HIS 332

1 . Explain the origins of the containment policy after World War II Also , explain the reasons for the conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union

Immediately after the end of the Second World War , a new conflict has risen . Germany 's defeat in the war resulted to the emergence of United States and the Soviet Union as the world 's two competing superpowers . As such , the rise of the two world hegemonic states prompted to an immense conflict of interest and attempt to capture world dominance . As soon as the

war was over , the alliance between the Soviet bloc and the Americans immediately disintegrated , thus followed by the development of hostility between the two powerful states . At the end of the war , the competing interests and ideologies of the two states surfaced the international arena ( The U .S . Cold War Policy of Containment ' 2004

Furthermore , this conflict was highlighted by the difference in the political beliefs and ideologies between the United States and the Soviet Union . Capitalism and communism were the two competing ideologies of the period (Nosotro , n .d . The growing influence and control of the Soviet Union across a number of European countries alarmed the United States of the threats that the growth of communism posed against them

In to suppress the growth and further spread of the communist ideologies across a larger area , United States was prompted to formulate a containment policy against the Soviet Union and its allies . The containment policy was geared towards preventing the influence of the communist Soviet and the communism itself , from attracting more states to follow the principles behind it . This was a move which rendered United States the authority to prevent expansionism on the side of the Soviets . Thus , the Soviet bloc was iron-curtained ' in to lessen , if not eliminate the threats that communism may bring

In addition to this , the United States claimed that the containment policy could be a useful tool in preserving the balance of power within the international arena . At the same , it was also a means of directly expressing the U .S ' disapproval against regimes

This containment was done by the United States government by imposing different measures to ensure that communist states will be weakened . As such , economic , political and military strategies were utilized in to strengthen the United States ' campaign against the growth of communism . A number of economic blockades and sanctions were imposed on communist countries in to weaken their defense against the democratic and capitalist United States . In addition to this , the American government thwarted any technological and military developments that the Soviet bloc had accomplished by matching it with the United States own innovations

The containment policy , although was rampant during the Cold War has continued even after the downfall of the communist Soviet bloc . Until the recent period , the United States government has always worked towards the elimination of the communist influence in the international arena

Nosotro , R (n .d . The cold war...