Cold War History, Causes & Consequences

History, Origins, and Political Impact of the Cold War

What is the Cold War called?

The Cold War, as its name suggests, is not a war of arms but a war limited to threats. No real war was fought in this war. The Cold War was a type of war of speech (the war of speech, that is, the war in which speech, speech is used instead of weapons, people try to defeat others with their words.) Which was fought with paper balls, magazines, radio and propaganda. Fought only to the means.

No bullet was fired and no one was injured in this battle. In this, both the superpowers fought indirect wars in most parts of the world to maintain their existence. All measures were also used to prevent the war from turning into an arms war. It was a war waged only by diplomatic means in which the two superpowers resorted to all means to humiliate each other.

The purpose of this cold war was to strengthen its position by including the Allies in their respective factions so that in future each could easily cut the moves of his opponent faction. This war was the final culmination of mistrust and suspicion that arose between the US and the Soviet Union after World War II.

Reasons for the origin of the Cold War:

During the Berlin Crisis (1961), the signs of the Cold War began to appear during the Second World War. Both the superpowers were fighting the war keeping in mind their narrow interests and were showing the spirit of mutual cooperation.

The spirit of cooperation that was visible during the war began to dissipate after the war and the signs of the Cold War were clearly emerging, the feeling of complaining against each other became stronger in both the factions. These complaints had some sound grounds.These mutual differences were the main cause of the Cold War,

Following are the main reasons for the origin of Cold War:-

• Spread of capitalist and communist ideology.
• Non-observance of the Yalta Conference by the Soviet Union.
• Ideological differences between the Soviet Union and America.
• The emergence of the Soviet Union as a powerful nation.
• Soviet intervention in Iran.
• Soviet intervention in Turkey.
• Communist spread in Greece.
• Second Front Disputes.
• Policy of Appeasement.
• The disregard of the Balkan Agreement by the Soviet Union.
• America's nuclear program.
• conflicting propaganda.
• Termination of land-lease agreement.
• American cooperation with fascist forces.
• Berlin dispute.
• Frequent use of veto power by the Soviet Union.
• Narrow national interest based on narrow nationalism.

Effects of Cold War on International Politics:

The Cold War affected world politics in different ways, passing through different phases from 1946 to 1989. This created tension between the US and the Soviet Union as well as had other effects. It had the following effects on international relations:

• The Cold War split the world into two factions - the Soviet bloc and the American bloc. Every problem of the world began to be tested on factional interests.
• Europe was divided by the Cold War.
• The Cold War increased terror and fear in the world. This created tension, competition and a sense of mistrust in international relations. The atmosphere of hot war was created. And because of which the Cold War could turn into a real war at any time.
• The Cold War increased the possibility of nuclear war and thought of the destruction of nuclear weapons. This possibility fueled the nuclear arms race in the world.
• The Cold War led to the birth of military organizations such as NATO, SITO, CENTO and the Warsaw Pact, which dealt a severe blow to disarmament efforts and led to constant tensions.
• The Cold War reduced the role of the United Nations. Now on international problems, the United Nations has become dependent on the decisions of both the superpowers. The United Nations became an arena of international conflicts rather than a platform to solve problems, in which both the superpowers started playing their bets.
• The Cold War encouraged armament and posed a serious threat to world peace.
• Both the superpowers started pouring money like water to increase their military power, which blocked the path of economic development there.
• The Cold War paralyzed the Security Council. The Security Council, which had the burden of world peace, has now become an arena of struggle between the two superpowers. He repeatedly used his veto power due to conflicting behavior.
• The public welfare plans were deeply hit by the Cold War. Both the superpowers, because of their belief in power politics, continued to adopt a neglectful attitude towards the problems prevailing in the third world countries.
• The Cold War gave rise to a 'balance of terror' instead of a balance of power.
• The Cold War provided a strong foundation for the Non-Aligned Movement.
• New colonialism was born in the world due to the Cold War.
• Due to the Cold War, world politics became full of indirect wars.
• The Cold War led to the development of national independence movements.
• The importance of propaganda and diplomacy in international politics came to be understood due to the Cold War.

In this way, it can be said that the Cold War had a huge impact on international relations. It encouraged the tendency of conflict in the world by dividing the whole world into two factions. It replaced the balance of power with the balance of terror. But along with the negative effects, it also had some positive effects.

This paved the way for technological and technological development. This led to the emergence of realistic politics and the role of new states in world politics was also considered important.

Frequently Asked question:

• What is Cold War? The Cold War, as its name suggests, is not a war of arms but a war limited to threats. No real war was fought in this war. Cold war was a type of war of words, that is, war in which words, words are used in place of weapons, people try to defeat others with their words. Fighting was fought even in magazines, radio and publicity means.
• When did the Cold War start? The Cold War lasted from 1947 to 1991.
• Between which countries was the Cold War fought? The post-World War II period of tension between the United States and Soviet Russia is known as the Cold War. During World War II the United States, Britain and Russia fought side by side against the Axis powers - Germany, Italy and Japan
• Which country emerged as a superpower after the dissolution of the Soviet Union? The dissolution of the Soviet Union changed the world political landscape. The Soviet Union died as a superpower and now America remained as the only superpower and the world became unipolar. America has established domination over the whole world.

Now practice related questions and see what you learnt?

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