Cold War

When and why did the cold war end

I . Introduction

Cold war was the struggle for power and influence that began at the end of World War II between the Communist nations led by the Soviet Union (the East ) and the Western allies headed by the United States (the West . Cold War tensions began to moderate in the 1960 's , and a thaw was said to be setting in . By the 1970 's , the phrase Cold War (coined by Bernard Barruch in 1947 ) generally had fallen into disuse but the East-West rivalry continued , as

did the conditions that caused it

The origins of the Cold War and the motives of its antagonists are the subject of much controversy among historians . There are three principal interpretations

According to the so-called orthodox historical interpretation , the basic cause of the Cold War was Communist expansion--the attempts (some successful , others not ) by the Soviet Union and later China to take over other countries . Communism was a monolithic , world domination . The role of the West was primarily defensive virtually every step initiated by the West (such as the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ) was made in response to an aggressive move by Communists

According to what is termed the revisionist interpretation , the Cold War was an inevitable result of the Western powers ' implacable hostility to Communism , which they viewed as a threat to the expansion of capitalism The leading capitalist nation , the United States , had long sought to extend its influence throughout the world by commercial , political , and cultural expansion . The Soviets ' actions were primarily the result of their fears of the West

A third point of view , often referred to as the moderate interpretation holds that the Cold War had as its basis the opposing ideologies and the conflicting interests of East and West . National fears and ambitions motivated both sides . To western leaders , the Communism was a threat to the democratic values of the West . They believed that the Communists were determined to establish their system throughout the world . Communist leaders , on the other hand , held that Western nations were controlled by imperialistic capitalists resolve to crush Communism by any means . Each side sought security and viewed the other as bent on aggression

The intents of this are to (1 ) know how the Cold war is waged and (2 ) learn about its history

II . Background

Two superpowers ' the United States and the Soviet Union , emerged from World War II . The two had long had incompatible ideologies and national interests , and their wartime alliance against Nazi Germany had begun to crumble even before the fighting ceased (see Cold War Grolier Encyclopedia of Knowledge , Vol . 3 , pp .145-146

During the war , the Soviet Union had annexed three formerly independent countries - Latvia , Lithuania , and Estonia - and after the war it set up puppet regimes in the eastern European countries occupied by its troops China , which became Communist power in 1949 , sought dominance in eastern Asia . Both nations also promoted Communism throughout the world...