University of the West Indies, Mona

Department of Government

GT12A Introduction to International Relations

Lecturer: Ms. Diana Thorburn

Lecture Five

Topics: The Cold War and its end

Objectives

By the end of this lecture, students should:

Be able to define what the Cold War was and describe its origins
Know the trajectory of the Cold War and how and why it ended
Understand the role of the third world in the Cold War

ONE. ORIGINS OF THE COLD WAR

The Cold War

The open rivalry between the U.S. and the USSR and their respective allies that developed after WWII
The Cold War was waged on political, economic, and propaganda fronts
Fighting and weapons were only used by proxies of the US or the USSR – war never directly broke out between them (though it came close)
The term was first used by an American presidential adviser in 1947

Origins of the Cold War

Even though the US, the UK and the USSR were allies in WWII, shortly after the end of the war their relationship turned into a serious rivalry for world power
Stalin broke his promises at Yalta—he did not oversee the Eastern European countries to democratic elections, but by 1948 had installed left-wing governments
The Russians wanted to safeguard their border from any possible threat from Germany
After the loss of 20 million people in the war, Eastern Europe was seen as an essential defence against attack
They also were determined to spread communism worldwide
The US and the UK joined together in alliance against the Soviets
The US and the UK feared Soviet influence would take hold in Western European countries given the devastation of the war
Enter the Marshall Plan 1947–48
The Marshall Plan brought the Western European countries under US influence
Once they were rehabilitated, these countries coalesced into US allies throughout the Cold War
Important to remember that the Cold War was not only an ideological and political rivalry
US saw economic openness and free international trade as essential to world peace and also to its own economic growth and increasing economic power
This concept often referred to as the "Open Door"
Thus countries turning to communism would have cut them off from trading with the US
In some respects, the Bretton Woods institutions are about maintaining an "open door" throughout the world

TWO. THE TRAJECTORY OF THE COLD WAR

Containment & the Truman Doctrine

US foreign policy from the beginning of the Cold War was aimed at containing Soviet Communist expansion in Western Europe
Originally the strategy was designed only for Western Europe
It later extended to Asia via Korea and Vietnam
And then to South and Central America, and the Caribbean right up until the end of the Cold War
The term comes from a 1947 article in Foreign Affairs that turned out to be very influential in determining U.S. foreign policy
The article said that the U.S. should adopt a "long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies"
The Truman Doctrine 1947 stated that it was the policy of the USA to support "free peoples who were resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressure"
(What does "free" mean though?)

Iron Curtain

Term used to describe the line dividing the USSR and its eastern European allies and Western Europe
This was a physical as well as a political, military and ideological divide that separated the East from the West
The term came to be used throughout the Cold War after Winston Churchill used it in a speech shortly after the end of WWII (1946), and tensions had started to build up between USSR and USA
"From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent."

Berlin Wall

Erected in 1961 by the Soviet-controlled government of East Germany
The wall physically divided West Berlin and East Berlin, after they had been politically divided between the Soviets and the Western allies after the war
The wall was put up to stop East Germans from fleeing to West Germany and to try to halt the brain drain
The wall was 15 feet high, and over 100 miles long
It was fortified with barbed wire, electrified fences, mines, watchtowers and gun posts
The wall was also symbolic of the divide between the East and the West—militarized, severe, and so seemingly absurd

In 1989 the East German hard-line communism government was forced from power by popular demands for democracy
The border was opened and people tore the wall down
This physical act precipitated the collapse of the USSR and the subsequent end of the Cold War
Thus the physical removal of the wall is closely related to the symbolic end of the hostilities
Germany later united and became one country again

Kremlin

The seat of power of the Soviet Union
Located in Moscow, the capital of Russia
The name Kremlin became a synonym for Soviet authority
Most (if not all) the decisions in the Cold War were made there
Similar to the way the term "Washington" is used to connote the place where political decisions are made in the USA

NATO

The US and Western European countries formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949
Its purpose was to have a coordinated and unified military approach to the resist the Soviet presence and any possible attack
The members were mainly Western European countries
NATO was allied with two other similar military alliances, one involving Pacific countries, and the other involving some Middle Eastern countries
Increased the tension with the Soviet Union

Warsaw Pact

Soviet equivalent of NATO, formed in 1955
Military organization among the Soviet-bloc countries

CIA and Covert Action

Central Intelligence Agency
Formed shortly after WWII
A national-level intelligence organization was deemed necessary when it became clear that the attack on Pearl Harbour could have been known beforehand had such an organization existed in1941

foreign intelligence gathering, evaluation, and communication
counter-intelligence operations overseas
secret political intervention and psychological warfare overseas

Carried out "covert actions"—secret strategies geared to protect US interests overseas
Usually involved training and funding of opposition groups in countries where the US feared the government was too left
E.g. Guatemala under Jacobo Arbenz, Chile under Salvador Allende, Afghanistan against the Soviets
(Jamaica?)

Cuban Missile Crisis

The atomic arms race led to both the USA and the USSR developing intercontinental ballistic missiles
These weapons could travel long distances over water carrying nuclear warheads
Thus one didn’t have to have a physical military presence in another’s territory to mortally attack
1962 – USSR began installing missiles in Cuba that could be used to launch nuclear attacks on U.S. cities.
The US found out via aerial spy photographs taken by CIA reconnaissance plaes
Led to a confrontation that brought the two superpowers to the brink of war before an agreement was reached to withdraw the missiles
The crisis suggested that neither the United States nor the Soviet Union were ready to use nuclear weapons for fear of the other's retaliation (and thus of mutual atomic annihilation).
The two superpowers soon signed the Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty of 1963, which banned aboveground nuclear weapons testing
Nevertheless the Soviets began a military buildup that continued the arms race with the US for much of the Cold War

Domino Theory

Idea that countries that were leaning towards communism had to be contained, not so much for the sake of "saving" that one country, but because if that one was allowed, it would lead to neighboring countries "toppling" to communism one after the other
Justified intervention in other countries against communism

Détente

Relaxation of tensions between USA and USSR
The threat of world communism decreased as communist regimes around the world began to differ and even develop rivalries between themselves
China and USSR ceased being allies and became rivals
US recognizes China, exploiting the split
Vietnam weakened US resolve for containment
How to contain such a plural threat?
USSR ‘catches up’ to the USA in military capabilities
Balance of power between the two about even for the first time
USA and USSR signed two treaties limiting their antiballistic missiles and nuclear missiles
SALT I and II agreements

The Reagan Years

Renewed Cold War effort on the part of the USA
Massive military buildup—put it ahead of the USSR whose economy was beginning to crumble
Covert operations in Central America
Grenada

End of the Cold War

USSR began to come apart in the mid-1980s coinciding with and accelerated by the administration of Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev
He dismantled the totalitarian aspects of the Soviet system and began efforts to democratize the Soviet political system.

Glasnost

One of two policies instituted by Soviet leader Gorbachev seen to have been representative of the changes that led to the collapse of the USSR
Glasnost = "openness"
allowed the media more freedom of expression—no longer totally government controlled
allowed anti-governmental groups to form and have a voice
thus information—particularly news about the reality of Soviet life—began to flow and circulate
Led to a weakening of the hold the Soviet regime had on the minds of the people
People began to express their own ideas and opinions

Perestroika

Second important policy change made by Gorbachev leading to end of Soviet Union
programme of economic and political restructuring
response to the dire economic situation the Soviet Union’s planned economic model had led
Realized that to maintain its supremacy, the Soviet Union had to revitalize its economy and bring it on par with the Western world

Collapse of the Soviet Union

Gorbachev allowed the collapse of communist regimes in the Soviet-bloc countries of eastern Europe collapsed 1989–90
Democratic governments emerged in East Germany, Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia and USSR did nothing
Gorbachev’s internal reforms had meanwhile weakened the Soviet Communist Party
In late 1991 the Soviet Union collapsed and 15 newly independent nations were born

THREE. THE THIRD WORLD AND THE COLD WAR

Cold War coincides with the period of decolonisation in the world
Decolonisation often accompanied by a rise in nationalistic political movements
Cold War often characterized as a struggle between the USA and the USSR for the allegiance of the newly independent countries
Cold War was a hot war in the third world
Third world countries were the real staging grounds for the battle between the Superpowers
Both offered material benefits in exchange for ideological and political support
The Soviet communist expansionist strategy sought to recruit supporters from the new nationalist movements in Asia and Africa
Newly independent countries could also look to the USA to help to control "communist" opposition groups
Just as the superpowers tried to use third world countries, third world countries tried to use the superpowers

Non-aligned Movement and the Group of 77

The NAM was a group of third world countries who took a position of neutrality in the Cold War
The Group of 77 (though it included more than 77 countries) was the name of this group
Their purpose was to avoid political or ideological affiliation with either of the two major powers
Did not enter any military alliance
This position not always strictly adhered to however in individual situations
Often this position enabled them to get economic assistance from both economic blocs
Position taken by such countries as India, Yugoslavia, and many of the new states of Asia and Africa
They also argued for a restructuring of the international economic system via the New International Economic Order (NIEO)
G-77 still exists – recall PJ statement last year about debt forgiveness at the G-77 summit in Cuba last summer

CASES

Vietnam War

Hallmark of the Cold War, particularly the US side
1955–75
A protracted and unsuccessful effort by South Vietnam and the United States to prevent the communists of North Vietnam from uniting South Vietnam with North Vietnam under their leadership
Vietnam had been a French colony as part of Indochina
Right after WWII, Ho Chi Minh, leader of the Viet Minh (independence movement) unilaterally declared independence from France
But French did not want to let go and went to war to keep Vietnam
War between French and Viet Minh lasted from 1946-1954
Much of their later war effort was funded by the US
Though the US claimed to advocate independence and decolonisation, it was wary of new states going communist and strengthening the Soviets
French withdrew after humiliating defeat in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu
An international conference decided that the warring forces would be separated until free elections were held in Vietnam in 1956 for a new government, and the country would be reunified
The Viet Minh (seen as the communists, though this is debatable) went North and the "non-communists" went south
The leader of South Vietnam refused to hold elections when they were due however
The North Vietnamese then tried to unite the country through military means—i.e. by conquering South Vietnam
The US feared the spread of communism in Asia
Supported the South Vietnamese economically and militarily
The South Vietnamese government became corrupt and unpopular
Pro-North Vietnamese guerrilla groups (Viet Cong) began to form in South Vietnam to promote the unification effort
The U.S continued providing training and materiel to the South Vietnamese as the North Vietnamese enemy grew stronger and stronger
By 1962 there were 11,000 "military advisers" in South Vietnam
A "mysterious explosion" aboard a US naval ship anchored in a South Vietnamese port
The USA retaliated by bombing North Vietnam
The USA became more and more entrenched in the war as the Viet Cong and the Viet Minh grew stronger and stronger
US involvement began to be as much about "saving" South Vietnam as about preserving US credibility in the world
By 1965 180,000 Americans were serving in South Vietnam and to 389,000 men in 1967 and to a peak of 540,000-550,000 in 1969
By 1969 more than 70 tons of bombs had been dropped for every square mile of North Vietnam
More than 47,000 Americans were killed in action, nearly 11,000 died of other causes, and more than 303,000 were wounded
By 1968 it became apparent that this was to be a war of attrition—that the North Vietnamese were willing to continue fighting for as long as it took
The North Vietnamese and Viet Cong suffered about 900,000 troops killed and an unknown number of wounded
In 1973 the US withdrew after an internationally brokered agreement that the South Vietnamese would have the right to determine their own future
By 1976 the country was officially united as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam with its capital in Hanoi, North Vietnam
While there were communist takeovers in neighboring Cambodia and Laos, there was no further "domino effect" of communism in Asia

Afghanistan

Angola
Cuba
Central America – Nicaragua, El Salvador and Honduras

Additional Notes for Lecture Five

Important events during the Cold War

(adapted from Karen Mingst, Essentials of International Relations, New York: Norton, 1999.)

Year(s)	Event(s)
1945-8	Soviet Union establishes communist regimes in Eastern Europe
1947	Anouncement of Truman Doctrine; U.S. proposes Marshall Plan for the rebuilding of Europe
1948	Tito separates Yugoslavia from the Soviet bloc
1948-9	Soviets blockade Berlin; U.S. and allies carry out airlift
1949	Soviets test atomic bomb, end U.S. nuclear monopoly; Chinese communists under Mao Tse Tung win civil war, establish People’s Republic of China; U.S. and allies establish NATO
1950-3	Korean War
1953	Death of Stalin leads to internal Soviet succession crises
1954	CIA plans and carries out overthrow of suspected-communist Guatemalan president Jacobo Arbenz
1954	Withdrawal of the French from Vietnam after military fiasco and defeat at Dien Bien Phu
1956	Soviets invade Hungary; Nasser of Egypt nationalizes Suez Canal, leading to confrontation with UK, France and Israel
1957	Soviets launch Sputnik (rocket into space), symbolizing superpower scientific competition
1959	Fidel Castro leads the Cuban Revolution and overthrows Batista; later rebuffed by US when attempting to arrive at an agreement with them on Cuba’s political future and turns to the Soviet Union
1960-3	Congo crisis and UN action to fill the power vacuum
1960	American U-2 spy plane shot down over Soviet territory, leading to breakup of Paris summit meeting
1961	US-sponsored Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba fails; Berlin Wall goes up
1962	Bustamante announces that independent Jamaica is "with the West"
1962	US and USSR brought to the brink of nuclear war following the discovery of Soviet missiles in Cuba; eventually leads to détente
1964	Non-Aligned Movement established by Group of 77 (G-77)
1965	US begins large-scale intervention in Vietnam
1967	Israel defeats Egypt, Syria, and Jordan in the Six-day War; Glassboro summit signals détente
1968	Czech government liberalization halted by Soviet invasion; Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty signed
1970-3	U.S. government provides funding and strategic support, via the CIA, to prevent election of leftist Salvador Allende to Chilean presidency. Later continues effort resulting in a coup in 1973 and the rise to power of Augusto Pinochet, under whom thousands of suspected leftists were murdered.
1972	Nixon visits China and Soviet Union; U.S. and USSR sign SALT-I
1973	US ends official military involvement in Vietnam; Arab-Israeli War leads to energy crisis after US supplies Israel with critical military assistance enabling it to win the war
1975	Proxy and anticolonial wars fought in Angola, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Somalia
1979	US ally the Shah of Ira overthrown by Islamic Revolution; US and USSR sign SALT-II; USSR invades Afghanistan; US Senate does not ratify SALT-II
1981-9	Reagan Doctrine provides basis for US support of "anti-communist" forces in Nicaragua and Afghanistan. Funding for the Nicaraguan "Contra rebels" comes from illegal arms sales to Iran (U.S. Congress had forbidden funding to Contras or arms sales to Iran.)
1983	US invades Grenada
1985	Gorbachev begins economic and political reforms in USSR (glasnost and perestroika)
1989	Peaceful revolutions in Eastern Europe replace communist governments; Berlin Wall is dismantled
1990	Germany reunified
1991	Gorbachev resigns; USSR collapses
1992-3	Russia and other former Soviet republics become independent states