Cold War: Origins, Events, and Aftermath

Posted on Feb 28, 2025 in History

The United Nations: Origins and Objectives

Circa 1945, Yalta. The victorious powers created the UN (United Nations) body.

Objectives:

  • Maintain international peace and security.
  • Promote self-determination of peoples.
  • Defend human rights.
  • Foster cooperation among member nations.

The UN was created in 1945 in San Francisco, with 51 members (now 193).

How does it work? Maintaining peace and security by:

  • Acting as a mediator.
  • Sending peacekeeping troops.
  • Imposing sanctions.
  • Imposing ceasefires.

UN Structure

  • General Assembly: One annual meeting in New York.
  • Security Council: 15 members, 5 permanent (US, China, France, UK, Russia), 10 rotating every 2 years.
  • Secretary-General: Head of the UN, elected by the Security Council every 5 years (currently, António Guterres).
  • International Court of Justice: The governing body, 15 judges elected by the Assembly and the Council. Deals with international conflicts and crimes against humanity.
  • Economic and Social Council: Coordinates the work of agencies to promote international economic and social development.

UN Specialized Agencies

  • FAO (Rome): Optimizes food resources, improves production and distribution.
  • WHO (Geneva): Conducts research on diseases.
  • UNESCO (Paris): Promotes education, science, and culture.
  • World Bank: Works against poverty, provides loans, credit, and economic support.
  • IMF: Promotes international trade balance.

The Cold War

The Cold War was a period of tension between the two blocs, avoiding direct conflict that could lead to a third world war. It is also known as the “bipolar system.”

The Truman Doctrine

The Truman Doctrine justified US intervention in any part of the world where freedom and democracy were threatened by the advance of communism. Truman complemented this doctrine with substantial economic aid to help European countries recover after the war, avoiding the risk of them falling under communist influence (Marshall Plan). The USSR responded by creating the COMECON (Council for Mutual Economic Assistance). Churchill referred to the frontier between the two blocs as the “Iron Curtain.”

Phases of the Cold War

  • 1946-1962: Maximum Tension
    • Berlin Blockade: In 1948, Berlin was divided into four zones, with the Soviet zone within Berlin. The crisis led to the definitive separation of the US and USSR. The Western bloc formed the NATO military alliance (1949), and the East responded with the Warsaw Pact.
    • Vietnam: In 1963, the conflict in Vietnam involved the USSR and the US, dividing the country into two states: communist and capitalist.
    • Korea: In 1950, communist North Korea invaded the capitalist South.
    • Cuba: After the communist revolution, in 1962, a confrontation between the USSR and the USA occurred [ending with the signing of the SALT agreement].
  • 1962-1975: Détente

    Relations between JFK and Khrushchev softened, although there were moments of great tension.

  • 1975-1985: Reactivation of the Conflict

    After the defeat in Vietnam, R. Reagan invested large amounts of money in armaments (Star Wars – an anti-missile shield).

  • 1985-1989: End of Communism and the Cold War

    Mikhail Gorbachev’s rise to power in April 1985 brought hope to both blocs. The Berlin Wall fell in 1989.

Decolonization

Causes of Decolonization

  • The impact of the two World Wars.
  • UN support for the right of peoples to self-determination.
  • The influence of nationalism and Marxism, encouraging nations to govern themselves.
  • The US and USSR were not colonial powers.
  • The action of the Church.

Bandung Conference (1955): Condemned colonialism and racism, promoting equality of peoples, and demanding independence from the great powers, originating the Non-Aligned Movement.

Decolonization in Asia and the Middle East

Asia: India, Burma, Malaysia, Indonesia, Ceylon, Vietnam, among others, gained independence. India’s independence in 1947, led by Gandhi, aimed for industrialization and avoiding conflicts, leading to the creation of Pakistan and East Pakistan (later Bangladesh).

Middle East: Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria. In 1947, Israel was created in Palestine.