War And The Cold War

Robert Jervis in ‘Security dilemma’ states that “states can neither neglect the possibility that others will become aggressive in the future nor credibly guarantee that they themselves remain peaceful”. He argued that although other motives such as ‘greed, glory and honour’ come into play, much of international politics is

The Cold War was a “competition” between the Soviet Union and the United States of America, occurring from approximately 1945 through 1991. The Cold War received its name because it did not evolve into armed warfare or physical conflict. The 46-year-long war began immediately after the conclusion of World War II. Some believe it was Joseph Stalin who started it by saying, “He hated westerners in the same way as Hitler hated Jews.” In contrast, others believe that it was America who had started the war, by stating, “Among democratic countries it was only in the USA that presidents were elected against communism.” To others, the bombing of Hiroshima, which took place on August 6, 1945, sent a signal to the Soviets that the USA had used the atomic bomb on Japan, and would not hesitate using it on other countries. The war, characterized by the icy relationship between the two countries, included a number of aspects: the economic impact on both sides, the Space Race, the strong military coalitions, the sophisticated weapons development, and the steep financial costs. The Cold War ended in 1991, during Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev’s tenure. Gorbachev introduced Glasnost, the allowing of western goods to be imported, and perestroika, the easing of the government’s control on the economy. The reality set in that the Cold War was over when the Soviet Union dissolved into 15 separate and independent countries

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

Dating to the beginning of civilization, war continues to be a repeating occurrence in the world whether it be with oneself, society, or the outside influences in the world. In terms of war between countries, there is the growing controversy over its utilization and purpose when a country is predisposed to a situation foreboding unavoidable conflict. War is the only solution to certain situations but cannot be considered a panacea to all the issues prevalent in the world. The reasoning behind this is that war produces consequences some of which that are permanent. War has always spawn more conflict, gives disfigurement to human bodies, death and occasionally affects the state of one’s mind in areas such as mentality, emotions, rationality

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.

War is easily explained through the lens of social conflict theory, a sociological theory that suggests society tends toward conflict because it is made up of groups with competing interests and unequal resources. The theory proposes that a

The Cold War began at the resolution of WWII and continued into the 1990’s. The Cold War was fueled by many factors such as ideological differences, mutual mistrust, America’s fear of the spread of communism, and nuclear weapons. The war ultimately resulted in the collapse of communism. The war was supported by allied nations although the main instigators of the war were Russia and the United States.

“War is constituted by a relation between things, and not between persons…War then is a relation, not between man and man, but between State and State…” Being between state and state, meant that it was not the people themselves, but a higher power fighting with another higher power. In order for war to survive, it needs opinion, disagreement, a cause, and power hunger. The goal of war is to win, whether that means you either stop fighting or one side won.

War is not a common phenomenon anymore after the post cold war era. According a research conducted on active armed conflict across the world at the Uppsala University in Sweden, of all the 101 active armed conflicted between the late 80s and mid 90s, only six were actually between two different states (Solenberg &Wallensteen, 1997). These statistics clearly indicates that the conflict in today's world is more internal and ethnic based.

War is a human endeavor. Humanity continually pursues solutions to counter evolving threats with the end of preserving power while also enabling peace. Civilizations resort to war to maintain their perception of this equilibrium. Defined threats and adversaries have changed throughout history, however, the essence of human nature and the base concept of conflict itself have not. Carl von Clausewitz’s theories on warfare capture the relationship between humanity and its application of war, remaining relevant in today’s era through their pensive explanations of timeless philosophical principles regarding the concept of war. These theories regarding war in politics, the key factors affecting war, and the extent that war is applied are inherently interconnected, providing insight on the relationships between humanity and its application of war.

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.

After the end of World War II in 1945 many U.S. citizens, as well as the citizens of the world, hoped for a time of peace. This dream, however, was not the reality of what was to come next. While many hoped to avoid another major war, the fear that had been instilled within their hearts would result a much different type of conflict. Granted, the Cold War never escalated to physical battle, but nevertheless remains one of the most important wars in history. Lasting over a span of forty-five years the three major components of the Cold War include the rise of nuclear weapons, the red scare, and the space race.

In the world today, ideological differences are the root causes of many conflicts between individuals or nations and if allowed to aggravate, it becomes the brush strokes for a canvas that turn out to be the portrait of an all-out warfare. However, before countries engage in militarism, it is prudent that the leadership takes pragmatic steps towards a peaceable resolution because the misconception among architects of conflict is to further private agenda for their personal benefit. In a blind quest for gratification, these benefits are an opportunity cost for the larger society who is the unfortunate recipient of the ensuing anarchy. Nothing is fair in war; casualties caught up within the crossfire

Throughout much of the history of civilizations, states have declared war for land, valuables, and resources. In the course of the mid-20th century and the 21st century, ascendant super powers have invaded foreign lands for resources such as oil, and weapons companies have profited from the ongoing cycle of war these super powers promote. The populations of these states have been fed lies vis-à-vis the media; propagandizing these “rogue nations” and promoting an ‘Us vs. Them’ mentality, to garner support for these armed conflicts. War is our primordial instinct, as humans are territorial and aggressive. That is our nature, and by looking at events in our history, one may see that war appears to be timeless and inevitable.

The purpose of this essay is to inform on the similarities and differences between systemic and domestic causes of war. According to World Politics by Jeffry Frieden, David Lake, and Kenneth Schultz, systemic causes deal with states that are unitary actors and their interactions with one another. It can deal with a state’s position within international organizations and also their relationships with other states. In contract, domestic causes of war pertain specifically to what goes on internally and factors within a state that may lead to war. Wars that occur between two or more states due to systemic and domestic causes are referred to as interstate wars.