political and economic systems.
• The Communist bloc, led by the Soviet Union, with allies in Eastern Europe under similar regimes.

Despite the tensions, there were periods of peaceful coexistence where the U.S. and the USSR negotiated.

Deterioration of Relations Between Allies

Winston Churchill stated, "From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the European continent." This phrase described the growing Soviet influence on Central European countries and the breakdown of public understanding between partners.

The Marshall Plan (1947)

The Marshall Plan was a US program for European economic reconstruction aid, which the USSR rejected. The USSR established Cominform to coordinate policy and support communist parties worldwide.

The Berlin Blockade

Germany was divided into four parts. In 1948, the U.S., Britain, and France joined their sectors to create the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). The Soviet Union opposed this and blockaded West Berlin. The city was supplied by an allied airlift. The USSR created the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in its sector. Germany was divided into two states.

The Korean War (1950-1953)

With the triumph of Mao Zedong's communist troops in the Chinese civil war, the U.S. feared the global growth of communism. Korea was divided into two parts:

• North Korea, under the influence of Moscow (Communist)
• South Korea, under the influence of the U.S. (anti-Communist)

In 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea, prompting UN intervention. A US-led United Nations coalition reconquered South Korea. China announced support for North Korea. General MacArthur, chief of UN troops, proposed using the atomic bomb and was dismissed. A truce signed in 1953 maintained the pre-war status quo. Over one million people died, and fears of a Third World War were raised.

U.S. Global Strategy