The Cold War and Its Impact on Foreign Policy - Research Paper Example

The Cold War and its Impact on Foreign Policy The Cold War and its Impact on Foreign Policy Introduction The"Cold War" was a term that scholars of international relations coined to describe how the U.S. and the Soviet Union related to each other in the aftermath of WWII that brought down Adolf Hitler and left the alliesdefeated (Leffler & Painter , 2005). Following the war, the United States boasted having the most lethal weapons such as the atomic bombs they dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On their part, the Soviet Union boasted having the largest army in the world. The war was "cold" in that it did not involve weapons and soldiers in the battlefield. "Cold War" further described the differences between the capitalist nations, led by the United States and the communist nations. The war affected virtually every nation of the world as each moved to align themselves with either the U.S. or the Soviet Union. This paper examines how the Cold War affected the U.S. foreign policy then and now. In terms of its organization, a proxy of the Cold War is discussed. Next, the author explains the factors that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the resultant chaos. Next, the author discusses the impact of the collapse of the Soviet Union at three levels: the impact on scholars of international relations at the time and the impact on the U.S. foreign policy then and now. Finally, the author draws conclusions about international relations based on the findings of the research. The Greek Civil War: A Cold War Proxy A proxy war is fought alongside a major full-scale conflict(Leffler & Painter, 2005). Usually, a major power will instigate a proxy war without directly involving itself. Many proxy wars were fought during the Cold War. The wars provided opportunities for the United States and the Soviet Union to stage armed conflict “behind” the Cold War. The Greek Civil War was one of such proxy wars. The Greek civil war pitted the Democratic Army of Greece (DSE), supported by the U.S. against the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), whom Russia backed(Nachmani, 1990).The DSE wanted to gain control of the country from the KKE. Backed by and Britain and the U.S., the DSE were initially successful. Besides the backing by the two powers, the DSE had superior maneuvers in the battlefield. Meanwhile, the KKE made many political errors and Yugoslavia withdrew their support for them. Yugoslavia’s withdrawal marked the beginning of the fall of the KKE. In the end, DSE won the war. Greece largely abandoned Communism and the sphere of influence of democratic/capitalist ideals increased as did tensions between the two powers. The Collapse of the Soviet Union In December 1991, Americas rival, the Soviet Union fell apart to the horror of the world. To the West, the event represented victory of democracy and capitalism over communism and socialism. The Cold War was over(Leffler & Painter, 2005). The answer to the question of what led to the collapse of the Soviet Union is not a straight forward one. However, several factors, mostly internal, have been put forward to explain the fall of the Union and Communism. Excessive spending on the military contributed to the demise of the power. In an effort to keep up with the rising military might of the U.S., the Soviet Union spent between 15 and 25% of their GNP on the military (McCauley, 2014). Secondly, the Russian territory had grown too big for the government to effective plan and provide services. As a result, unemployment became rampant and infrastructure deteriorated. The predominantly agrarian economy also contributed to the decline of the power. Inappropriate government policies also played a part in bringing Russia on its knees. For instance, in 1987, the countrys leader Gorbachev introduced more government control over enterprises in a bid to salvage the economy. These included setting price ceilings and limiting the profits firms could make. These measures did not go down well with firms. Cultural differences too contributed to the fall of Russia. At the peak of its power, the Union had 15 different republics each speaking different languages and practicing different cultures. Under these circumstances, it became increasingly difficult to keep the Union together. Given the growing inability of the Russian government to address the problems facing the Union, nationalism emerged in the individual republic, many of which demanded independence from the Union. In the aftermath of the collapse of the Union, 15 new independent states found themselves faces with an uphill task. They had to develop their economies, reorder their political systems and settle territorial disputes. Several wars developed on the fringes of the former Soviet Union. Even though the impact of the problems inherited from the Union persist to this day in some of those countries, many have made progress in democratization and economic development. Impact of the Collapse of the Soviet Union Scholars The demise of the Soviet Union triggered a new wave of scholarly interest in the origins of the Cold War(Morales, 2013). More importantly, the event shook the very foundations of realism. In the wake of WWII, several treaties were signed and the United Nations was formed. To idealists, these events marked the beginning of an ideal world order where there would be no more conflicts among nations. However, they were proved wrong when the Cold War broke out shortly after WWII. To realists, the Cold War confirmed their position that countries will always have conflicting interests that threaten world peace, the WWII treaties and the United Nations notwithstanding. Many proponents of idealism hoped that the Cold War was an accident in the history of the world and that after the fall of the Soviet Union, there would be no more conflict on a global scale. Foreign Policy Then In the years following WWII, including during the Cold War, the United States pursued the policy of containment(Rosato & Schuessler, 2011). The goal was to curtail the spread of communism in countries that were not under its influence. That policy applied at a time when the world was split between communism and capitalism. After December 1991, containment ceased to make sense. For the following decade, the United States struggled with redefining its foreign policy. U.S. Foreign Policy Today In order to challenges of the 21st century, the United States today pursues what the Department of State calls “transformational diplomacy”(Rosato & Schuessler, 2011). A look at the goal of that type of diplomacy reveals that the country is out to play the “big brother” role in world affairs: to build and sustain democratic states that are responsible to their citizens and in international affairs. This is the broad goal of America’s foreign policy. However, specific policy objectives vary from one region to the next. It is noteworthy that democracy remains at the heart of the country’s foreign policy. This could be an indicator that the communist threat is still alive in the minds of the nation’s foreign policy makers, over two decades since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Conclusion The Cold War was non-combat war that broke out between the United States and the Soviet Union in the wake of WWII. Many proxy wars such as the Greek Civil War were fought alongside the Cold War. The Cold War ended in December 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union. A simple answer as to why the union fellis hard to come by (Leffler & Painter, 2005). The fall union had implications for scholars of international relations and the U.S. foreign policy then and today. The author concludes that the realist approach to international relations is more realistic than the idealist approach. References Leffler, M., & Painter, D. (2005). Origins of the Cold War: An International History (Second Edition). New York: Routledge. McCauley, M. (2014). The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union. New York: Routledge. Morales, J. (2013). Security or Revolution? Scholarship Since the Collapse of the Soviet Union on Communist Ideology, National Security, and the Origins of the Cold War. History Journal, 22-34. Nachmani, A. (1990). Civil War and Foreign Intervention in Greece: 1946-49. Journal of Contemporary History, 25.4 489-522. Rosato, S., & Schuessler, J. (2011). A Realist Foreign Policy for the United States. Perspectives on Politics, 803-819. Read More