The Cold War And A Bipolar System

Much of the Cold War fear and turbulence that resonated throughout the late 20th century was the result of post-WW2 ideologies as well as reactions founded in those ideologies. One notable reaction to these ideologies was the US’ involvement in the Korean War beginning in 1950. Its involvement was the result of the post-WW2 fear of the spread of communism and its subsequent need to halt the North Korean invasion of South Korea. This was the first military action of the US during the Cold War and yet, although being a salient event for the US, it became overshadowed and forgotten. In The Bridges of Toko-Ri, James Mitchner details the struggles of Navy fighter pilots in the Korean War. As he cultivates the encounters of these young, unprepared men, he highlights the persisting idea of “why are we here” as well as the horror that nobody in America cares about the war. Mitchner’s insight into this transitionary era in American warfare reveals how the Korean War became eclipsed by both the unity of World War 2 and the hopelessness of Vietnam. Although it was overshadowed by WW2 and Vietnam and became widely known as the Forgotten War, the Korean War played a pivotal role in shaping US policies for the rest of the Cold War.

As tensions continued to augment profoundly throughout the latter half of the Cold War period, they brought forth a movement from a previous bipolar conflicting course, to one of a more multipolar nature. These tensions were now not only restricted to the Soviet Union and United states, but amongst multiple other nations of the globe. It became a general consensus that a notion of ‘peace’ was sought globally, hence, the emergence of détente. The nature of this idea in the short term conveyed itself to be an act of change for the conflicting nations, however, in the long term it proved to be a blatant continuity, ultimately acting as a ‘mechanism for domestic fortification’ which prompted a more divisive tone. It became apparent that by the prime 1970’s Cold War countries were now seeking a state of relaxation in political and international tension, détente, through measures of diplomacy and negotiation. Actions, influences and treaties such as the Helsinki Final Act of 1975, the establishment of SALT 1, the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty of 1972 and the Shanghai Communique of 1972 evidently help reinforce that the concept of détente brought a period focused on lessening the tensions of international relations and ultimately achieve political relation for the future of the Cold War, although the success and impact of this era is abhorred by many historians who have concluded that détente didn’t activate any positive changes to the cold war, and was conclusively a failure.

For almost 15 years the U.S. has been in a constant state of war. Various terrorist organizations, from al-Quade, to the Taliban, and now Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have maintained our focus so much so that we have almost forgotten about prior threats. Ten years prior to the start of the conflict in the Middle East, the Cold War had officially concluded, ending almost 45 years of server political and military tensions between the U.S. and Russian following WWII. During this period of time, Russia was the central focus of the U.S., although China and North Korea also posed a significant threat. While terrorist threats and activates remain a significant threat, Russia recent annexation of Crimea proves that they are still a very

The Cold War was a significant time for the United States and the Soviet Union, while the rest of the world watched intently. Although no actual war took place, both of these powerful countries did their best to promote their political and ideological ideas while trying to gain some ground in the seemingly never ending arms race. This war was driven by both fear and the strive to become the strongest and most powerful country. During the time of the Cold War, the United States proved to be a strong influence over Canada. Given its location, it was obvious as to which side Canada was on. While Canada believed in the same ideologies as the US, this nation was still reluctant to fully emerge themselves into the hysteria that had been emerging in the US. However, even though Canada had just received world recognition for its contribution during the Second World War, this large yet acutely populated country had much still to prove. During this time, Canada just recently became a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). But while Canada was making huge steps in their peacekeeping and military growth, there were still rumours of espionage circling the country.

Mearsheimer’s short article “The cause of great power war” explains the occurrence of major power wars. According to Mearsheimer, power gives rise to three kinds of systems which are known as Bipolarity, Unbalanced Multipolarity, and

The Cold War, which is often dated from 1945 to 1989, was a constant state of political and military tension between powers in the West, dominated by the United States with NATO among its allies, and powers in the East, dominated by the Soviet Union along with the Warsaw Pact. The development of Nuclear Weapons and long range shooting missiles by the United States gave a lot of fear and caused mass destruction. The Cold War came about after World War II when America used their atomic bombs on Japan. America fearing of a communist attack, and Soviet Russia disliking capitalism. The Cold War described a world where the two major powers, each possessing nuclear weapons and threatened with equally assured destruction. The development of a Civil Defense policy in the United States promised citizens survival opportunities in the event of a nuclear attack. This lesson connects this 1950’s policy with today’s national policy regarding survival during a biological or chemical terrorist attack.

The Cold War was a state of economic, diplomatic, and ideological discord among nations without armed conflict. The Cold War was between the United States and the USSR because these were the two major powers after WWII. Basically, the Cold War was a series of proxy wars that had taken place back in time involving surrounding countries. One of the main causes for Cold War was that the Soviet Union was spreading communism and the United States didn’t like that so they were trying to contain communism. However, in the end they failed. Many events took place in other countries. In Korea, Vietnam, Latin America, and China, communism took over; however, before it did, major wars had taken place. The cold war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union worsened the condition of countries involved. The Cold War broke countries into two parts that turned against each other, the United States and the Soviet Union used these countries to fight their war and caused a big disturbance to daily life, and the Communist States fought the Non-Communist States; however, the end results of these wars only caused more damage in these countries.

The Cold War, in fact didn’t take place in the winter season, but was just as dangerously cold and unwelcoming, as it focused on two contrasting powers: the U.S. and the Soviet Union. After World War 2, the Cold War influenced capitalist U.S. and communist Soviet Union to engage in disagreements causing many disputes having to use military, economic and humanitarian aid. With different goals, the contrasting powers prove through the Marshall Plan, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and SALT that communism really can’t coexist with capitalism.

The Cold War consist of tensions between the Soviets and the U.S. vying for dominance, and expansion throughout the world. Their complete different ideologies and vision of the postwar prevented them from working together. Stalin wants to punish Germany and make them pay outrageous sum of money for reparation. However, Truman has a different plan than Stalin. Truman believes that industrialization and democracy in Germany and throughout the world would ensure postwar stability. Stalin also wanted to spread communism throughout the country so Truman came up with Containment Policy in order to stop the spread of communism. Their different ideologies caused them to become rival.

Skilt took a deep breath, pulled back the arrow in his bow, aimed, and prayed to the great spirit that he would hit his target as he released his breath, and the arrow.

One of the main things Reagan was known for his is stance on communist and his commitment to end the Cold War. Reagan was not afraid of the Soviet Union like his Carter or Ford who served as President before him. He told the Secretary of Defense to order whatever is needed and not to worry about the budget. He wanted to be in a position of strength, that way he believed he would be able to negotiate with them; he had a saying of “To build up to build down” http://millercenter.org/president/biography/reagan-domestic-affairs. Reagan did not want there to be an arms race, however if there were to be one he was determined not to loose. The CIA confirmed that the Soviet Union’s economy could not support an arms race against the US. In Reagan’s mind, winning the Cold War meant having the Soviet Union cease to exist.

The Cold War era was an infamous time in United States history. The stand-off between the USSR and the US lasted nearly forty-five years, and began shortly after World War II had ended. Even though the USSR and the US had been Allied Powers during the war, Stalin’s ruling of his country frightened the United States, and the US’s late entry in the war caused Russian resentment. The tension the Cold War caused terrified everyone and pressured the United States government to start preparing for desperate measures. The US began mass-producing nuclear bombs, increasing production four times over, and even started working to create the first fusion hydrogen bomb (History, 2009). It the stress of the Cold War that caused Rocky Flats to be constructed. Rocky Flats was a plutonium processing plant in Colorado, just 26km north-west of Denver (Coates, 2014). During its life it manufactured fission cores that were to be used to detonate hydrogen bombs. The science they used to construct the fission cores utilized the discoveries made during WWII. However after the FBI’s raid in 1989, it was quickly shut down for good. Although the site has received a massive cleanup from the government and community, its impact on Colorado can still be seen today.

In the year of 1945, one major war ended while another one began. The Cold War began in 1945 just after World War II had ended and last for roughly forty-five years. The war occurred between the United States and the Soviet Union. The war was the attempt by the Allied powers to stop the spread of communism by the Soviet Union. The Allied powers did not want the Soviet Union’s form of government to take over the world. The United States was the only country that had the resources to stand up against the Soviet Union.

How did conflicting ideas in the Cold War turn the United States into a super power and could the strategies that helped fight them help the US fight terrorism? The Cold War was lasted from 1947 to 1991, which is 45 years in combat agents the Soviet Union. Even though there was no direct combat between the two countries, they both lost millions of dollars and lives. Both sides had their own ideas of how governments should be run; the United States had the idea of a capitalist while Russia had the idea of a communist (“The Cold”). During this time, Russia was spreading its beliefs across Europe by taking over Germany, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic), Austria, and many others (“What”).

Waltz believes that bipolar systems provide more stability and thus provide a better guarantee of security and peace than multipolar systems. ‘With only two great powers, both can be expected to behave in a way to prolong the system’ (Waltz, 1979). That is because in maintaining the system they are maintaining themselves. According to that view, the Cold War was a period of international stability and peace. (Jackson and Sorensen, 2003)