Shortly after the Second World War, the Cold War came to a close.
It's essential to remember that the Cold War between the US and the USSR was distinct from other wars in that it involved a diplomatic struggle. One historian, Fleming, describes the cold war as something that only appeared in people's minds when they wanted to dominate the other side. (Suri). However, the majority of government officials from the two nations thought it was just another battle pitting good against evil, particularly capitalism against communism. The Cold War saw alternation in the time when there were intense disputes between the United States and the Soviet Union with relative cooperation. The principal parties in the Cold War prioritized their interests even when there were inconsistencies in the ideologies they pushed for showing the power politics possessed by the U.S. and the Soviet Union (Roberts). Moreover, the Cold War entailed the avoidance of the all-out war despite the occurrence of push and shove, and tough bargaining and calm negotiation scenarios. For this reason, there was a kind of security measure that ensured the Soviet Union and the United States peacefully solved their conflicts.
How it was Conducted
After the end of the World War II, the United States advanced economic aid to the affected countries in West Europe in the form of financial aid. However, the agenda pushed by the Soviet Union, communism, was equally appealing to these countries. Moreover, the Communist ideology dominated the political landscape in France and Italy during the late 1940s and early 1950s (Suri). Propaganda ensued, and the Soviet Union would extend economic aid to revive these countries. On the other hand, the United States pushed for capitalism which depended on interminable forces and not propaganda to start a war. For this matter, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization which was a military alliance worked to deter further penetration of communism to West Europe. Hence, it led to differences in ideologies between the two principal parties.
Why it Ended
The Cold War came to an end merely because communism had failed. It became evident that communism was an amalgamation of political, moral, and economic disaster. Thus, there was the need to take action as the constituent republics of the Soviet Union demanded that Russia itself had to devise a solution to the underlying problem. Advisors like Alexander Yakovlev to Gorbachev, the leader of the Soviet Union from 1985, played a role in proving communism had failed to work (Roberts). Gorbachev brought into enforcement the perestroika and glasnost policies to the Soviet Union which allowed the adoption of the Western ideas which proved useful.
Legacies of the Cold War
The developments made during and after the Cold War demonstrate that the impact of this conflict affected the entire world and not only the U.S. and the Soviet Union. One of the legacies of the Cold War is the fact that it put an end to communism. On the other hand, it is through the influence of the Cold War that the U.S. and the Soviet Union set their strong military power (Suri). Moreover, the Cold War precipitated the advancement in nuclear weapons by these two countries. Countries such as South Korea reveal the significance of capitalism while their neighbors, North Korea, are good examples of what communist dictatorship is capable of doing.
Works Cited
Roberts, Geoffrey. "Moscow’s Cold War on The Periphery: Soviet Policy in Greece, Iran, and Turkey, 1943—8". Journal of Contemporary History, vol. 46, no. 1, 2011, pp. 58-81. SAGE Publications, doi:10.1177/0022009410383292.
Suri, Jeremi. "Conflict and Co-Operation in the Cold War: New Directions in Contemporary Historical Research". Journal of Contemporary History, vol. 46, no. 1, 2011, pp. 5-9. SAGE Publications, doi:10.1177/0022009410383293.
