Cold War

Therefore, the great events and most controversies which marked the cold war period were a reflection of the ideological and geopolitical confrontation between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. They preconditioned the climate of suspicion and distrust, and a subsequent era of confrontation and competition of two superpowers.

Ideological Differences:

-Capitalism vs. Communism: While the USA represented the worth of capitalistic economy- an economic order cleared with the privateness of property and freedom of trade, the USSR was the pivoted of communistic order, the system of collective property and central controls of the economy.
-Democracy vs. Authoritarianism: Organizational Culture of the United States: The United States was a democracy power of the state lay on the people while the Soviet Union was a one-party authoritarian state.
-Individualism vs. Collectivism: The United States promoted values more egyt individualism while stressing on rights and freedoms of an individual On the other hand the Soviet Union had more collectivist values and stressed more on community needs.

Geopolitical Differences:

-Spheres of Influence: The United States wanted to exert its power globally particularly occupying Western Europe and Asia while the Soviet Union wanted a communism rule in Eastern Europe and other regions.
-Military Power: Both superpowers provided farsighted support to arms race and build up their nuclear and conventional power bases so as to prevent aggression and ensure the hegemony of their respective power spheres.
-Economic Competition: The United States and the Soviet Union sought to gain total economic superiority and thereby arrived at the creation of new Industry and innovation like in the space race and Cold War.

Significant Events and Conflicts Shaped by these differences:

– Berlin Blockade and Airlift (1948-1949): To limit the access of the western part of Berlin which is in possession of west powers, the USSR blocked the same. In response of this move, the United States attempted a massive airlift in order to supply the need of the city.

-The Korean War (1950-1953): Get immediate help The war between North and South Korea turned into the civil war between supposedly the United States and Soviet Union each supporting their side’s allies.
-The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962): The Soviet Union placed nuclear missiles in Cuba and how we nearly came close to a nuclear war. The problem was solved by the political-diplomatic decision of the United States and the Soviet Union.
-The Vietnam War (1955-1975): The war in Vietnam developed into another America and Soviets proxy war with America supporting all of South Vietnam and Soviets supporting North Vietnam.
-The Space Race: Contrasting missions of the USA & USSR After the cold war started people considered space for battle linking important technological shifts.
-The Arms Race: Both powers went into an immensely huge arms race, they equipped themselves with nuclear and conventional arms to an unprecedented level, they proceeded to the next stage of higher stress and strain.

Such and such events and conflictions testify that how the ideological and geopolitical confrontation between the United States of America and Soviet Union previewed the course of the Cold War. This rivalry of the two superpowers had all sort of over powering impacts on politics, economic, and cultural for quite an era.

By definition, deterrence refers to a strategy employed by two or more parties with an aim of avoiding a war situation especially a nuclear one adopted by both the US and USSR. It was on Mutual Assured Destruction, where both possessed nuclear tipped missiles, enough to obliterate the other many times over. Tension of the balance confidential for neither could they engage in a nuclear war since it was mutually destructive.

Cold War era had caused the world to come closest to a nuclear conflict in the period of Cuban Missile in 1962. The US learned that the Soviet began to place missiles in Cuba thus posed a threat to the security of the US. Both superpowers were tightening up and using diplomacy and force in their battles. The US responded by. placing an embargo on Cuba in the hope that it would stop further deliveries of the missiles while the Soviets threatened to use nuclear weapons in retaliation.

It was decided through secret diplomacy. The deal was that Soviet Union would withdraw missiles from Cuba if America also withdraw missiles from Turkey. So this crisis proved how unstable the ratio of forces is and that the system of deterrence has a good chance to prevent a nuclear disaster. It therefore shows that even the most dangerous of conflict can be solved diplomatically.

There are those who would say that Margaret Thatcher fought the cold war, or contributed towards a lot the ending of this war, but did not win the cold war by herself. Her outspoken anti-Soviet stance and her relationship with US President Ronald Reagan at the time actually strengthened the anti-Soviet coalition.

Mrs. Thatcher’s economic principles, together with a certain degree of tolerance for individual liberties, sent a welcome ripple across Eastern Europe. She openly endorsed the democratic movements and did not shy away from instances of active confrontation with the Soviet influence that sought to maintain the so-called ‘Iron Curtain’.

Moreover, she also enjoyed a good rapport with the leader of the former Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev which facilitated harmonious relations between two rival superpowers in a way that caused the breakup of the Soviet Union and therefore the cold war.

An assembly to NATO or SEATO and the Third World membership appears an irony given that the Non-Aligned Movement might have been seeking to be independent from the domination of Cold War superpowers’ alliances. Nevertheless, the following factors account for the alignments without compromising the third world order.

1. Strategic Survival: Some of these emerging nations had domestic problems, some had border issues or even had to confront neighboring nations. Becoming a member of SEATO or CENTO ensured military security as well as defense, which was the basic need in that era.

2. Economic Incentives: Aid was provided accordingly to the beautiful envelopes of the alliances of the superpowers. Poorest of the countries got involved in either of the two camps for money, developing infrastructures or military backup.

3. Pragmatic Non-Alignment: Therefore some of the Third World countries did not fully adhere to the principles of NAM. Most followed a policy of ‘operative non-alignment,’ regularly participating in the affairs of super(power) blocs but at the same time insisting on an independent policy in other respects.

4. Internal Political Pressures: In the domestic political arrangements, leaderships would tend to group based on their ideological valuess or in order to wield power within the home country to the detriment of the principles of NAM.

5. Limited Global Influence: The Third World order did not accumulate enough coherent institutional support. Thus, the decision to join treatises was not altering, at the individual country level, with the spirit of non-alignment, which provided the common framework.

These treaties were a result of a cold war diplomacy and the catch 22 situation that the Third World nations had to contend with, between the withering away of imperialism and the need for vote banks amidst crushing economic realities. Though affiliation to such alliances raised eyebrows, it did not practically undo the general agenda of the NAM.