Unit 5: Geopolitics of the Cold War Flashcards
How long did the cold war last?
1945-1991
Why was it called the cold war?
there was never direct military engagement between the two fronts, the US and the USSR, only a series of proxy wars
The Stalinist view on geography:
Stalin was determined to create a security zone for itself to prevent another invasion of its territory by western powers: eastern and central europe
When did efforts of cooperation between the US and Moscow fail after WWII?
In 1947
What was the “long telegram”?
A 8000 word long telegram from the foreign service officer George F. Kennan in Moscow. The telegram analysed the aggressive nature of Stalin’s foreign policy, and the idea that the USSR could not foresee “permanent coexistence” with the west. This manifested the idea of the Russian sense of insecurity.
Containment
Originated from the ideas of Kennan and the “long-telegram”. It became the most influential underpinnings for American Cold War policy.
Containment provided a conceptual framework for a series of successful initiatives undertaken from 1947-1950 to block Soviet expansion, such as the Marshall plan, which was economic assistance to counter the spread of Soviet influence
Kennan’s philosophy on US policy towards the USSR
That the main element of US policy towards the USSR was be a long-term, patient but firm containments of Russian expansive tendencies
Diplomacy became sidelined for containments militarism.
Stalin’s expansion in the early years
When the USSR marched on Germany in the end of the war, it also absorbed the Baltic countries.
Stalin’s expansion in the early years
When the USSR marched on Germany in the end of the war, it also absorbed the Baltic countries.
Stalin’s expansion in the early years
When the USSR marched on Germany in the end of the war, it also absorbed the Baltic countries. The domino effect was beginning, and it was only a matter of time before Hungary and Czechoslovakia fell into the soviet orbit.
