communism, capitalism, democracy, containment, peaceful co-existence, détente, glasnost and perestroika, nationalism, and re-integration

Question 1

Communism

Answer 1

A political and economic system in which all private ownership of property is abolished along with all economic and social class divisions. The very nature of communist ideology is hostile towards capitalism as it is viewed as being based on greed and economic competition.

Question 2

Capitalism

Answer 2

An economic system in which the production of goods and their distribution depends on the investment of private capital with minimal government regulation and involvement. Thus, it is the complete opposite of a command economy as it is run by individuals/companies not by the state and the aim is for these individuals/companies to make a profit.

Question 3

Democracy

Answer 3

A multi-party political system in which representatives compete in popular elections for the people’s vote. It organises society through the promotion of the rights of the citizen. This is coordinated by the separation of enforcement, judicial power and legal power. Its theoretical basis is that equality can only be achieved by citizens determining their individual needs and wants, protected by the mechanisms of the state through the separation of powers.
o Attempts at democratic reforms in Eastern European nations prior to 1989
o Polish Crisis 1956
o Hungarian Uprising 1956
o Prague Spring 1968

Question 4

containment

Answer 4

The American policy of checking the expansion of Soviet communism within its current borders and preventing it from ‘spreading’ in other countries.
o US attempts to contain communism inside Europe:
o Truman Doctrine and $400 million to help Greece and Turkey
o Marshall Plan
o Berlin Airlift
o NATO
o US attempts to contain communism outside of Europe:
o The Korean War
o Preventing the Soviet Union from filling the void left by the end of British and French colonialism
o The Bay of Pigs conflict
o The Cuban Missile Crisis
o US involvement in Vietnam
o Supporting anti-communist regimes in ‘Third World’ countries

Question 5

Peaceful Coexistence

Answer 5

Khrushchev’s Cold War era policy that stressed the need for the Soviet Union and US to avoid armed conflict.
[Khrushchev’s speech, 1956, “There are only two ways: either peaceful co-existence or the most destructive war in history. There is no third way”]

Question 6

Detente

Answer 6

A French word meaning a relaxation of political tension. The word began to be used to explain foreign policy actions and attitudes during the Cold War from 1968 to 1979.
o Evidence of its limited success through arms control/treaties/talks
o Limited Test Ban Treaty 1963
o Non Proliferation Treaty 1968
o SALT I 1972
o SALT II 1979
o Helsinki Accords 1975
o Evidence of its limitations
o USSR trying to achieve nuclear parity and increase of conventional forces
o USSR supporting communist movements in Third World
o Both USSR and USA supporting opposing sides in Vietnam War
o USA establishing improved relations with PRC
o Resulted in ‘New Cold War’ at the end of the 1970s and early 1980s

Question 7

Glasnost

Answer 7

Russian for ‘openness’ in relations, particularly between the government and citizens; it includes cultural freedom and the removal of state censorship.

Question 8

Perestrokia

Answer 8

Russian for ‘restructuring’. This process included the perfection, improvement, acceleration and finally the restructuring of the entire Communist system. It was associated with the Soviet programme to reform politics, society and the economy so that it could deal with the new realities of nuclear weapons and the ecological, democratic, scientific, technology and information revolutions.

Question 9

Nationalism

Answer 9

• Ideology based on the premise that the individual’s loyalty and devotion to the nation-state surpass other individual or group interests.
• Nationalism generally recognises that each nationality should form a state, and that the state should include all members of that nationality.
• A system of disciplining citizens to the needs of the state. These needs change over time depending on international events, crises and internal politics. It controls citizens by appealing to a shared sense of history, culture and language so that national projects can occur. These national projects can be economic, political, cultural, technological, social or militaristic. In its most basic form it is used by politicians and the elite to ensure that a country is defended by its citizens against a perceived enemy.

Question 10

Re-integration

Answer 10

The process of the re-integration of Eastern Europe into Western European economic, political, and security frameworks.
* Security – NATO
* Economic – Single Market; Eurozone (single currency)
* Political – European Union