OVERVIEWThis chapter provides a backdropto the entire book. The end of theCold War is usually seen as thebeginning of the contemporary erain world politics which is thesubject matter of this book. It is,therefore, appropriate that webegin the story with a discussionof the Cold War. The chapter showshow the dominance of twosuperpowers, the United States ofAmerica and the Soviet Union,was central to the Cold War. Ittracks the various arenas of theCold War in different parts of theworld. The chapter views the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) as achallenge to the dominance of thetwo superpowers and describesthe attempts by the non-alignedcountries to establish a NewInternational Economic Order(NIEO) as a means of attainingeconomic development andpolitical independence. Itconcludes with an assessment ofIndia’s role in NAM and asks howsuccessful the policy of non-alignment has been in protectingIndia’s interests.

Chapter 1

The Cold War Era

The end of the Second World War led to the rise of two majorcentres of power. The two pictures above symbolise thevictory of the US and the USSR in the Second World War.1. American soldiers raising the US flag during the Battle ofIwo Jima, Japan, on 23 February 1945Credit: Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima,Photograph by Joe Rosenthal/The Associated Press2. Soviet soldiers raising the USSR flag on the Reichstagbuilding in Berlin, Germany, in May 1945Credit: Reichstag flag, Photograph by Yevgeny Khaldei/TASS

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CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

In April 1961, the leaders of theUnion of Soviet Socialist Republics(USSR) were worried that theUnited States of America (USA)would invade communist-ruledCuba and overthrow Fidel Castro,the president of the small islandnation off the coast of the UnitedStates. Cuba was an ally of theSoviet Union and received bothdiplomatic and financial aid fromit. Nikita Khrushchev, the leaderof the Soviet Union, decided toconvert Cuba into a Russian base.In 1962, he placed nuclear missilesin Cuba. The installation of theseweapons put the US, for the firsttime, under fire from close rangeand nearly doubled the number ofbases or cities in the Americanmainland which could bethreatened by the USSR.

Three weeks after the SovietUnion had placed the nuclearweapons in Cuba, the Americansbecame aware of it. The USPresident, John F. Kennedy, andhis advisers were reluctant to doanything that might lead tofull-scale nuclear war betweenthe two countries, but they weredetermined to get Khrushchev toremove the missiles and nuclearweapons from Cuba. Kennedyordered American warships tointercept any Soviet shipsheading to Cuba as a way ofwar ning the USSR of hisseriousness. A clash seemedimminent in what came to beknown as the Cuban MissileCrisis. The prospects of this

We are on a world tour! Will meet you in different countries. Feels goodto be around where events have happened.

Map showing the range of the nuclear missiles under constructionin Cuba, used during the secret meetings on the Cuban missile crisis

Source: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum

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clash made the whole worldnervous, for it would have beenno ordinary war. Eventually, tothe world’s great relief, bothsides decided to avoid war. TheSoviet ships slowed down andturned back.

The Cuban Missile Crisis wasa high point of what came to beknown as the Cold War. The ColdWar referred to the competition,the tensions and a series ofconfrontations between theUnited States and Soviet Union,backed by their respective allies.Fortunately, however, it neverescalated into a ‘hot war’, that is,a full-scale war between these twopowers. There were wars invarious regions, with the twopowers and their allies involvedin warfare and in supportingregional allies, but at least theworld avoided another global war.

The Cold War was notsimply a matter of powerrivalries, of military alliances,and of the balance of power.These were accompanied by areal ideological conflict as well,a difference over the best andthe most appropriate way oforganising political, economic,and social life all over the world.The western alliance, headed bythe US, repr esented theideology of liberal democracyand capital ism while theeastern alliance, headed by theSoviet Union, was committed tothe ideology of socialism andcommunism. You have alreadystudied these ideologies inClass XI.

WHAT IS THE COLD WAR?The end of the Second World Waris a landmark in contemporaryworld politics. In 1945, the AlliedForces, led by the US, SovietUnion, Britain and Francedefeated the Axis Powers led byGermany, Italy and Japan, endingthe Second World War (1939-1945). The war had involvedalmost all the major powers of theworld and spread out to regionsoutside Europe includingSoutheast Asia, China, Burma(now Myanmar) and parts ofIndia’s northeast. The wardevastated the world in terms ofloss of human lives and civilianproperty. The First World War hadearlier shaken the world between1914 and 1918.

The end of the Second WorldWar was also the beginning of theCold War. The world war endedwhen the United States droppedtwo atomic bombs on theJapanese cities of Hiroshima andNagasaki in August 1945, causingJapan to surrender. Critics of theUS decision to drop the bombshave argued that the US knew thatJapan was about to surrender andthat it was unnecessary to dropthe bombs. They suggest that theUS action was intended to stop theSoviet Union from making militaryand political gains in Asia andelsewhere and to show Moscowthat the United States wassupreme. US supporters haveargued that the dropping of theatomic bombs was necessary toend the war quickly and to stop

So near yet so far!I can't believe thatCuba survived as acommunist countryfor so long despitebeing located soclose to the US. Justlook at the map.

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further loss of American and Alliedlives. Whatever the motives, theconsequence of the end of theSecond World War was the rise oftwo new powers on the global stage.With the defeat of Germany andJapan, the devastation of Europeand in many other parts of theworld, the United States and theSoviet Union became the greatestpowers in the world with the abilityto influence events anywhere onearth.

While the Cold War was anoutcome of the emergence of theUS and the USSR as twosuperpowers rival to each other,it was also rooted in theunderstanding that the destructioncaused by the use of atom bombsis too costly for any country tobear. The logic is simple yetpowerful. When two rival powersare in possession of nuclear

weapons capable of inflicting deathand destruction unacceptable toeach other, a full-fledged war isunlikely. In spite of provocations,neither side would want to risk warsince no political gains wouldjustify the destruction of theirsocieties.

In the event of a nuclear war,both sides will be so badly harmedthat it will be impossible to declareone side or the other as the winner.Even if one of them tries to attackand disable the nuclear weaponsof its rival, the other would still beleft with enough nuclear weaponsto inflict unacceptable destruction.This is called the logic of‘deterrence’: both sides have thecapacity to retaliate against anattack and to cause so muchdestruction that neither can affordto initiate war. Thus, the Cold War— in spite of being an intense formof rivalry between great powers —remained a ‘cold’ and not hot orshooting war. The deterrencerelationship prevents war but notthe rivalry between powers.

Note the main militaryfeatures of the Cold War. The twosuperpowers and the countries inthe rival blocs led by thesuperpowers were expected tobehave as rational andresponsible actors. They were tobe rational and responsible in thesense that they understood therisks in fighting wars that mightinvolve the two superpowers.When two superpowers and theblocs led by them are in adeterrence relationship, fightingwars will be massively destructive.

These pictures depict the destructioncaused by the bombs dropped by theUS on Hiroshima (the bomb was code-named ‘Little Boy’) and Nagasaki(code-named ‘Fat Man’). Yet, thesebombs were very small in theirdestructive capacity (measured interms of kiloton yield) as compared tothe nuclear bombs that were to beavailable in the stockpiles assembled bythe superpowers. The yield of Little Boyand Fat Man were 15 and 21 kilotonsrespectively. By the early 1950s the USand the USSR were already makingthermonuclear weapons that had ayield between 10 and 15 thousandkilotons. In other words, these bombswere a thousand times more destructivethan the bombs used in Hiroshima andNagasaki. During much of the Cold War,both the superpowers possessedthousands of such weapons. Justimagine the extent of destruction thatthese could cause all over the globe.

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Map showing the way Europe was divided into rival alliances during the Cold War

1. Identify threecountries from eachof the rival blocs.

2. Look at the mapof the EuropeanUnion in Chapter 4and identify fourcountries that werepart of the WarsawPact and nowbelong to the EU.

3. By comparing thismap with that ofthe European Unionmap, identify threenew countries thatcame up in thepost-Cold Warperiod.

Responsibility, therefore, meantbeing restrained and avoiding therisk of another world war. In thissense the Cold War managed toensure human survival.

THE EMERGENCE OF

TWO POWER BLOCS

The two superpowers were keenon expanding their spheres ofinfluence in different parts of theworld. In a world sharply dividedbetween the two alliance systems,a state was supposed to remaintied to its protective superpowerto limit the influence of the othersuperpower and its allies.

The smaller states in thealliances used the link to thesuperpowers for their ownpurposes. They got the promise ofprotection, weapons, andeconomic aid against their localrivals, mostly regional neighbourswith whom they had rivalries. Thealliance systems led by thetwo superpowers, therefore,threatened to divide the entireworld into two camps. Thisdivision happened first in Europe.Most countries of western Europesided with the US and those ofeastern Europe joined the Sovietcamp. That is why these were alsocalled the ‘western’ and the‘eastern’ alliances.

TURKEY

Ankara

GREECE

ITALY

Rome

Black SeaYalta

BULGARIASofiaALBANIA

Tirana

YUGOSLAVIABelgrade

Bucharest

ROMANIABudapest

HUNGARYSWITZ.

Bern ViennaAUSTRIA

CZECHOSLOVAKIA

Prague

FRANCE

Paris

PORTUGAL

LisbonSPAIN

Madrid

ATLANTICOCEAN

London

BrusselsBELG.

WESTGERMANY

LUX.

NETH.

The HagueBonn

EASTGERMANY

Berlin

POLAND

Warsaw

IRELANDDublin

BRITAIN

NorthSea

NATO MembersWarsaw Pact MembersOther Communist NationsOthers

NORWAY

Oslo

SWEDENStockholm

DENMARKCopenhagen

Helsinki

FINLAND

Moscow

USSR

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In the followingcolumn, writethe names ofthree countries,which belong to:

Capitalist Bloc

________________

________________

________________

Communist Bloc

________________

________________

________________

Non-Aligned

Movement

________________

________________

________________

The western alliance wasformalised into an organisation,the North Atlantic TreatyOrganisation (NATO), which cameinto existence in April 1949. It wasan association of twelve stateswhich declared that armed attackon any one of them in Europe orNorth America would be regardedas an attack on all of them. Eachof these states would be obligedto help the other. The easternalliance, known as the WarsawPact, was led by the Soviet Union.It was created in 1955 and itsprincipal function was to counterNATO’s forces in Europe.

International alliances duringthe Cold War era were determinedby the requirements of thesuperpowers and the calculationsof the smaller states. As notedabove, Europe became the mainarena of conflict between thesuperpowers. In some cases, thesuperpowers used their militarypower to bring countries into their

respective alliances. Sovietintervention in east Europeprovides an example. The SovietUnion used its influence ineastern Europe, backed by thevery large presence of its armiesin the countries of the region, toensure that the eastern half ofEurope remained within itssphere of influence. In East andSoutheast Asia and in West Asia(Middle East), the United Statesbuilt an alliance system called —the Southeast Asian T reatyOrganisation (SEATO) and theCentral Treaty Organisation(CENTO). The Soviet Union andcommunist China responded byhaving close relations withregional countries such as NorthVietnam, North Korea and Iraq.

The Cold War threatened todivide the world into two alliances.Under these circumstances, manyof the newly independentcountries, after gaining theirindependence from the colonial

FIRST WORLD

SECOND WORLD

THIRD WORLD

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powers such as Britain andFrance, were worried that theywould lose their freedom as soonas they gained formalindependence. Cracks and splitswithin the alliances were quick toappear. Communist Chinaquarrelled with the USSR towardsthe late 1950s, and, in 1969, theyfought a brief war over a territorialdispute. The other importantdevelopment was the Non-AlignedMovement (NAM), which gave thenewly independent countries away of staying out of the alliances.

You may ask why thesuperpowers needed any allies atall. After all, with their nuclearweapons and regular armies, theywere so powerful that the combinedpower of most of the smaller statesin Asia and Africa, and even inEurope, was no match to that ofthe superpowers. Yet, the smallerstates were helpful for thesuperpowers in gaining access to

(i) vital resources, such as oiland minerals,

(ii) territory, from where thesuperpowers could launchtheir weapons and troops,

(iii) locations from where theycould spy on each other, and

(iv) economic support, in thatmany small allies togethercould help pay for militaryexpenses.

They were also important forideological reasons. The loyalty ofallies suggested that thesuperpowers were winning thewar of ideas as well, that liberal

democracy and capitalism werebetter than socialism andcommunism, or vice versa.

ARENAS OF THE COLD WAR

The Cuban Missile Crisis that webegan this chapter with was onlyone of the several crises thatoccurred during the Cold War.The Cold War also led to severalshooting wars, but it is importantto note that these crises and warsdid not lead to another world war.The two superpowers were poisedfor direct confrontations in Korea(1950 - 53), Berlin (1958 - 62), theCongo (the early 1960s), and inseveral other places. Crisesdeepened, as neither of the partiesinvolved was willing to back down.When we talk about arenas of theCold War, we refer, therefore, toareas where crisis and waroccurred or threatened to occurbetween the alliance systems butdid not cross certain limits. Agreat many lives were lost in someof these arenas like Korea,Vietnam and Afghanistan, but theworld was spared a nuclear warand global hostilities. In somecases, huge military build-upswere reported. In many cases,diplomatic communicationbetween the superpowers couldnot be sustained and contributedto the misunderstandings.

Sometimes, countries outsidethe two blocs, for example, thenon-aligned countries, played arole in reducing Cold War conflictsand averting some grave crises.Jawaharlal Nehru — one of the key

Locate theflashpointsof the ColdWar on aworld map.

How come there arestill two Koreas whilethe other divisionscreated by the ColdWar have ended?Do the people ofKorea want thedivision to continue?

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leaders of the NAM — played acrucial role in mediating betweenthe two Koreas. In the Congocrisis, the UN Secretary-Generalplayed a key mediatory role. Byand large, it was the realisationon a superpower’s part that warby all means should be avoidedthat made them exercise restraintand behave more responsibly ininternational affairs. As the ColdWar rolled from one arena toanother, the logic of restraint wasincreasingly evident.

However, since the Cold Wardid not eliminate rivalries betweenthe two alliances, mutualsuspicions led them to armthemselves to the teeth and toconstantly prepare for war. Hugestocks of arms were considerednecessary to prevent wars fromtaking place.

The two sides understood thatwar might occur in spite ofrestraint. Either side mightmiscalculate the number ofweapons in the possession of theother side. They mightmisunderstand the intentions ofthe other side. Besides, what ifthere was a nuclear accident?What would happen if someonefired off a nuclear weapon bymistake or if a soldiermischievously shot off a weapondeliberately to start a war? Whatif an accident occurred with anuclear weapon? How would theleaders of that country know itwas an accident and not an act ofsabotage by the enemy or that amissile had not landed from theother side?

THE COLD WAR TIMELINE

1947 American President Harry Truman’s Doctrineabout the containment of communism

1947 - 52 Marshall Plan: US aid for the reconstruction ofthe Western Europe

1948 - 49 Berlin blockade by the Soviet Union and theairlift of supplies to the citizens of West Berlinby the US and its allies

1950 - 53 Korean War; division of Korea along the 38thParallel

1954 Defeat of the French by the Vietnamese atDien Bien PhuSigning of the Geneva AccordsDivision of Vietnam along the 17th ParallelFormation of SEATO

1954 - 75 American intervention in Vietnam

1955 Signing of the Baghdad Pact, later CENTO

1956 Soviet intervention in Hungary

1961 US-sponsored Bay of Pigs invasion of CubaConstruction of the Berlin Wall

1962 Cuban Missile Crisis

1965 American intervention in the DominicanRepublic

1968 Soviet intervention in Czechoslovakia

1972 US President Richard Nixon’s visit to China

1978 - 89 Vietnamese intervention in Cambodia

1979 - 89 Soviet intervention in Afghanistan

1985 Gorbachev becomes the President of theUSSR; begins the reform process

1989 Fall of the Berlin Wall; mass protests againstgovernments in eastern Europe

1990 Unification of Germany

1991 Disintegration of the Soviet UnionEnd of the Cold War era

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Drawn by well-known Indiancartoonist Kutty,these twocartoons depictan Indian viewof the Cold War.The first cartoonwas drawn whenthe US enteredinto a secretunderstandingwith China,keeping theUSSR in the dark.Find out moreabout thecharacters in thecartoon. Thesecond cartoondepicts theAmericanmisadventure inVietnam. Findout more aboutthe VietnamWar.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT President Johnson is in more troubles over Vietnam.

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In time, therefore, the US andUSSR decided to collaborate inlimiting or eliminating certainkinds of nuclear and non-nuclearweapons. A stable balance ofweapons, they decided, could bemaintained through ‘armscontrol’. Starting in the 1960s, thetwo sides signed threesignificant agreements within adecade. These were the LimitedTest Ban Treaty, Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and theAnti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.Thereafter, the superpowers heldseveral rounds of arms limitationtalks and signed several moretreaties to limit their arms.

CHALLENGE TO BIPOLARITY

We have already seen how theCold War tended to divide theworld into two rival alliances. Itwas in this context that non-alignment offered the newlydecolonised countries of Asia,Africa and Latin America a thirdoption—not to join either alliance.

The roots of NAM went backto the friendship between threeleaders — Yugoslavia’s Josip BrozTito, India’s Jawaharlal Nehru,and Egypt’s leader Gamal AbdelNasser — who held a meeting in1956. Indonesia’s Sukarno andGhana’s Kwame Nkrumahstrongly supported them. Thesefive leaders came to be known asthe five founders of NAM. The firstnon-aligned summit was held inBelgrade in 1961. This was theculmination of at least threefactors:

(i) cooperation among these fivecountries,

(ii) growing Cold War tensionsand its widening arenas, and

(iii) the dramatic entry of manynewly decolonised Africancountries into the inter -national arena. By 1960,there were 16 new Africanmembers in the UN.

The first summit was attendedby 25 member states. Over theyears, the membership of NAMhas expanded. The latest meeting,the 14th summit, was held inHavana in 2006. It included 116member states and 15 observercountries.

As non-alignment grew into apopular international movement,countries of various differentpolitical systems and interestsjoined it. This made the movementless homogeneous and also madeit more difficult to define in veryneat and precise terms: what didit really stand for? Increasingly,NAM was easier to define in termsof what it was not. It was not aboutbeing a member of an alliance.

The policy of staying awayfrom alliances should notbe considered isolationism orneutrality. Non-alignment is notisolationism since isolationismmeans remaining aloof from worldaffairs. Isolationism sums up theforeign policy of the US from theAmerican War of Independence in1787 up to the beginning of theFirst World War. In comparison,the non-aligned countries,including India, played an active

FOUNDERFIGURESOF NAM

Josip Broz Tito(1892-1980)President ofYugoslavia (1945-80); fought againstGermany in WorldWar II; communist;maintained somedistance from theSoviet Union;forged unity inYugoslavia.

Jawaharlal Nehru(1889-1964)First Prime Ministerof India (1947-64);made efforts forAsian unity,decolonisation,nucleardisarmament;advocatedpeacefulcoexistence forsecuring worldpeace.

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role in mediating between the tworival alliances in the cause ofpeace and stability. Their strengthwas based on their unity and theirresolve to remain non-aligneddespite the attempt by the twosuperpowers to bring them intotheir alliances.

Non-alignment is also notneutrality. Neutrality refersprincipally to a policy of stayingout of war. States practisingneutrality are not required to helpend a war. They do not getinvolved in wars and do nottake any position on theappropriateness or morality of awar. Non-aligned states, includingIndia, were actually involved inwars for various reasons. Theyalso worked to prevent warbetween others and tried to endwars that had broken out.

NEW INTERNATIONAL

ECONOMIC ORDER

The non-aligned countries weremore than merely mediators duringthe Cold War. The challenge for mostof the non-aligned countries — amajority of them were categorisedas the Least Developed Countries(LDCs) — was to be more developedeconomically and to lift their peopleout of poverty. Economicdevelopment was also vital for theindependence of the new countries.Without sustained development, acountry could not be truly free. Itwould remain dependent on thericher countries including thecolonial powers from which politicalfreedom had been achieved.

The idea of a New Inter-national Economic Order (NIEO)originated with this realisation.The United Nations Conferenceon Trade and Development(UNCTAD) brought out a reportin 1972 entitled Towards a NewTrade Policy for Development.The report proposed a reform ofthe global trading system soas to:

(i) give the LDCs control overtheir natural resourcesexploited by the developedWestern countries,

(ii) obtain access to Westernmarkets so that the LDCscould sell their products and,therefore, make trade morebeneficial for the poorercountries,

(iii) reduce the cost of technologyfrom the Western countries, and

(iv) provide the LDCs with agreater role in internationaleconomic institutions.

Gradually, the nature of non-alignment changed to give greaterimportance to economic issues.In 1961, at the first summit inBelgrade, economic issues hadnot been very important. By themid-1970s, they had become themost important issues. As aresult, NAM became an economicpressur e group. By the late1980s, however, the NIEOinitiative had faded, mainlybecause of the stiff oppositionfrom the developed countries whoacted as a united group while thenon-aligned countries struggledto maintain their unity in the faceof this opposition.

FOUNDERFIGURESOF NAM

Sukarno (1901-70)First President ofIndonesia (1945-65); led thefreedom struggle;espoused thecauses ofsocialism andanti-imperialism;organised theBandungConference;overthrown in amilitary coup.

Gamal AbdelNasser (1918-70)Ruled Egypt from1952 to 1970;espoused thecauses of Arabnationalism,socialism andanti-imperialism;nationalised theSuez Canal,leading to aninternationalconflict in 1956.© N

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INDIA AND THE COLD WAR

As a leader of NAM, India’sresponse to the ongoing Cold Warwas two-fold: At one level, it tookparticular care in staying awayfrom the two alliances. Second, itraised its voice against the newlydecolonised countries becomingpart of these alliances.

India’s policy was neithernegative nor passive. As Nehrureminded the world, non-alignment was not a policy of‘fleeing away’. On the contrary,India was in favour of activelyintervening in world affairs tosoften Cold War rivalries. Indiatried to reduce the differencesbetween the alliances and therebyprevent differences fromescalating into a full-scale war.Indian diplomats and leaders wereoften used to communicate andmediate between Cold War rivalssuch as in the Korea War in theearly 1950s.

It is important to rememberthat India chose to involve othermembers of the non-aligned groupin this mission. During the ColdWar, India repeatedly tried toactivate those regional andinternational organisations, whichwere not a part of the alliances ledby the US and USSR. Nehrureposed great faith in ‘a genuinecommonwealth of free andcooperating nations’ that wouldplay a positive role in softening, ifnot ending, the Cold War.

Non-alignment was not, assome suggest, a noble international

cause which had little to do withIndia’s real interests. A non-alignedposture also served India’s interestsvery directly, in at least two ways:

First, non-alignment allowedIndia to take internationaldecisions and stances thatserved its interests rather thanthe interests of the super-powers and their allies.

Second, India was often ableto balance one superpoweragainst the other. If India feltignored or unduly pressurisedby one superpower, it could tilttowards the other. Neitheralliance system could takeIndia for granted or bully it.

India’s policy of non-alignmentwas criticised on a number ofcounts. Here we may refer to onlytwo criticisms:

First, India’s non-alignmentwas said to be ‘unprincipled’.In the name of pursuing itsnational interest, India, it wassaid, often refused to take afir m stand on crucialinternational issues.

Second, it is suggested thatIndia was inconsistent andtook contradictory postures.Having criticised others forjoining alliances, India signedthe Treaty of Friendship inAugust 1971 with the USSRfor 20 years. This wasregarded, particularly byoutside observers, asvirtually joining the Sovietalliance system. The Indiangovernment’s view was that

FOUNDERFIGURESOF NAM

Kwame Nkrumah(1909-72)First Prime Ministerof Ghana (1952-66); led thefreedommovement;advocated thecauses ofsocialism andAfrican unity;opposed neo-colonialism;removed in amilitary coup.

Name any fivecountries,which weredecolonisedfollowing theend of theSecond WorldWar.

So, NIEO was just anidea that neverbecame an order.Right?

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India needed diplomatic andpossibly military supportduring the Bangladesh crisisand that in any case thetreaty did not stop India fromhaving good relations withother countries includingthe US.

Non-alignment as a strategyevolved in the Cold War context.As we will see in Chapter 2, withthe disintegration of the USSR andthe end of the Cold War in 1991,non-alignment, both as aninternational movement and asthe core of India’s foreign policy,lost some of its earlier relevanceand effectiveness. However, non-alignment contained some corevalues and enduring ideas. It wasbased on a recognition thatdecolonised states share ahistorical affiliation and canbecome a powerful force if theycome together. It meant that thepoor and often very smallcountries of the world need notbecome followers of any of the bigpowers, that they could pursue anindependent foreign policy. It wasalso based on a resolve todemocratise the internationalsystem by thinking about analternative world order to redressexisting inequities. These coreideas remain relevant even afterthe Cold War has ended.

STEPSDivide the classroom into three groups of evennumber. Each group is to represent threedifferent worlds - first world/capitalist world,second world/communist world and the thirdworld/non-aligned world.

The teacher is to select any two critical issueswhich posed a threat to world peace andsecurity during the Cold War days. ( The Koreanand Vietnam Wars would be good examples).

Assign each group to work on developing an‘event profile’. They have to develop, from thevantage point of the bloc they represent, apresentation that contains a timeline of theevent, its causes, their preferred course of actionto solve the problem.

Each group is to present their event profilebefore the class.

Ideas for the Teacher

Draw students’ attention to the repercussions these crises hadon the rest of the world and on the respective countries.Connect to the present situation in these countries.

Highlight the role played by the leaders of the Third World(India’s stand and contribution in Korea and Vietnam couldbe taken up for reference) and the UN to bring back peace inthese regions.

Open a debate on ‘how we could avert these kind of crises’in the post-Cold War world.

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ARMS CONTROL TREATIES

LIMITED TEST BAN TREATY (LTBT)Banned nuclear weapon tests in the atmosphere, in outer space and under water.Signed by the US, UK and USSR in Moscow on 5 August 1963.Entered into force on 10 October 1963.

NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY (NPT)Allows only the nuclear weapon states to have nuclear weapons and stops others fromaquiring them. For the purposes of the NPT, a nuclear weapon state is one which hasmanufactured and exploded a nuclear weapon or other nuclear explosive device prior to 1January 1967. So there are five nuclear weapon states: US, USSR (later Russia), Britain, Franceand China. Signed in Washington, London, and Moscow on 1 July 1968.Entered into force on 5 March 1970. Extended indefinitely in 1995.

STRATEGIC ARMS LIMITATION TALKS I (SALT-I)The first round of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks began in November 1969. The Sovietleader Leonid Brezhnev and the US President Richard Nixon signed the following in Moscowon 26 May 1972 – a) Treaty on the limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems (ABM Treaty); andb) Interim Agreement on the limitation of strategic offensive arms.Entered into force on 3 October 1972.

STRATEGIC ARMS LIMITATION TALKS II (SALT-II)The second round started in November 1972. The US President Jimmy Carter and the Sovietleader Leonid Brezhnev signed the Treaty on the limitation of strategic offensive arms in Viennaon 18 June 1979.

STRATEGIC ARMS REDUCTION TREATY I (START-I)Treaty signed by the USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev and the US President George Bush (Senior)on the reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms in Moscow on 31 July 1991.

STRATEGIC ARMS REDUCTION TREATY II (START-II)Treaty signed by the Russian President Boris Yeltsin and the US President George Bush (Senior)on the reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms in Moscow on 3 January 1993.

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The Cold War Era 15

E x

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s e

s1. Which among the following statements about the Cold War is

wrong?

a) It was a competition between the US and Soviet Union andtheir respective allies.

b) It was an ideological war between the superpowers.c) It triggered off an arms race.d) the US and USSR were engaged in direct wars.

2. Which among the following statements does not reflect theobjectives of NAM

a) Enabling newly decolonised countries to pursue independentpolicies

b) No to joining any military alliancesc) Following a policy of ‘neutrality’ on global issuesd) Focus on elimination of global economic inequalities

3. Mark correct or wrong against each of the following statementsthat describe the features of the military alliances formed by thesuperpowers.

a) Member countries of the alliance are to provide bases in theirrespective lands for the superpowers.

b) Member countries to support the superpower both in terms ofideology and military strategy.

c) When a nation attacks any member country, it is consideredas an attack on all the member countries.

d) Superpowers assist all the member countries to develop theirown nuclear weapons.

4. Here is a list of countries. Write against each of these the bloc theybelonged to during the Cold War.

a) Polandb) Francec) Japand) Nigeriae) North Korea f) Sri Lanka

5. The Cold War produced an arms race as well as arms control. Whatwere the reasons for both these developments?

6. Why did the superpowers have military alliances with smallercountries? Give three reasons.

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Contemporary World Politics16

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s 7. Sometimes it is said that the Cold War was a simple struggle for

power and that ideology had nothing to do with it. Do you agreewith this? Give one example to support your position.

8. What was India’s foreign policy towards the US and USSR duringthe Cold War era? Do you think that this policy helped India’sinterests?

9. NAM was considered a ‘third option’ by Third World countries. Howdid this option benefit their growth during the peak of the ColdWar?

10. What do you think about the statement that NAM has becomeirrelevant today. Give reasons to support your opinion.

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