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Review of Previous Lecture- UNO
• Why UNO? preventing war, promoting peace and security, friendly relations, human rights, international cooperation
• Structure and Functions: The General Assembly, The Security Council, The Economic and Social Council, The Trusteeship Council, The International Court of Justice, The Secretariat.
• Achievements: Peace keeping, Strengthening NSS, Disarmament, Human Rights, Food Aid, Aid to refugees, Health, Monitoring Elections
• Failure: Kashmir problem, Israel aggression, Cuban Missile Crisis, dominated and influenced by US, lack of neutrality and impartiality, deteriorating world climate, proliferation of nuclear weapons, Genocides
Cold War
Q. What is Cold War?• signifies the state of affairs in which bitter relations, hostility and
confrontation existed between the two superpowers (US and USSR) after the end of world war ll.
• Firstly used by Bernard Baruch in 1947 in his speech to south Carolina legislature, ‘we are today in the midst of a cold war’
• It did not result in an actual outbreak of a war. • The Cold War resulted in an arms race, diplomatic confrontation,
proxy warfare and ideological competition.• began in the wake of World War II, with the collapse of the
Grand Alliance (between the US, Britain and the Soviet Union).
The Cold War Development
• In contrast to traditional wars which one can date with some precision, a declaration of war or an invasion or attack, there is no clear starting date for the Cold War
• Instead there existed a gradual escalation of tensions.• Some historians also traced its origin to 1917 Revolution as
communism strives against democratic ideals and private property.
• Churchill Speech in 1946 also escalated tension, ‘From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe…. increasing measure of control from Moscow’
The Cold War Development cont.
• US policy to fill the vacuum created by British departure was also disliked by SU as a policy aimed at SU containment.
• E.g. remilitarization of Greece, supporting newly independent states with economic and military assistance
• SU suspicion: - based on US refusal to establish diplomatic relations till 1933, US keeping secret of Manhattan project of making atom bomb, delay in opening second front against German so that Russia can be weakened, dropping of atom bomb on Japan etc.
• US suspicion: based on SU not conducting election in East Germany, erecting Berlin Wall, refusal to help in construction of areas outside SU control, maintaining a large army after war, spreading communism in eastern Europe, anti-American propaganda etc.
The Cold War Development cont.
• After WWII, Russia refused to grant independence to Poland and erected Berlin wall and spread communism there.
• In some years, communism spread to Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Albania, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia
• Suspicion and distrust rapidly increased and Western Europe supported by US allied together against SU communism
• President Truman decided to contain communism to protect US interests and announced Truman Doctrine (1947) as communism can easily attract people of war affected states
• Aid was given to Greece and to Turkey to check Communist influence
The Cold War Development cont.
• Soon Marshal Plan was started (named after the US Secretary of Defense)
• It was an extension of the Truman Doctrine to protect (western) Europe from economic collapse and communist domination.
• Aid under the Marshal Plan was used to reconstruct war ravaged Europe and also lending for development to newly independent countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America to prevent communist influence in these areas.
The Cold War Development cont.
• Communism soon spread to China with the initial backing of Soviets.
• Chiang Kai Shek government was exiled to Formosa (Taiwan)• Soon communism spread to North Korea and North Vietnam
through China and Russia backing• US supported South Korea and South Vietnam. In Vietnamese
war, the North Vietnam won and US was defeated• In Latin America, the Soviet influenced Cuba and Nicaragua
against US• In South Asia, Pakistani was given aid and financial support by
US during cold war and Pakistan became member of SEATO and CENTO for protection against communism
The Cold War
• Formation of Bi-polar world• The cold war divided Europe in to two parts- Eastern and
Western Europe with Communist and Capitalist system respectively.
• The communist nations were held together by the Warsaw Pact and the capitalist powers by NATO
• The other non-European states were also attached with one of the block to ensure their security. Thus, the world was divided into two prominent blocks.
• The two camps possessed nuclear weapons and could destroy the entire planet thousands of times over with their nuclear weapons and each side’s military was on a hair trigger for the conflict’s duration