Cold War: Old and New Interpertations

You shall judge of a man by his foes as well as by his friends.

J.Conrad (1857-1924)

“A man cannot be two careful in the choice of his enemies. I have not got one who is a fool. They are all men of some intellectual power, and consequently they all appreciate me.”

O.Wilde

Overtime, explanations for the origins of the Cold War have varied, and the issue of why it occurred is a matter of some controversy, particularly among American historians. Shortly after the Second World War the orthodox interpretation followed the views of American policy makers, holding that the Cold War was the result of Soviet expansionism which was met by a Western defensive response. This interpretation argued that Stalin's personality together with communist ideology and Soviet security fears led to consolidation of Soviet rule over an empire in Eastern Europe, to the turmoil in Greece and diplomatic pressure on Turkey, and to an attempt to dislodge the Western allies from Berlin and Germany. Such American actions as the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, NATO and other alliances, and policies such as foreign aid were regarded as manoeuvres designed to defend the “Free world” from further communist encroachment.

Later, other historians provided a revisionist interpretation which held that the Cold War originated in American imperialism, with the former Soviet Union a defensive power simply providing for its own security. Some writers dated American expansionism from the country's founding, while others regarded the Spanish-American War and Open Door Notes of 1898 and 1899, respectively, as the turning point. Others focused on Western hostility to the Russian Revolution of 1917. Whatever the precise date for the beginning, this interpretation often includes the view that the United States dropped the atomic bomb on Japan in August 1945 not to end the war but to impress the Soviets and to prepare the way for a diplomacy that would intimidate the former Soviet Union. The war in Vietnam marked the high point of American imperialism but programs such as aid to Western Europe also demonstrated United States’ expansionism.

Still another view - which can be termed the realist interpretation - employs a more complex and interactive analysis of the origins of the Cold War. With a fundamental bipolar structure in the world, the superpowers were placed inevitably and unintentionally in a position of conflict. An additional factor driving the conflict was the clash of opposing ideologies—authoritarian communist politics and centrally planned economies versus liberal democratic politics and market economics—which had very different visions of how public life should be organized. Personalities also in this interpretation, played a role, as did security considerations, specifically Soviet interests in Eastern Europe and American involvement in Western Europe. Other factors contributing to the Cold War, from this perspective, were the American political system with its checks and balances and American public psychology which demanded a return to "normalcy" at the end of the war and which is infused with moralism. Finally, this interpretation attributes part of the Cold War to blunders, mistakes, and miscalculations onthe part of the political leaders of both superpowers.

In retrospect, some observers regard the Cold War as “the long peace” for no war broke out between the major powers for a greater length of time than any other in the modern period. Thus, the Cold War can be cited as an object lesson of adversarial relations of Great Powers conducted with prudence and restraint. Even while the former Soviet Union sought advantage, it never pushed such issues as Berlin and the missiles in Cuba to the point of war. Similarly, the American policy of containment sought limited goals that fell far short of war with the former Soviet Union.

With respect to the issue of war and peace, specifically to confront the question of why war did not occur, two theoretical responses have been given. First, the bipolar structure of international politics, a new development in modern politics, provided less uncertainty than the multipolar structure that had preceded it. With only one adversary that could do it substantial harm, each superpower reacted to the other, with little miscalculation. Second, after both powers were armed with nuclear weapons, deterrence induced great caution among leaders out of fear ofthe devastation that would be caused by the use of the weapons.

(World Encyclopedia of Peace, vol. 1, p.235)

Notes

1. The Truman Doctrinewas a foreign policy programme put forward by the 33d president of the US, Harry Truman (1884-1972), in 1947 after declining Britain had notified the US that it would no longer be able to shoulder its burden of support for the Greek and Turkish governments. The doctrine, designed to prevent the establishment of communist rule in Greece and Turkey, served as a theoretical basis for the US practice of deploying military bases on foreign territories.

2. The European Recovery Program,or the Marshall Plan, was the brainchild of US general and statesman George Catlett Marshall (1880-1959) undertaken to speed the recovery of the European countries in the aftermath of WWII. The idea launched on June 5, 1947 found its practical realization in the period from 1948 to 1951. The Soviet Union, whose requests for the continuation of lend-lease (a program of material goods transfer) had been rejected by the US-government, decided against joing the enterprise on the grounds that the requirements for it could infringe on its sovereignty.

3. The Spanish-American War(1898) began with US troops landing in Cuba and ended with America gaining Puerto Rico, Guam, the Philippines, and Cuba. The American victory in that war, complemented by the annexation of the Havaiian Islands, made the US a world empire in possession of various territories in the Pacific and the Carribean.

4. Open Door Notes.A series of notes issued by US Secretary of State John Hay in 1899 and 1900 which invited various governments – principally Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia – to adhere to the principle of equal economic opportunity in China. The notes stated that while the US recognized the existence of spheres of influence in China, it did not accept that this should lead to a discrimination against US interests in respect of railway tariffs, harbour dues and other commercial matters. The notes served as a basis of the Open Door doctrine and policy aimed at encouraging free trade.

5. Checks and balances– система сдержек и противовесов. Along with separation of powers and federalism, the check and balance system is one of the three constitution-guaranteed major principles of American government whereby each unit of the governmental system exercises a check upon the actions of the others. The principle operates: 1. among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches; 2. between the two Houses of the American legislature; 3. between the States and the federal government. The system of government provides each department with a certain amount of authority to control the moves of the other departments and even block some procedures by active participation in their functions thus making all the units interdependent rather than separated.

6. The policy of containment(политика сдерживания коммунизма) designed to contain the spread of communism on the planet was conducted by the Truman administration in the period from 1948 to 1953. In 1947 the policy of containment was given conceptual underpinning by the then State Department analyst George F. Kennan who anonymously published a paper under the title "The Sources of Soviet Conduct". The architect of this conception argued that a policy of flexible but firm counter-pressure against the Soviet Union's expansionist moves would result eventually in a mellowing (neutralizing) of Soviet policy. On of the practical far-reaching results of the conception was the establishment of NATO in 1949.

TASK 22.Translate the text into English.

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