The Cold War: An Inevitable Conflict

Paper Summary:

The paper argues that the sequence of events following the Second World War provided the foundations which unavoidably led to increased tensions and an ensuing Cold War. The paper discusses the differing ideologies, the competition for spheres of influence, the advancement of weaponry, the arms race, as well as a lack of trust, all of which entrenched the Soviet Union and the West into an unpreventable power struggle. The paper shows how these events made friendly relationships between the two sides impossible for decades to come.

From the Paper:

"The end of the Second World War brought forth a dramatic change in the global power structure. Whereas before the war there had been a power struggle between five great nations, the completion of the war brought an end to France, Germany and Britain's claim as world super powers. Emerging from the chaos were the two remaining super powers: the Soviet Union and the United States, with the remnants of three former super powers aligning themselves with the U.S. to create a power bloc. The result was the Cold War, where from 1945 to 1989, these two sides involved nearly the entire globe in a conflict. Yet from very early on, Historians and Political Scientists have questioned whether or not the Cold War was unavoidable, or if the Western World could have in fact lived in peace and cooperated with the Eastern Bloc."

Sample of Sources Used:

• John Gaddis, "The Insecurities of Victory: The United States and the Perception of the Soviet Threat After World War II," in Interpretations of the Western World. ed. Mark Kishlansky (Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2004), 142.

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