大象传媒

The Cold War overview - AQAThe main themes of the Cold War

The Cold War is the title given to the period of tension between the two superpowers, the USA and the USSR, which dominated international relations for most of the second half of the 20th century.

Part of HistoryThe Cold War and Vietnam

The main themes of the Cold War

The hostility between the superpowers gave shape to the main themes that dominated the Cold War:

Expansionism and containment

  • After World War Two, the Soviets operated a policy of and attempted to spread throughout Eastern Europe.
  • The USA and its allies sought to prevent the spread of communism and operated a policy of .
  • As the Cold War progressed, there were attempts by both superpowers to extend their power and influence globally 鈥 sometimes officially, sometimes not - from the jungles of Vietnam to the beaches of the Caribbean, and from Angola in south-west Africa to Afghanistan in Central Asia.

Nuclear War and the Arms Race

  • From the USA鈥檚 first explosion of an in 1945, one of the most striking features of the Cold War was a growing threat of .
  • The USSR had developed its own nuclear capability by 1949 ending the USA鈥檚 on atomic weapons.
  • Throughout the 1950s both sides accumulated ever more powerful nuclear weapons, a process known as the arms race, leading to the threat of (MAD).
  • The threat of MAD eventually led to a cautious willingness by both sides to limit nuclear arms production by the 1960s.

Tensions between the two superpowers reached a peak in 1962 with the , but the following decade witnessed greater cooperation between the US and the USSR. Relations between the US and China also changed during this period: in 1952 they were at war over Korea but by 1972 there were signs of a growing between the two countries.

John F Kennedy on the Cuban Missile Crisis