International relations 1918-1975 Revision Notes

Post-War Divisions and Ideologies

After World War II, Europe was devastated and ripe for political restructuring. The Allied powers (USA, UK, France, USSR) quickly diverged in their visions for post-war Europe. The USA championed democracy and capitalism, advocating for self-determination and free markets. The USSR, under Stalin, promoted communism, seeking to establish satellite states in Eastern Europe to create a security buffer and spread its ideology. This fundamental ideological clash led to the 'Iron Curtain' speech by Churchill in 1946, highlighting the growing divide stretching from Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic. Germany, in particular, became a microcosm of this division, split into four occupation zones, with Berlin similarly divided.

Containment and Marshall Aid

The US response to Soviet expansion was the policy of 'containment,' aiming to prevent the spread of communism without directly confronting the USSR militarily. The Truman Doctrine, announced in March 1947, pledged US support to 'free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures,' initially aiding Greece and Turkey against communist influence. This was reinforced by the Marshall Plan (European Recovery Program), launched in June 1947, which offered substantial economic aid to war-torn European countries. While presented as humanitarian, it also aimed to rebuild capitalist economies, making them less susceptible to communist appeal. The USSR rejected Marshall Aid for its satellite states, viewing it as 'dollar imperialism,' and established COMECON (Council for Mutual Economic Assistance) in 1949 as an alternative.

The Berlin Crises and the Berlin Wall

Berlin, deep within Soviet-controlled East Germany, remained divided into four sectors. In 1948, the Western Allies introduced a new currency into their zones, seen by Stalin as an attempt to undermine Soviet control. In response, Stalin initiated the Berlin Blockade (June 1948 - May 1949), cutting off all land and canal routes into West Berlin. The Western Allies responded with the Berlin Airlift, sustaining the city entirely by air for almost a year. The blockade failed, and Stalin lifted it, but it solidified the division of Germany into the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) in 1949. By 1961, thousands of East Germans were defecting to the West via Berlin. To stop this 'brain drain,' East Germany, with Soviet approval, constructed the Berlin Wall on August 13, 1961, physically dividing the city and becoming a potent symbol of Cold War oppression.

Military Alliances and the Arms Race

The growing tensions led to the formation of rival military blocs. In 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was established by the USA, Canada, and Western European nations, committing members to collective defense against armed attack. In response to West Germany joining NATO in 1955, the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellite states formed the Warsaw Pact, a mutual defense treaty, later that year. Concurrently, both superpowers engaged in an intense arms race. The Soviet Union detonated its first atomic bomb in 1949, ending the US nuclear monopoly. Both sides then developed hydrogen bombs and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), leading to a state of 'Mutually Assured Destruction' (MAD), where a full-scale nuclear attack by either side would result in the destruction of both attacker and defender, deterring direct military confrontation in Europe.