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The Cold War Cheat Sheet (DRAFT) by

The Cold War Lecture notes

This is a draft cheat sheet. It is a work in progress and is not finished yet.

Overview

Was a prolonged period of geopol­itical tension between US (& allies) & the USSR (& allies) from 1947 to 1991
Was charac­terised by ideolo­gical conflict, political & economic compet­ition & threat of nuclear warfare
Emerged from the power vacuum left by World War II, where the US & USSR emerged as the dominant superp­owers
The ideolo­gical differ­ences between the capita­list, democratic West and the communist, author­itarian East fueled mutual distrust and compet­ition

Origins of the Cold War

Yalta & Potsdam Confer­ences (1945)
The Yalta Conference in February 1945 and the Potsdam Conference in July-A­ugust 1945 involved negoti­ations between the Allied leaders (Roose­velt, Churchill, and Stalin) about the post-war reorga­niz­ation of Europe
 
Disagr­eements over the fate of Eastern Europe, partic­ularly Poland, and the future of Germany sowed seeds of distrust between the Soviet Union and the Western Allies
The Iron Curtain Speech (1946)
Winston Church­ill’s "Iron Curtai­n" speech in March 1946 highli­ghted the division of Europe into two spheres of influence: the Soviet­-co­ntr­olled East and the Western democr­acies
 
The speech signaled the beginning of public acknow­led­gment of the Cold War divisions
The Long Telegram and Contai­nment Policy
In 1946, U.S. diplomat George F. Kennan sent the "Long Telegr­am" from Moscow, arguing that the Soviet Union was inherently expans­ionist and advocating for a policy of "­con­tai­nme­nt" to prevent the spread of communism
 
This telegram laid the groundwork for the Truman Doctrine and the U.S. strategy throughout the Cold War

Early Cold War Conflicts & Policies

The Truman Doctrine (1947)
President Harry S. Truman articu­lated the Truman Doctrine, committing the United States to support free peoples resisting subjug­ation by armed minorities or outside pressures, specif­ically targeting communist expansion.
 
Initially applied to Greece and Turkey, it became a global policy of containing communism.
The Marshall Plan (1948)
The Marshall Plan was a U.S. initiative to provide economic aid to rebuild Western European economies after WWII, aiming to prevent the spread of communism by stabil­izing the region.
 
The Soviet Union saw the plan as a threat and responded by tightening control over Eastern Europe.
The Berlin Blockade and Airlift (1948-­1949)
In response to the Western Allies’ introd­uction of a new currency in West Berlin, the Soviet Union blockaded all land access to the city, aiming to force the Allies out.
 
The U.S. and Britain responded with the Berlin Airlift, supplying West Berlin by air for nearly a year, leading to the Soviet Union lifting the blockade.
 

The Formation of Alliances

NATO (1949)
The North Atlantic Treaty Organi­zation (NATO) was establ­ished in 1949 as a military alliance of Western nations committed to collective security against Soviet aggres­sion.
 
NATO repres­ented a formal military alignment of Western powers against the Soviet bloc.
The Warsaw Pact (1955)
In response to NATO, the Soviet Union formed the Warsaw Pact in 1955, a collective defense treaty with its Eastern European satellite states.
 
The Warsaw Pact solidified the division of Europe into two opposing military alliances.
Non-Al­igned Movement
The Non-Al­igned Movement, establ­ished in the 1950s and 1960s, consisted of countries that sought to remain indepe­ndent from both U.S. and Soviet influence.
 
Leaders like Yugosl­avia’s Josip Broz Tito, India’s Jawaharlal Nehru, and Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser played key roles in promoting non-al­ign­ment.

The Nuclear Arms Race & Space Race

Develo­pment of Nuclear Weapons
The U.S. and the Soviet Union engaged in an intense arms race, developing and stockp­iling nuclear weapons.
 
The Soviets tested their first atomic bomb in 1949, leading to the develo­pment of more advanced weapons like the hydrogen bomb by both sides.
Mutually Assured Destru­ction (MAD)
By the 1950s, both superp­owers possessed enough nuclear weapons to ensure total destru­ction in the event of a nuclear war, leading to the doctrine of Mutually Assured Destru­ction (MAD).
 
MAD became a central tenet of Cold War strategy, deterring direct military conflict between the U.S. and the USSR.
The Space Race
The Cold War compet­ition extended to space, with the Soviet Union launching Sputnik, the first artificial satellite, in 1957.
 
The U.S. responded by intens­ifying its space efforts, leading to the Apollo moon landings in 1969, symbol­izing American techno­logical and ideolo­gical superi­ority.

Major Cold War Crises

The Korean War (1950-­1953)
The Korean War was the first major military conflict of the Cold War, with the U.S. and its allies supporting South Korea against the communist North, backed by China and the Soviet Union.
 
The war ended in an armistice, solidi­fying the division of Korea and reinfo­rcing U.S. commitment to containing communism in Asia.
The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13-day confro­ntation between the U.S. and the Soviet Union over the placement of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba.
 
The crisis brought the world to the brink of nuclear war but ended with a negotiated settle­ment, including the removal of Soviet missiles from Cuba and U.S. missiles from Turkey.
The Vietnam War (1955-­1975)
The Vietnam War saw U.S. efforts to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam by North Vietnam and the Viet Cong.
 
The war was a signif­icant Cold War conflict that ended in failure for the U.S., leading to a re-eva­luation of American foreign policy and the limits of contai­nment.
 

Détente and the Easing of Tensions

Détente (1969-­1979)
Détente was a period of reduced Cold War tensions, marked by increased diplomatic and economic engage­ments between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
 
Key agreements included the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT I) and the Helsinki Accords, which aimed to improve East-West relations and reduce the risk of nuclear conflict.
Nixon’s Visit to China (1972)
President Richard Nixon’s visit to China in 1972 marked a signif­icant shift in Cold War dynamics, as the U.S. sought to exploit the Sino-S­oviet split and improve relations with China.
 
The rappro­chement with China further isolated the Soviet Union and contri­buted to the broader strategy of détente.
End of Détente
Détente began to unravel in the late 1970s due to Soviet actions in Africa and the Middle East, and the Soviet invasion of Afghan­istan in 1979.
 
The election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, with his more confro­nta­tional approach towards the Soviet Union, marked the end of détente.

Later Years & End of the Cold War

Reagan’s Cold War Strategy
President Ronald Reagan took a more aggressive stance against the Soviet Union, calling it an "evil empire­" and increasing military spending.
 
The Reagan Doctrine supported anti-c­omm­unist movements around the world, from Afghan­istan to Nicaragua, aiming to roll back Soviet influence.
Gorbac­hev’s Reforms: Glasnost and Perest­roika
Mikhail Gorbachev, who became Soviet leader in 1985, introduced policies of Glasnost (openness) and Perest­roika (restr­uct­uring) to reform the Soviet system.
 
These reforms aimed to address economic stagnation and political repression but also led to unintended conseq­uences, including the weakening of Soviet control over Eastern Europe.
The Fall of the Berlin Wall (1989)
The fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 symbolized the collapse of communist control in Eastern Europe and the failure of the Soviet Union’s attempts to maintain its influence.
 
The event was a key moment in the broader collapse of communist regimes across Eastern Europe.
The Dissol­ution of the Soviet Union (1991)
Internal economic problems, nation­alist movements within the Soviet republics, and the cumulative effects of Cold War pressures led to the dissol­ution of the Soviet Union in December 1991.
 
The end of the Soviet Union marked the official end of the Cold War, leaving the United States as the world’s sole superp­ower.

The Global Impact of the Cold War

Decolo­niz­ation and the Third World
The Cold War influenced the process of decolo­niz­ation, as newly indepe­ndent nations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America often became battle­grounds for U.S.-S­oviet compet­ition.
 
Both superp­owers sought to extend their influence in the Third World, sometimes supporting author­itarian regimes or insurg­encies to achieve their goals.
The Non-Al­igned Movement
Many newly indepe­ndent nations sought to avoid aligning with either the U.S. or the Soviet Union, leading to the formation of the Non-Al­igned Movement.
 
This movement aimed to maintain indepe­ndence from the Cold War blocs and promote peaceful coexis­tence.
The Legacy of the Cold War
The Cold War left a lasting impact on global politics, economics, and culture, influe­ncing intern­ational relations, military strate­gies, and ideolo­gical conflicts even after its end.
 
The dissol­ution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War also led to the emergence of new conflicts and challenges in the post-Cold War world.