Cause and Effect Essay on Cold War

Introduction

One of the most common and historical events that occurred in the world is the occurrence of Cold War. The war was not only a war based on diversity, but it was also one of the wars that lasted for the longest period possessing fifty years. As an epic experience, the cold war happened later after the end of World War 2. Tension emerged between two parties that were seen as the most powerful even due to the consideration of their involvement in the war. The U.S together with its NATO Allies was in total differences with the Soviet Union which had merged with other satellite states hence the reason as to why the tension emerged. The other aspect that makes it historical is the fact that it was a war that every almost every nation participated in either directly or indirectly. After the end of World War 2, bitter rivalry emerged between the two sides and by all means, each side tried to apply tactics to emerge superior that then other.

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The main reason as to why the Cold War started was because Europe did not emerge victorious in World War 2. As a result of this, the United States and the Soviet Union were left in a state where they had to compete for form military superiority as well as economic stability. In the quest to seek for the country which was capable of becoming the superpower, both the Soviet Union and the U.S applied tactics and plans that would persuade other countries in the world to follow them. One strategy that was introduced by the United States was the introduction of containment mechanism to destroy and end Communism (Levering 2016). The U.S made sure that it utilized all military and economic strategies to ensure that it created the greatest impact on its goal to end communism. In 1947, United States created a revolution to ensure that it prevented Greece and Turkey from falling into communism.

Since the main motive of the Cold War was to win superiority, the U.S applied another tactic of helping and providing aid to European nations that had suffered from the effects of World War 2. A program called "Marshall Plan" was initiated by the United States government. On the other hand, the Soviets Union wanted to show that it had more abilities than the United States. Therefore it ensured that its military department was stronger than that of the United States (Trachtenberg 2012). There was a weak relationship between the Soviet Union and the United States. The two parties could not trust each other under all circumstances. When the US offered to provide help to European countries affected by the War, the Soviet Union declined from accepting it. The U.S had acquired atomic bombs even after the end of Second World War. This aspect triggered fear among the Soviets. The Soviet Union had created a huge influence in Europe and wanted to gain control especially on the Eastern side of the country. The influence was created even before the start of World War 2 and wanted to maintain the same even after the war ended.

The United States and the Soviet Union had assumed superior positions over the third world countries. Each side wanted to gain control and have support in as many nations as possible all over the world. Therefore, they had purposed to entice third world countries by funding wars and also offering any significant help to them. For example, United States funded and supported Ethiopia while the Soviet Union helped and supported their rival country which was Somalia. Al these efforts were to ensure that they made an impact and attained many followers. In addition to the rivalry and difference that continued to grow each day especially because of communism, the Soviet Union developed a rule of law that was meant to ensure that every nation which was in line with Communism was supported(Jackson, 2010). The Brezhnev Doctrine was used to protect communism holistically. On the other side, the U.S introduced the Truman Doctrine to support and also offer help to the nations that resisted Communism.

Due to the undying aim to attain superiority between the Soviet Union and the USA, both allies started to make powerful weapons like missiles as a strategy to make sure that one side could win in case war emerged again. This approach led to the formation of Warsaw Pact and NATO military bodies. Even though the Soviet had applied all tactics to ensure that it ended being the superior power, the United States emerged to take on the superior power. Communism started to end gradually until no country in the world would relate to it(Jackson, 2010). Due to economic weakness and lack of support from following countries who had focused on the capability of the United States the Soviet Union became powerless.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, the Cold War had emerged because of the quest to attain overall superior powers between the Soviet Union and the United States who were the most potential candidates to assume the position. Although there was no physical war between the two, each side had applied tactics and strategies that differed from each other. In the end, due to economic and military stability, the U.S was termed as the Superpower.

References

Jackson, A. (2010). The Impact of the Cold War and New Scrambles for Africa.

Levering, R. B. (2016). The cold war: a post-cold war history. John Wiley & Sons.

Trachtenberg, M. (2012). The cold war and after History, Theory, and the logic of International Politics. Princeton University Press.