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Causes Of The Cold War

Decent Essays

Introduction
The Cold War, a conflict between the United States and Soviet Union, the two global superpowers at the time. Given the name “Cold War” only for the fact that neither the Soviet Union nor the United States fought directly with one another, instead the war was waged through allies in the form of proxy wars and through increased use of intensive espionage, a never-ending arms race, immense technological competition and on a political forefront as both sides tried to gain the upper hand. The Cold War defined both countries policies throughout its following years, each side viewed the Cold War as a battle between civilizations; in the worldwide clash between American capitalism and Soviet Communism, ultimately leading to the …show more content…

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The fog of war, the idea that war is so complex that the human mind cant even comprehends all the variables that could potentially occur. “If the cold war was a security dilemma, both sides should have been preoccupied with defending themselves instead they sought to control, more expansionistic rather than a traditional defensive state. Although real disagreements and sources of conflict might have existed, the main obstacle to potential settlements of these issues would not have been the disagreements themselves, but the fear on each side of being exploited by the other side. If each side had been able to discern the other’s motives, much of the conflict would have been avoided.” (Jervis, 2006)
Joseph Stalin’s, the Soviet Union leader from 1929 till 1953 and the reason for the Soviet Union rise from a suffering society into a military superpower, style and his knowledge of Soviet weakness led him to adopt tactics that were likely to increase Western fear and hostility. He told Vyacheslav Molotov, a Soviet politician loyal to Stalin and his policies: “It is obvious that in dealing with such partners as the U.S. and Britain we cannot achieve anything serious if we begin to give in to intimidation or betray uncertainty. To get anything from this kind of partner, we must arm ourselves with the policy of tenacity and steadfastness.” (Harper, 2011. Pg 57) The Cold War was not a security dilemma, we can analyse the actions of each leader and see that they sought to

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