The Cold War

Introduction

The greatest war in history, World War II, was fought on battlefields and in the laboratory. Never had a war been so dependent on research in science and technology. Among the inventions that poured forth, many of them created on the basis of scientific research, were radar, computers, jet airplanes, short-range missiles, and the atomic bomb. A cold war developed in the late 1940s, a global ideological struggle between communism and its centrally controlled markets, led by the Soviet Union, and democracy and free markets, led by the United States and its Western European allies. Both antagonists realized how important science and technology were to their efforts, and funding levels for research in science and technology continued at unprecedented levels during the cold war, part of the race for newer weapons and prestige (Thomas, 923).

Discussion and Analysis

The Soviet Union exploded its first atomic bomb in 1949. The United States responded by developing a more powerful nuclear device, relying on fusion rather than fission, and exploded its first hydrogen bomb in 1952. The Soviets followed suit in 1953. The race for nuclear weapons, and developing aircraft and ballistic missiles to deliver them, resulted in a standoff, based on the doctrine of mutual assured destruction (MAD): both sides were reluctant to use their nuclear weapons for fear that a retaliatory strike would turn victory into defeat. An anti-ballistic missile (ABM) treaty was even signed in 1972 to prohibit the development of defensive missiles to shoot down incoming nuclear-tipped missiles, because of concerns that such a defensive system might undermine MAD. Frenzied open-air nuclear weapons testing during the 1950s led to scientists' becoming concerned about the accumulation of radiation in the atmosphere. Among others, the U.S. Nobel laureate Linus Pauling (1901-1994) campaigned for the United States and Soviet Union to at least stop open-air testing in the interest of public health. His efforts helped lead to the 1963 Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and Pauling received the 1962 Nobel Peace Prize.

Actual combat encounters between the two superpowers proved to be rare, such as when reconnaissance aircraft were shot down, and the fact was usually quickly concealed in order not to escalate the situation. Other nations instead served as proxies, fighting ideologically based surrogate wars. Besides the economic and ideological arenas, the two superpowers competed by showing their scientific and technological prowess. The launching of Sputnik I in 1957 by the Soviet Union as part of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) initiated a “space race” between the two superpowers, as they sought international prestige by achieving firsts. The Soviets placed the first animal (1957), first man (1961), and first woman (1963) into orbit, but fell behind as the Apollo project successfully landed an American astronaut on the moon in 1969. Besides the public relations advantages, the space race contributed to stabilizing the cold war; spy satellites could now ascertain the strength and deployment of opposing forces. Spy satellites also made cheating on arms controls treaties more difficult.

The governments of the United States, the Soviet ...