Cold war is a state of
tension between two big powers. It is used to describe the period which emerged
after the Second World War. When the Second World War ended, both the United
States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic were clearly the
masters of the world. The main cause of this tension was the difference in the
opinion of these superpowers as the US was in the favor of Capitalism and the
USSR was in the favor of Socialism. The hostility continued for the next 45
years. It is not an actual or direct war but is a diplomatic war fought with
potent weapons like formation military alliances, spying, propaganda, and
economic and military alliances.
The US was of the
ideology that all industries, business and agriculture should be owned by
private people or firms. Competition between rival factories or shops or firms
will cause the prices to fall and will make them more efficient. The USSR on the
other hand believed that everything belongs to the state and should be run by
the government on behalf of the people. A classless society can be achieved by
overthrowing capitalism by revolution.
Another cause for the
cold war was that both the nations wanted domination over the world as both the
nations were considered to be super powers. They also wanted control over the
entire Germany as it was divided into two parts on the basis of ideology they
followed. This war between the superpowers influenced the foreign policies,
political institutions, and economic systems in almost every corner of the
world.
Each side thought that
the other one was trying to rule the world and neither of them would give up
and it was feared that another war would erupt. This time it could have been a
nuclear war. as both the nations were well equipped in ammunition, and it
would destroy the whole planet. The countries began to form alliances to
protect themselves. This led to the formation of NATO and Warsaw Pact.
North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) was established by a treaty in 1949 which established a
system of collective defense whereby it member states agree to mutual defense
in response to an attack by any external party. Its original members were –
United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Denmark, Italy, Norway, Portugal,
Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Later Greece and West Germany also
joined.
The Warsaw Pact was the
socialist response to NATO and was signed on May 1, 1955 in Warsaw Poland. Military
treaty, which bound its signatories to come to the aid of the others, should
any one of them be the victim of foreign aggression. Its original members were –
Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, Romania, the USSR, and the Czechoslovak
Republic.
The cold war ended in 1990 when the soviet was
defeated from Afghanistan and the Soviet Union was divided into different
countries.
