The Cold War and Post-War Economic Recovery Research Paper

The Cold War and Post-War Economic Recovery - Research Paper Example The Cold War resulted in an arms race between these two countries which lasted as long as the Cold War did. It was this era when one after another highly destructive nuclear weapons were created by both the U.S and the Soviet Union. This arms race did not only terrorize the people of both the countries but also affected the culture of these nations as well (Sakwa, 1999). After the Second World War European nations were in ruins, many cities turned into piles of dust and economies collapsed. U.S and Soviet Union were established as the strongest powers of the world and both of them had different views about the post-war Europe and its rehabilitation which resulted in the Cold War. This document enlightens briefly the history of Cold War and its impact on the Post-War Economic Recovery of the nations. Origins of the Cold War The beginning of Cold War was immediately after the successful alliance of the US and the Soviet Union in the war against Nazi Germany. The conflict took place whe n both the US and the Soviet Union perceived each other as superpowers with their political and economic differences. Soon after the war ended, the conflicts of opinion and differences started to arise regarding how the post-war Europe should be separated. ... Throughout the war, were the times when the atmosphere was relatively calm and there were also times when high tension prevailed between both the countries. Some of the tense periods include the Berlin Blockade that took place between 1948 & 1949, the Korean War which took place between 1950 & 1953, the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 and the Soviet war in Afghanistan which took place between 1979 & 1989. In most of these instances, both the US and the USSR supported rival groups and an indirect war was fought between the two nations. Both sides possessed heavy nuclear weapons that could have caused mass destruction. The use of such weapons was not made due to the same reason. Both the countries provided extensive support to any country that was deemed vulnerable or engaged in proxy wars, development of extensive nuclear weapons, rivalry in economic developments or rivalry in sports events. Attempts were made to get support from neutral nations. Stiff competition took place in technolog ical development which was represented by engaging in space race. There was a very high risk of destruction of both the superpowers because of nuclear exchange either by accident or mistake however both the countries sought to prevent any direct attack through agreements. Later on, the economic and military pressure on the Soviet Union was increased by the United States as Soviet Union was not so successful in developing its economy. As a result Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 which heralded the end of Cold War leaving US as the most dominant power of the world. The impact of the Cold War has been quite significant on the American culture and how the post-war economic recovery of the European nations was planned and implemented (Foner, 2009). Post-war Economic Recovery in Europe, Japan