Cold War



Cold War

Introduction

The Cold War is the name given to the sustained state of military and political tensions between the Eastern bloc and the powers of the Western Bloc. The Eastern bloc was dominated by the Soviet Union under the impact of the Warsaw Pact. On the other hand, the United States of America and her allies including the NATO dominated the Western Bloc. The cold war began after the success of the war against the Nazi Germany. This broke the temporary alliance that was made between the eastern, as well as, the western bloc. After this war, two super powers emerged in the world. One was the United States of America, while the other was the USSR. Cold war emerged with two super powers, and each had its own nuclear weapons. Although the two powers did not get into a military combat, they however threatened each other that assured mutual destruction in the names of the nuclear weapons. To gain a control over the world as the super power, they indulged themselves in a psychological warfare (Buzan, 2007). They also got into contact through indirect confrontations, making use of proxy wars. In the 1980's, when the Soviet Union was suffering from an economic stagnation, US increased pressure on the Soviet Union. These pressures included economic, military, as well as, diplomatic ones. The USSR was dissolved amid the internal problems and affairs and communism fell. This made the United States the only super power in the world that has still maintained its position.

Discussion

After the cold war, the military spending was cut off dramatically in Russia. After embarking upon the economic reforms, the country suffered economic and financial crisis. It was in a much severe condition than Germany and United States were. After the crisis, the United States of America ...