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The Cold War Era Revisited

The Cold War is the continuing state that existed between the USSR and the United States that involved political, military and economic competition between these states and their allied powers. Although the primary Cold War participants never clashed directly, a cold conflict existed that involved military coalitions, strategic force deployments, proxy wars, a nuclear arms race and technological competitions like the space race. The Soviet Union created the Eastern Bloc of nations while the US annexed itself to the Western European countries establishing defensive policies for the containment of the USSR. One of these containers that was carried out with undeniable success was The North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO established in 1949. While the Western Bloc occupied and rebuilt Western Germany, the USSR opposed these efforts and fostered communist revolutions in Latin America and Southeast Asia.

The Cold War was characterized by periods of relative calm and international high tension. Among these highlights included the Berlin Blockade of 1948-1949, the Korean War which ran from 1950-1953, the Vietnam War that lasted for 16 years beginning in 1959-1975, the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 and the Soviet War in Afghanistan that existed from 1979-1989. During these politically tense periods, it was necessary for both sides to seek détente to avoid a military confrontation that would likely have resulted in mutual assured destruction since it would have involved the use of nuclear weapons. While the Cold War dragged on in the 80s, the United States took a new turn by increasing military, economic and diplomatic pressure against the USSR following its economic stagnation during this period. Eventually, the USSR collapsed in 1991 and the United States became the dominant world power.

When in history did the Cold War start? While disagreements loom as regards its starting point, most historians trace its origins to the period after World War 2. Nevertheless, the beginnings of the Eastern Bloc were laid when the Soviet Union directly annexed several countries to its republic in the final stages of the war. Following the now enormous size of the Soviet forces, Britain was concerned about the Soviet threat in the region and efforts were made to ensure that this threat was contained. One of the early crises in the Cold War was the Berlin Blockade instituted by Stalin. The Western allies began a massive ‘Berlin airlift’, supplying food and other provisions eventually forcing the Soviets to back down. A subject of controversy among many historians today, the Cold War tensions are a dark reminder of a post-war world.

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