Cold War: US-USSR Bipolar System and Key Conflicts
The Bipolar System of the Cold War
The United States and the USSR based their leadership potential on their huge economic, demographic, and technological capabilities and tried to impose their interests and ideology on the world. The two superpowers brought their spheres of influence into most countries of the world and set themselves up as arbiters of international politics.
Western Bloc
Under the leadership of the U.S., this bloc included Western Europe, parts of South America, Australia, Japan, and other parts of Asia. Partnerships between these nations were not comprehensive but rather established through bilateral or regional agreements.
Soviet Bloc
Under the dominance of the USSR, this bloc was territorially more compact than the Western Bloc. They established a multilateral alliance (USSR with several countries at once). Later, countries like Cuba and Vietnam joined the bloc.
Conflicts During the Cold War
In 1949, the bloc of countries led by the United States rallied in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a defensive military alliance whose purpose was to counter the progress and influence of the USSR after the Second World War. The USSR had forced the establishment of pro-Soviet dictatorships in Eastern European countries occupied by its armies. The Soviet bloc’s response was the creation in 1955 of another military alliance, the Warsaw Pact.
Major Crisis Conflicts
Berlin Crisis
In 1945, Germany was divided into four zones controlled by the victors of World War II. The Western allies—USA, UK, and France—joined together and created the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), and the Soviet Union—USSR—created the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Berlin, which was in the Soviet zone, was also divided into four zones: three occupied by the Western Allies and one by the Soviets. The FRG benefited from the Marshall Plan; however, the GDR did not receive this aid, prompting the Soviets to isolate West Berlin.
In 1961, to prevent the flight of East German citizens to West Germany, the Communists decided to build a wall that divided the city in two.
Korean War
The Korean War began in 1950 when North Korean troops invaded South Korea. The UN intervened in support of the South Korean government and entrusted the U.S. with homeland defense. North Korea, which had a communist political regime, was supported by China and received military aid from the USSR. Finally, a balance of forces led in 1953 to the signing of an armistice that confirmed the division of Korea into two states: North Korea, with a communist government, and South Korea, with a nationalist government.
The Suez Crisis
After the arrival of Nasser to power in Egypt came the nationalization of the Suez Canal in 1956, until then held by the British and French. Israel took advantage of the situation to attack and occupy Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, while the British and French occupied the canal zone. The U.S. did not support these interventions, and the USSR pushed for these countries to leave. Nasser was defeated militarily but won diplomatically, as he took control of the canal and was supported by the USSR in the following years, which provided military aid to Egypt.
The Missile Crisis in Cuba
The conflict erupted in 1962, following the failed attempt by the U.S. government, under President John F. Kennedy, to invade Cuba and end the communist regime led by Fidel Castro. Only the agreement reached between President Kennedy and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev avoided what could have been a nuclear war and ushered in peaceful coexistence between the two blocs.