Monday, November 11, 2013
End of the Cold War
In a more simplified examination of the Cold War's end, America is seen as the victor due to the disintegration of the USSR and the independence of the Eastern bloc countries. Who were some other potential victors in the post Cold-War world? What kinds of questions are left unanswered as to how the post Cold-War world will develop economically and militarily?
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"victors" isn't exactly a terrific term. the text does call the US the victor in the cold war but that sort of implies there was something to gain but distraction of a political power was the end result, not the production of something a bit more useful. However, since the word has been put out there, I suppose the other potential "victors" might be Germany for the berlin wall was eventually knocked down and other countries under Communist reign were sort of "set free" the textbook mentions Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland, which I know had been taken over by communism. But in 1990 the nation's allies were allowed to pursue socialism, "compatible with their histories and cultures" and thus communism collapsed so I suppose those "allies" of the USSR could also be considered victors.
ReplyDeleteWhen dealing with the Cold War it is difficult to establish a true "victor". Like Sydney said, the word victor implies that something has been gained which in this case wasn't entirely a whole lot. I would argue that the country who got the most out of the ending of the Cold War would be Germany because of the taking down of the Berlin Wall which is definetly something worth noting. For nearly three decades the wall kept the East Germans from fleeing to the west and all of a sudden it comes down. It was celebrated on a global scale.
ReplyDeleteThe question still left unanswered would be the driving force of military advancement from the end of the Cold War to right now. That question is simply; What do they have that we don't? This is the "root of all evil" (in my opinion of course). This question is the reason that America, China, Russia, Iran, etc. create and add to their collection of weapons. The fear of our neighbors having more dangerous weapons then us the reason for every war since then. It is the direct cause of the absurd amount of nuclear weapons and power that America and other countries (who knows at this point) has.
ReplyDeleteThe reading wasn't attached when I opened the assignment page but I'll answer as good as I can.
ReplyDeleteI think it makes no sense to say that there was any victor in the Cold War. The Cold war era is to long and contains too many smaller conflicts between completely different parties than that somebody could decide who gained most of the Cold War. Because some countries definitely did gain something from this era. The USA for example had successfully assert itself as one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful nation in the world. On the other hand, throughout the Cold War, the USA was mainly trying to constrict communism - a mission in which they weren't always successful. Every nation involved in the Cold War made sacrifices, even if they gained something
I think the question left un answered is "what now?" with the destruction of the USSR and the "victory" of the US, there is no clear enemy. its almost like the villain of the movie has been destroyed and there is still one hour left in the movie. I agree with Mitch that the question about nuclear arms is still in the air and has drove recent countries like Iran to seek out Nuclear power, but i thunk we are at a lose of direction. for the longest time we were hell bent on out doing the USSR and now we have and theres nothing more to do. In recent years; however, Russia has rose up and has become a major power again. President Putin was recently named man of the year by Times magazine so i do not think that Russia will stay down.
ReplyDeleteWell, the reading mentions that the end of the Cold war also "signaled the end of the bipolar world that had existed since 1945 and left a power vacuum." Needless to say, people were unsure of what to do next. How would the US shape their foreign policy plans if communism was no longer something to deal with? Of course communism has not just disappeared, but there is a distinct change in the way countries will carry out their policies because now there is no longer a strict divide among the world. Powers must learn to coexist and countries must learn to adjust to that.
ReplyDeleteThere was no real victor of the war because nothing really happened in the big picture. There were a lot of threats, and there was significant fear as a result but not really too much to declare a winner and loser. There were gains however, which include, like Salty Dave said, the Berlin Wall being demolished. This ended a time of great struggle across East and West Germany.
ReplyDeleteThe victor was the US in a more symbolic sense than in a real concrete victory or measurable degree of triumph. The US had been in a "war" against Communism as a whole for decades, and this was more of a pride filled victory on the societal scale through public reaction that it was of any military or financial gain. Most of the questions left unanswered is what is to be done next in terms of preparation or shaking the US military up to withstand a war that was near the scale of the one avoided with the USSR
ReplyDeleteFor some reason the reading was not attached when I hit the assignment and refreshed it. Although I honestly am not sure how to answer this question, to my understanding there were many small conflicts within the Cold War, and therefore there were many victors..? But also, I like what Jack said; how the US essentially been in a war against communism, so they are the victors in an ideological sense. I have a lot of questions that are unanswered due to not reading.
ReplyDeleteThe reading wasn't attached when i started the blog so ill answer as best i can. I like everyone else find it very difficult to define a "victor" of the cold war. There were only losers, and for better or worse the US wasn't one of them. The most ambiguity about what the future post-cold war era held came from no one really knowing what was to become of the fragments of the USSR and other Eastern bloc countries.
ReplyDelete