Cold War

The Beginnings No peace conference at end of WWII Unconditional surrender and occupation War trials set new precedent in international

law Toll of the war

◦ 60 million dead; millions more brutalized◦ Fighting ranged from Africa to Asia to Europe to

Australia

National Boundaries After WWII

A divided Germany and divided Berlin◦ Berlin Blockade◦ Berlin Airlift

Soviet annexation of Eastern European countries

The “Iron Curtain” Churchill’s 1946

speech on a de facto division into Communist East and Capitalist West

Bitter division of hostile ideologies

Stalin saw this as a call for war

International Organizations United Nations replaces defunct League of Nations IMF: International Monetary Fund

◦ Part of U.N. since 1944 to help promote global economic health

World Bank◦ International financial institution that provides loans to

developing countries◦ Goal is the reduction of poverty

United Nations Responsibility of settling postwar problems fell to

the UN Led by 5 Allied victors: US, USSR, GB, FR, and

China Unlike League of Nations (post-WWI), had

military personnel and stronger executive UN has 3 responses to military aggression

◦ Diplomatic protest and pressure◦ Economic sanctions◦ Collective military action

Has many agencies that also deal with human rights, disease, poverty, hunger, environmental pollution

6 Parts of U.N. General Assembly

◦ Resolutions on world issues, makes budgetary decisions◦ Elected president, one nation one vote

Security Council◦ Charged with international peace and security:

peacekeeping operations, international sanctions, military force

◦ 5 permanent members, 10 others rotate on 2 yr. terms Secretariat

◦ Executive body, Secretary General (Ban Ki-Moon) Economic and Social Council

◦ Help solve poverty, hunger and disease International Court of Justice

◦ Disputes between nations

After WWI, Ottoman Empire’s lands were administered by the League of Nations through British and French Mandates

Balfour Declaration and migration

Holocaust U.N. passed a resolution to

create a Jewish state, an Arab state and international city of Jerusalem when mandate ended

The Creation of Israel

1947 Civil War 1948 Arab-Israeli War

◦ Egypt, Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq attack Israel

◦ Israel wins, gaining some land from the Arab state

US-Soviet Ascendancy France and China devastated by the fighting GB crippled economically and losing parts of

empire US

◦ Built up gigantic military and industrial response◦ Possession of A-bomb◦ Smaller losses

Soviet Union◦ Suffered traumatizing losses but remained great

military power and participated in UN, War Crimes Tribunal, and established hegemony in Eastern Europe

Cold War Alliances NATO: North Atlantic

Treaty Organization

Warsaw Pact

SEATO◦ Southeast Asia Treaty

Organization◦ To stem Communist

aggression in the East◦ US, GB, France, Pakistan,

Philippines, Australia, New Zealand

CENTO◦ Central Treaty

Organization◦ Formed to prevent Soviet

influence in the Middle East

◦ Included Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, GB, and the US

Russia: a recap Was behind Western Europe economically

and technologically Losses in Russo-Japanese War and

Revolution of 1905 weakened ability to fight and strength of autocracy

1917 Revolution Treaty of Brest-Litovsk 1918-1921 Civil War: Reds v. Whites Lenin’s NEP Joseph Stalin and 5-Year Plans Great Purges of the 1930s

Soviet Perspective Soviet Union fought to control countries on

its western frontier De facto division of capitalist West and

communist East…with Germany in the middle (Iron Curtain)

1949: USSR tests own nuclear device US and USSR compete for political influence

throughout the world until it ends with collapse of Soviet Union in 1991

Soviets After Stalin Khrushchev (1953? To

1964): de-Stalinization, encouraged more freedom of speech

Cold War: Cuban Missile Crisis

Brezhnev (1964-1982): more restrictive of dissidents and freedom of expression; industrial growth declined w/ no incentives and a quota system

Gorbachev (1985-1991): perestroika (restructuring into a market economy w/ some free-enterprise and private property); glasnost (openness of discussing strengths and weaknesses of Soviet system); other parties and elections

U.S. Perspective Containment

◦ The need to keep Communism contained to where it was located and NOT allow it to expand

Domino Theory◦ Concept that if one

country falls to Communism, others will fall

Truman Doctrine◦ Truman’s vow to help aid

any countries under threat of Communism (economically, politically, militarily)

Marshall Plan◦ European Recovery

Program◦ Gave $13 billion in aid to

rebuild Europe

Cold War competition: arms race, space race, fight for aligned nations and promotion of ideology

Cold War turned HOT? Berlin Blockade, Korean War, Berlin Crisis, Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam War, Soviet war in Afghanistan, Non-aligned nations (India)

Normalizing relations with China Détente beginning in 1970s and M.A.D.

Progression of Cold War

Features of Cold War competition Technological

◦ Arms race◦ Space race

Geopolitical◦ Vie for influence in developing nations of Asia and

Africa◦ Korean War◦ Vietnam War◦ Afghanistan◦ Angola

Ideological (the Cold War dichotomy)◦ Capitalism v. Communism presented to world as 2

choices for political organization

By mid-1950’s Soviet and Chinese relationship sours in interpretation of Marxism (Sino-Soviet Dispute)

China encouraged non-aligned nations of developing countries◦ India and Indonesia◦ Meeting 1955 in Indonesia◦ Hoped to counteract Soviet diplomacy◦ Aid flowed to African and Asian nations

US normalized relations with China in 1970’s

Tri-polar feel as of 1970’s as China had own nuclear weapons and space program by then

Nationalism in the Soviet Republic… Yeltsin (1991-1999):

economic reform against inequality and corruption; Chechnya

Putin (2000-2008): return of order, stability and progress at expense of liberties

TODAY:◦ Medvedev then a return to

Putin◦ Changes too much, too fast??◦ Major problems with corruption

and an unstable economy

Eastern Europe Economic hardships

and lack of liberty leads to dissent with Soviet Union

Did have rise in education and urban-working class

1956: student protest in Hungary crushed

1960s: Czechoslovakia’s Prague Spring

Lech Walesa and Solidarity in Poland

1989: reunification of Germany

Eastern European countries join NATO/EU

Ethnic cleansing in Bosnia in 1990: Milosevic on trial in International War Crimes Tribunal

Social Changes in Soviet Union Standard of living not on par with West but did

improve slightly Did not develop classless society, but traditional

ruling classes lost status Did develop though a new privileged class of

Communist Party officials, military, secret police, etc.

Education◦ Quotas◦ Social mobility improved◦ Focus

Women

Cold WarChina: A Tri-polar Cold War??

China pre-WWII

Revolution of 1911: Nationalist gov’t only nominally in control

Chiang Kai Shek (Jiang Jieshi) leads Republic of China in 1924

1921 Chinese Communist Party (CCP) est.◦ Initially RofC works with CCP, but turns on them in

1927◦ Unified against Japanese attacks in 1931 and

1937

1945: negotiations break down into civil war

CCP and GMD fought until communists win in 1949 under Mao Zedong (Nationalists flee to Taiwan)

Changes under Mao◦ Economic: businesses nationalized,

land distributed to peasants, urged to pool land and form cooperative farms

◦ Political: one-party totalitarian state, Communist party supreme, gov’t attacked crime and corruption

China post-WWII

◦ Social: peasants speak “bitterness” against landlords, Communist ideology replaced Confucian ideals, health care workers to remote areas, women won equality?, extended family weakened

Great Leap Forward in 1950s◦ All life a collective: commune life, backyard

steel furnaces◦ FAILURE: production tanked and bad weather

of 50s and 60s killed 16-30 million

Cultural Revolution of 1960s◦ Instituted reforms to erase any Western-

influenced intelligentsia/elite◦ “Cultural retraining” and forced egalitarianism◦ Group of teenagers (Red Guards) destroyed

temples, cities and closed schools◦ Military suppressed the anarchy, but cost

country loss of entire generation of educated people

1976: Deng Xiaoping ◦ Four Modernizations

(industry, agriculture, technology, and national defense)

◦ Foreign investment increased and student study abroad

◦ Economy booms with these capitalist reforms, but left out democratic reform

1989 Tiananmen Square

China’s Changing Culture Post 1911 Western syncretism Socialist realism: Communist use as

indoctrination tool Cultural Revolution sees backlash against

traditional culture Revival of traditional and Western

influences after Mao’s death Changes of the 1980s Religious beliefs and practices

Women of Russian and Chinese Revolutions

Russia◦ Served in Red Army◦ 65% of factory workers were women◦ Gov’t ordered equal pay (not enforced); did not

incl. equality in government◦ Maternity leave w/ full pay◦ Women entered professions; still had domestic

obligations China

◦ New marriage law forbade arranged marriage◦ Women worked with men in factories◦ State-run nurseries◦ Party leadership remained male◦ Efforts made to end foot-binding