INDEX

• Origin of cold war

• Attempts to Limit Cold War Tensions
• End of cold war
• Effects of cold war

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Origins of the Cold War

The origins of the Cold War involved the breakdown of relations between the Soviet
Union and its satellites and the United States and its allies in the years 1945–1949.

The origins derive from diplomatic (and occasional military) confrontations stretching
back decades, followed by the issue of political boundaries in Central Europe and
nondemocratic control of the East by the Soviet Army. In the 1940s came economic
issues (especially the Marshall Plan) and then the first major military confrontation,
with a threat of a hot war, in the Berlin Blockade of 1948–1949. By 1949, the lines were
sharply drawn and the Cold War was largely in place in Europe.[1] Outside Europe, the
starting points vary, but the conflict centered on the US' development of an informal
empire in southeast Asia in the mid-1940s.

Events preceding World War II and even the Communist takeover of Russia in 1917,
underlay older tensions between the Soviet Union, European countries and the United
States. A series of events during and after World War II exacerbated tensions, including
the Anglo-Americans’ repeated postponement of D-Day—the invasion of
Germanoccupied France, disagreement about Eastern European democracy made in
wartime conferences and the Kremlin's control of an Eastern Bloc of Soviet satellite
states.

The Cold War had affected international relations in different ways first and for most,
the Cold War divided the world into three distinct camps, the NATO camp, the Warsaw
camp, and the nonaligned. The first two camps were armed with nuclear weapons. The
rivalry between the two superpowers quickly spread to the rest of the world. The USA

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encouraged other friendly regions in the world to form their own alliance such as
CENTO in the Middle East and SEATO in South East Asia, the aim as suggested by
Murphy (2003) was to surround the USSR with a military alliance and had resulted in
increased tensions. Furthermore both superpowers possessed nuclear missiles that can
reach Moscow and Washington respectively. Thus, the Cold War become global and
directly affected international stability (Murphy, 2003). In addition, both superpowers
resorted to confrontation and propaganda and this, in turn, was played out in the rest of
the world. The Cold War led the division of Europe in general and Germany, in
particular, it also as pointed out by Cornwell (2001) made possible the modernization
and “reintegration” of the defeated powers of Germany, Italy and Japan (Cornwell,
2003). Its impact was felt especially in Africa and as stated by Painter ( 2001) made
possible the emergence and creation of new nation-states, as the colonial masters were
no longer able to sustain those colonies. The Cold War considerably affected Europe
where it originated as well as internationally. It led the Berlin Blockade, created the
divisions of Vietnam and Korea, resulted in the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979
which furthers exacerbated the relationship of the West and the Soviet Union. It further
exacerbated and fuelled other conflicts and wars in the Middle East (Painter, 2001).

Another impact of the Cold War was the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 that
internationally created fears of an imminent nuclear war between the US and the USSR
this clearly further increased tension between the two superpowers and their allies and
as Baylis et al. (2008) suggested this was the “most dangerous moment” the world has
ever seen since the end of the second world war (Baylis et al 2008, p.62). furthermore,
in November 1983, NATO carried out operation “Able Archer” exercise which
“simulated a coordinated” Nuclear attack against the Soviet this further led the Soviets
to believe that America is preparing to attack them and they, in turn, took steps to
prepare their Nuclear forces this further exacerbated tension in the region as the tension
developed a possible war between them meant that the entire world might be destroyed
in an all-out nuclear war (Murphy, 2003). Indeed the Cold War divided the world into
three camps; some of those camps were armed with conventional and nuclear missiles
that can reach each other’s cities both superpowers were ready to protect their sphere of
interests using whatever means necessary thus, their actions caused tensions within the
international community. Although the Cold War caused and exacerbated conflict in
some parts of the world, it also maintained order and peace that existed (Mearsheimer,
1990) and made possible the reconstruction and assimilation of defeated powers of
Germany, Italy and the “transformation” of Japan from a war-torn country to the second

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most powerful economy in the world (McWilliams & Piotrowski, 2005). But this positive
aspect cannot be compared with the negative impact it had on the Third Word especially
that of Africa where the Cold War fuelled the civil war and caused many deaths and
destructions through proxy wars and civil wars. Decolonisation and the emergence of
new nation-states attracted the attention of the superpowers, arms and other support
poured into the continent and the result was disastrous (Mcmahon, 2003). The Cold
War led to major impact to International order; because the post Cold War order of
bipolarity and the balance of power has ended making the US the only superpower in
the world and therefore can take whatever actions she desires with impunity this change
ended an era of peace in the world this view is held by
Mearsheimer (1994) as cited by (Baylis et al., 2008) Mearsheimer held the idea that, the
Cold War era was a period of peace and stability. Furthermore, towards the end of the
Cold War in the 1990s, the Soviet Union suffered a considerable economic decline as a
direct result of the Cold War because of huge military spending. (Young & Kent, 2004)
thus the effects of the Cold War are far-reaching and they added to the ultimate fall
down of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the end of bipolarity, which left the United States
as the only hegemony power in the world.

Attempts to Limit Cold War Tensions:

Hot Line Communications between the USA and USSR:

The Cuban Missile Crisis proved to be a blessing in disguise in so far as the made both
the super powers conscious of the dangers of cold war which could lead them into a
totally destructive hot war. Both came forward to accept the need for increased mutual
contacts and regular direct communications.

For this purpose, a decision to establish a “hot line” between the two capitals was taken
and promptly executed. Next came the conclusion of the Moscow Partial test Ban Treaty
on 5 August 1963, between the U.S.S.R.—U.S.A. and Britain. This treaty put an end to
the practice of conducting uncontrolled nuclear explosions in the atmosphere. It was a
limited but welcome step towards arms control.

Some Compulsions of the USA and USSR:

The Cuban Missile crisis and the Sino-Soviet differences had made the Soviet Union
more conscious of the need for mending fences with the United States. The USA also
realized the growing danger of cold war and the unhealthy race and competition that it

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had generated. The success of several non-aligned nations towards the building of
cooperative and friendly relations with both communist and capitalist states also
brought home the futility of the thesis of incompatibility of relations between the Soviet
and American Blocs.

Such a thinking gave rise to the hope that both the super powers could try to build
peaceful and cooperative relations in post-1963 period. However, the two super powers
—the USA & USSR remained involved in cold war and it became evident at the time of
India-Pak war of 1965, Arab Israel War of 1987 and Berlin Crisis of 1969.

Between 1963-70, the world continued to live with some tensions and strains created by
the cold war between East and West in general and the U.S.S.R. and the U.S.A. in
particular. The only good thing that developed after the Cuban missile crisis of 1962 was
that there appeared a welcome positive view in favour of the desire to end or at-least to
lessen the gravity and intensity of cold war and to develop mutual contacts and
cooperation.

The rise and growing strength of Non-aligned Movement, the weakened position of both
the American and Soviet Blocs, the emergence of China and France as rising military
powers, the rise of Japan and West Germany as big economic powers, the economic
integration and resultant big improvement in the power status of Western Europe, the
awakening of Asia, Africa and Latin America etc., produced several important changes
in the international system which forced the two super powers to think in terms of a
detente. The eighth decade of the 20th century, witnessed, with a sense of great relief,
the decline of cold war and the emergence of a Detente between the U.S.A. and the
U.S.S.R. as well as between the East and West.

Decline of Cold War and Birth of Detente of 1970s:

1970s saw the emergence of a detente between the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R. Several
important developments helped the process of decline of cold war and the emergence of
detente. A conscious attempt was made by the two super powers to reduce areas of
tension, to stem the further escalation of cold war and to attempt the development of
friendly co-operation and collaboration in their bilateral relations. This new approach
got the name: Detente between USA & USSR. Under detente attempts were made to
reduce tensions and strains. This led to a decline of Cold War.

The Close of the Cold War

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Almost as soon as he took office, President Richard Nixon (1913-1994) began to
implement a new approach to international relations. Instead of viewing the world as a
hostile, “bi-polar” place, he suggested, why not use diplomacy instead of military action
to create more poles? To that end, he encouraged the United Nations to recognize the
communist Chinese government and, after a trip there in 1972, began to establish
diplomatic relations with Beijing. At the same time, he adopted a policy of “détente”–
”relaxation”–toward the Soviet Union. In 1972, he and Soviet premier Leonid Brezhnev
(1906-1982) signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I), which prohibited the
manufacture of nuclear missiles by both sides and took a step toward reducing the
decades-old threat of nuclear war.

Despite Nixon’s efforts, the Cold War heated up again under President Ronald Reagan
(1911-2004). Like many leaders of his generation, Reagan believed that the spread of
communism anywhere threatened freedom everywhere. As a result, he worked to
provide financial and military aid to anticommunist governments and insurgencies
around the world. This policy, particularly as it was applied in the developing world in
places like Grenada and El Salvador, was known as the Reagan Doctrine

Even as Reagan fought communism in Central America, however, the Soviet Union was
disintegrating. In response to severe economic problems and growing political ferment
in the USSR, Premier Mikhail Gorbachev (1931-) took office in 1985 and introduced two
policies that redefined Russia’s relationship to the rest of the world: “glasnost,” or
political openness, and “perestroika,” or economic reform.

Soviet influence in Eastern Europe waned. In 1989, every other communist state in the
region replaced its government with a noncommunist one. In November of that year, the
Berlin Wall–the most visible symbol of the decades-long Cold War–was finally
destroyed, just over two years after Reagan had challenged the Soviet premier in a
speech at Brandenburg Gate in Berlin: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” By 1991,
the Soviet Union itself had fallen apart. The Cold War was over.

Effects of the Cold War

In its course, the Cold War became a growing threat to world peace and when it reached
its highest form of confrontation, as a direct and indirect consequence, numerous people

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suffered great misfortunes. Since the end of the war up until its subsequent century, the
Cold War had many effects on nation-states and targeted them in many economical and
social ways, for example in Russia, military spending was cut dramatically since 1991
creating a decline in the Soviet Union’s military-industrial sector. Such a dismantling
left millions of employees (throughout the former Soviet Union) unemployed thus
affecting Russia’s economy and military[1]

After Russia embarked on several economic reformations in the 1990s, it underwent a

financial crisis and a recession more oppressive than the United States and Germany
experienced during the Great Depression. Although Russian living standards worsened
overall in the post–Cold War years, the economy held an overwhelming growth after
1995 and in early 2005 it became known that it had returned to its 1989 levels of
perCapita GDP.

The Cold War has continued to influence global politics after its end, after the
dissolution of the Soviet Union, the post–Cold War world is widely considered as
unipolar—with the United States the sole remaining superpower. The Cold War defined
the political role of the United States in the post–World War II world: by 1989 the
United States held military alliances with 50 countries and had 1.5 million troops posted
abroad in 117 countries which institutionalized a global commitment to huge,
permanent peacetime military-industrial complexes and large-scale military funding of
science.Military expenditures by the US during the Cold War years were estimated to
have been $8 trillion, while nearly 100,000 Americans lost their lives in the Korean War
and Vietnam War.

In addition to the loss of life by uniformed soldiers, millions died in the superpowers'
proxy wars around the globe, most notably in Southeast Asia. Most of the proxy wars
and subsidies for local conflicts ended along with the Cold War; the incidence of
interstate wars, ethnic wars, revolutionary wars, as well as refugee and Disagreements
between the leaders of the nations that were affected by the warfare declined sharply in
the post–Cold War years.

The legacy of the Cold War conflict is not easily erased as many of the economic and
social tensions that were exploited to fuel Cold War competition in parts of the Third
World remain acute. The breakdown of state control in a number of areas formerly ruled

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by Communist governments has produced new civil and ethnic conflicts, particularly in
the former Yugoslavia. In Eastern Europe, the end of the Cold War has ushered in an era
of economic growth and a large increase in the number of liberal democracies, while in
other parts of the world, such as Afghanistan, independence was accompanied by state
failure.

With the fall of the Berlin Wall, the annulment of the Warsaw Pact and the dissolution of
the Soviet Union the Cold War had been officially terminated, but despite it all, military
development and spending continued, particularly in the deployment of nuclear-armed
ballistic missiles and defensive systems, because there was no formalized treaty ending
the Cold War, the former superpowers have continued to various degrees to maintain
and even improve or modify existing nuclear weapons and delivery systems. Moreover,
other nations not previously acknowledged as nuclear-weapons states have developed
and tested nuclear-explosive devices.

The risk of nuclear and radiological terrorism by possible sub-national organizations or

individuals is now a concern.

Conclusion
The end of the Cold War marked the victory of the US and the bipolar world
order turned into a unipolar.

However, over the last decade, the position of the US as the world's most
powerful state has appeared increasingly unstable. The US invasions of
Afghanistan and Iraq, non-traditional security threats, global economic
instability, the apparent spread of religious fundamentalism, together with
the rise of emerging economic powers (like Japan, Australia, India, China
etc.) have made the world look more multipolar and has led many to predict
the decline of the west and the rise of the rest.