Essay 1 HIR II

Question:
Was the Cold War mainly driven by struggles over ideology? Discuss this with
detailed empirical examples of developments in at least two separate regions.

Name:
Pleun Sloot
Student number:
s5157412
Group number:
7
Course:
History of International Relations II
Word count:
1205 words
Submitted on:
9th of December, 2022
 The question raised in this paper is if the Cold War was mainly driven by struggles over
ideology. The focus will be on two separate regions, the Soviet Union, and Japan. The Soviet Union
was a communist country during the Cold War. Japan is interesting to bring into this since it was
neither communist nor democratic after World War II. It is interesting to compare these regions with
each other since the United States was in fact a democratic country, that had many influences on
Japan’s democracy. We will specifically focus on the role of Japan during the Cold War and which
side it took or did not take. How could Japan still support the United States during the Cold War while
they were in a bombing combat? Maybe ideology plays a role in this, Japan supports the United States
because of similarities and aversion to communism. Therefore, we can say that the Cold War was
driven by struggles over ideology.

Firstly, to structure the basis for this paper, Japan is discussed regarding its position during the
Cold War. The relationship between the United States and Japan began very rough. After the US used
the two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, an advisor from the State-War-Navy Coordinating
Committee (SWNCC) proposed the ‘almost total elimination of the Japanese as a race’. The bombs
caused so many deaths that a large part of Japan's civilization died. The situation became even worse
when Elliot Roosevelt, the president’s son, told the Secretary of Commerce Henry A. that the US
should ‘keep on bombing until we have destroyed about half the Japanese civilian population.’
(Schaller, 1987)
After the two atomic bomb attacks in Japan by the United States, the Allied powers occupied
Japan for seven years. Later, the United States felt the need to perform democratic remedies in Japan.
They wanted Japan to be: ”a responsible and peaceful member of the family of nations”, as stated by
the SWNCC 150/2 policy. This policy was made to protect Japan from other ideologies. The Supreme
Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) had the task to make Japan less militaristic and to govern
Japan. But, the Cold War occurred between the United States and the Soviet Union and the
democratization process of Japan was kept on hold. Japanese officials took matters into their own
hands and brought back some of the old regimes. (Guthrie-Shimizu, 2010, p.244-248) The
constitution of Japan was made by the Prime Minister of Japan and his Cabinet who stated the
importance of a government. “Government is a sacred trust of the people, the authority for which is
derived from the people, the powers of which are exercised by the representatives of the people, and
the benefits of which are enjoyed by the people”, where they imply that a government cannot exist
without peoples. (1947)
In the book ‘The Government of the Peoples’ they also speak about the importance of humans
in a government. However, it is said that it is more than logical that there is not a single democratic
order but that it is a multilateral issue. (Cheneval, 2011, p. 1-3) This means that the United States
could reform Japan with their ideals, but Japan will always reshape them with their own ideals and
values. This is exactly what happened with the constitution of Japan; They implemented their own set
of rules with a touch of American democratic values.

Japan was clearly democratic during the Cold War while the Soviet Union was on another
side of the spectrum; communistic with an aversion to capitalism. John Lewis Gaddis mentions that
Stalin had three objectives for his ‘grand strategy’ for the Cold War. The last one he mentions is the
one worth it to discuss. This strategy is to await the self-destruction of capitalism. Lenin believed that
economic crises led to tensions between capitalist countries and maybe even war as a result. During
these tensions between capitalist countries, such as Great Britain and the United States, the Soviet
Union would rebuild its strength and make communism more popular. Stalin found that there could
only be a stable postwar order in a communist system. (2010, p.2-4) This contradicts his delegation to
the American workers in 1927 where he said that fate should decide between capitalism or
communism as the world order. Ideology is thus also mentioned in the Long Telegram from George
Kennan to George Marshall. Kennan expresses concern to Marshall about the anti-capitalist view of
the USSR and that there cannot be peaceful coexistence in the future. To elaborate more on the
delegation to American workers, Stalin stated that two various worlds will arise with a socialist center
and a capitalist center. He believed that only a clash between the two world ideologies will decide the
fate of either capitalism or communism. (1946)

Mark Kramer discusses in his book other reasons, besides ideology, for the Cold War.
Because lots of Western analysts also question if ideology is the only starting factor for the Cold War.
He mentions Waltz’s theory of neorealism where he thinks the underlying problem is not ideology but
two structural factors within international politics that explain this behaviour. The first is the unequal
distribution of capabilities and the second is the anarchic nature of the international system. Not only
Waltz but also realists with a more ‘neoclassical’ view agree that these two factors could have had an
impact on political decisions from the USSR or the US. The ‘neoclassical’ realists also take into
account domestic influence such as external threats or relative power. These, again, are arguments
against the point that only ideology sparked the Cold War. Kramer also mentions John Gaddis in his
book to highlight the other side of the story where they claim ideology caused the Cold War. They
deny Waltz’s theory of neorealism. Moreover, Kramer briefly mentions the theory that leaders
themselves maybe do not even know their motives to attack another country. (1999, p.539-540)

This small counterargument is again suppressed by academics who believe that ideology
started the war. W. Cohen also involves Japan in his arguments. After the Soviet Union collapsed the
economy of the United States became the biggest in the world. The US helped Japan, again, to
improve its economic position in the world and made clear that Japan was open to imports. (1993)
Therefore, the Cold War had positive effects on Japan. Getting the country from an Empire to a
democratic, capitalistic country with economic influence in the modern world.

In conclusion, the Cold War was mainly driven by struggles over ideology, but it is certainly
not the only factor. Waltz’s theory of neorealism about two underlying problems, the unequal
distribution of capabilities and the anarchic nature of the international system, could have also had a
big influence on both USSR and US policymaking. Mark Kramer even discusses if leaders themselves
really understand their motive to attack one another. Japan had an interesting position during the Cold
War; they first got attacked by the US. Afterwards, Japan was occupied by the United States and was
exposed to American values, such as capitalism and democracy. When the Cold War ended, Japan
became an economic stronghold, next to the United States, in the modern world.
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