Chapter Outline

Chapter 38: THE BIPOLAR WORLD

Chapter Outline

The formation of a bipolar world

The cold war in Europe
1. Postwar Europe divided into competing political, military, economic blocs
  1. Western Europe U.S. allies: parliamentary governments, capitalist economies
  2. Eastern Europe dominated by Soviet Union, communist governments
2. Germany divided east and west in 1949
  1. Soviets refused to withdraw from eastern Germany after World War II
  2. Allied sectors reunited 1947-1948, Berlin remained divided as well
3. Berlin blockade and airlift, 1948-1949
  1. Soviet closed roads, trains, tried to strangle West Berlin into submission
  2. Britain and United States kept city supplied with round-the-clock airlift
  3. After embargo against Soviet satellites, Soviets backed down and ended blockade
4. The Berlin Wall, 1961
  1. 1949-1961, flood of refugees from East to West Germany, East to West Berlin
  2. Soviet solution: a wall of barbed wire through the city fortified the border
  3. Former Allied nations objected but did not risk a full conflict over the wall
5. Nuclear arms race: terrifying proliferation of nuclear weapons by both sides
  1. NATO and Warsaw Treaty Organization amassed huge weapons stockpiles
  2. By 1960s USSR reached military parity with United States
  3. By 1970 both superpowers acquired MAD, "mutually assured destruction"
Confrontations in Korea and Cuba
1. The Korea War, 1951-1953
  1. Korea divided at 38th parallel in 1948; U.S. ally in south, Soviet ally in north
  2. North Korean troops crossed the 38th parallel and captured Seoul, June 1950
  3. U.S. and UN troops pushed back North Korean troops to Chinese border
  4. Chinese troops came in, pushed U.S. forces and their allies back in the south
  5. Both sides agreed to a cease-fire in July 1953, again at 38th parallel
2. Globalization of containment
  1. Western fears of an international communist conspiracy, which must be contained
  2. Creation of SEATO, an Asian counterpart of NATO
  3. The "domino theory": if one country falls to communism, others will follow
3. Cuba: nuclear flashpoint
  1. Castro's revolutionary force overthrew dictator Batista in 1959
  2. Castro seized U.S. properties, killed or exiled thousands of political opponents
  3. United States cut off Cuban sugar imports, imposed export embargo
  4. Castro accepted Soviet massive economic aid and arms shipments
4. Bay of Pigs fiasco, April 1961
  1. CIA-sponsored invasion of Cuba failed
  2. Diminished U.S. prestige in Latin America
5. Cuban missile crisis, October 1962
  1. Soviet deployed nuclear missiles in Cuba, aimed at United States; claimed Cuban defense
  2. Kennedy blockaded Cuba, demanded removal; two tense weeks
  3. Khrushchev backed down; Kennedy pledged not to overthrow Castro
Cold war societies
1. Domestic containment
  1. U.S. leaders held families to be best defense against communism
  2. Women discouraged from working, should stay home and raise kids
  3. Senator McCarthy led attack against suspected communists in United States
  4. Increasing pressure to conform, retreat to home and family
2. Female liberation movement a reaction to postwar domesticity
  1. Working women unhappy with new cult of domesticity
  2. Writers Simone de Beauvoir and Betty Friedan reflected women's dissatisfaction
  3. Some feminists used Marxist language, argued for "women's liberation"
3. Black nationalism in United States, Caribbean, and emerging states of Africa
  1. Influenced by Jamaicans, singer Bob Marley, nationalist Marcus Garvey
  2. Martin Luther King Jr. inspired by Gandhi's nonviolent methods
4. The U.S. civil rights movement emerged from cold war
  1. USSR critical of United States for treatment of African-Americans
  2. African-Americans organized in protest of southern segregation
  3. 1954, U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregated education was unconstitutional
  4. Rosa Parks started boycott of Montgomery buses, led by M. L. King, 1955
5. Cold war consumerism
  1. Socialist countries could not match United States in material wealth, consumer goods
  2. Stark contrasts between economies of western and eastern Europe
  3. Marshall Plan infused western Europe with aid, increased standard of living
6. The space race exemplified U.S.-Soviet competition in science and technology
  1. Soviet gained nuclear weapons, then intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM)
  2. Soviets launched Sputnik, first satellite, 1957
  3. Soviet cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, first man to orbit the earth, 1961
  4. American space program followed; John Glenn orbited, 1962
  5. President Kennedy established NASA; United States put man on the moon, 1969
7. Peaceful coexistence somewhat improved after Stalin's death, 1953
  1. Slight relaxation of censorship under Khrushchev
  2. Both sides feared nuclear confrontation
  3. Khrushchev visited United States in 1959, put a human face on communism

Challenges to superpower hegemony

Defiance, dissent, and intervention in Europe
1. France under de Gaulle
  1. Charles de Gaulle wanted Europe free from superpower domination
  2. French government refused to ban nuclear tests in 1963, tested bomb in 1964
  3. Other European states not persuaded to leave U.S. protection
2. Tito's Yugoslavia, an independent communist state
  1. Marshall Tito (Josip Broz) resisted Soviet control of Yugoslavia
  2. Stalin expelled Yugoslavia from Soviet bloc, 1948
  3. Remained nonaligned throughout cold war
3. De-Stalinization following death of Stalin, 1953
  1. 1956, Khrushchev denounced Stalin's rule of terror
  2. Millions of political prisoners released from work camps
  3. Brief "thaw" in soviet culture from 1956 to 1964, easing censorship
4. Hungarian challenge, 1956
  1. De-Stalinization led to pro-democracy movement in Hungary
  2. New government announced neutrality, withdrew from Warsaw Pact
  3. Soviet tanks crushed Hungarian uprising, 1956
5. Prague Spring, Czechoslovakia, 1968
  1. Liberal movement led by Dubcek sought "socialism with a human face"
  2. Soviet and east European forces crushed Prague liberal communism
  3. Soviet Premier Brezhnev justified invasion by Doctrine of Limited Sovereignty
The People's Republic of China
1. Origins of Communist China
  1. Civil war between nationalists and communists resumed, 1945
  2. Outmaneuvered, the nationalists under Jiang Jieshi fled to Taiwan in 1948
  3. Mao Zedong proclaimed People's Republic of China, 1949
2. Social and economic transformation of China
  1. Political reorganization dominated by Communist Party, Chairman Mao
  2. Suspected nationalists were executed or sent to forced labor camps
  3. Five-Year Plan stressing heavy industry
  4. Massive land redistribution at village level
  5. Collective farms with basic health and primary education
  6. Emancipation of women: divorce, abortion, foot binding finally ended
3. Fraternal cooperation between China and Soviet Union
  1. Both communist; shared common enemy, the United States
  2. Alarmed by U.S. support of Japan, south Korea, and Taiwan
  3. Beijing accepted direction from Moscow in early 1950s
  4. USSR gave military-economic aid, helped seat China on UN Security Council
4. Cracks in alliance began in late 1950s
  1. USSR gave more economic support to noncommunist countries
  2. Both nations openly competed for influence in Africa and Asia
  3. Rift between the two nations was public by the end, 1964
Détente and the decline of superpower influence
1. Era of cooperation
  1. Leaders of both superpowers agreed on policy of détente, late 1960s
  2. Exchanged visits and signed agreements calling for cooperation, 1972, 1974
  3. Concluded Strategic Arms Limitations Talks (SALT), 1972, again 1979
2. Demise of détente
  1. Full U.S.-China diplomatic relations in 1979 created U.S.-USSR strain
  2. U.S. weapons sale to China in 1981 undermined U.S.-Soviet cooperation
  3. 1980 Soviet intervention in Afghanistan prompted U.S. economic sanctions
3. U.S. defeat in Vietnam
  1. 1950s, United States committed to support noncommunist government in South Vietnam
  2. U.S. involvement escalated through 1960s
  3. United States and allies unable to defeat North and South Vietnamese communists
  4. President Nixon pledged in 1968 to end war with Vietnam
  5. U.S. troops gradually withdrew; U.S. phase of war ended in 1973
  6. North Vietnam continued war effort, unified the nation in 1976
4. Soviet setbacks in Afghanistan
  1. Afghanistan had been a nonaligned nation until 1978, pro-Soviet coup
  2. PDPA's radical reforms in 1978 prompted backlash
  3. Islamic leaders objected to radical social change, led armed resistance
  4. 1979, rebels controlled much of Afghan countryside; USSR intervened
  5. United States and other nations supported anti-PDPA rebels; struggle lasted nine years
  6. 1989 cease-fire negotiation by UN led to full Soviet withdrawal
  7. Taliban forces captured Kabul and declared Afghanistan a strict Islamic state, 1996
5. Cold war countercultural protests in 1960s and 1970s
  1. Cultural criticism of cold war as seen in film Dr. Strangelove, 1964
  2. European and U.S. students agitated for peace, end to arms race, Vietnam war
  3. Rock and roll music expressed student discontent
6. Watergate scandal brought down U.S. president Nixon, fed disillusionment

The end of the cold war

Revolution in east and central Europe
1. 1980s, Ronald Reagan advocated massive military spending, opposed "evil empire"
2. Moscow's legacies
  1. After World War II, Soviets had credibility for defeating Nazis
  2. Communism unable to satisfy nationalism in eastern and central Europe
  3. Soviet-backed governments lacked support and legitimacy
  4. Soviet interventions in 1956 and 1968 dashed hopes of a humane socialism
3. Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet leader 1985-1991
  1. 1989, Gorbachev announced restructuring of USSR, withdrawal from cold war
  2. Satellites states informed that each was on its own, without Soviet support
4. Rapid collapse of communist regimes across eastern and central Europe, 1989
  1. In Poland, Solidarity leader Lech Walesa won election of 1990
  2. Communism overthrown in Bulgaria and Hungary
  3. Czechoslovakia's "velvet revolution" ended communism in 1990, divided into Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993
  4. Only violent revolution was in Romania; ended with death of communist dictator
  5. East Germany opened Berlin Wall in 1989; two Germanys were united in 1990
The collapse of the Soviet Union
1. Gorbachev's reforms
  1. Gorbachev hoped for economic reform within political and economic system
  2. Centralized economy inefficient, military spending excessive
  3. Declining standard of living, food shortages, shoddy goods
2. Perestroika: "restructuring" the economy
  1. Tried decentralizing economy, market system, profit motive
  2. Alienated those in positions of power, military leaders
3. Glasnost: "openness" to public criticism, admitting past mistakes
  1. Opened door to widespread criticism of party and government
  2. Ethnic minorities, especially Baltic peoples, declared independence from USSR
  3. Russian Republic, led by Boris Yeltsin, also demanded independence
4. Collapse of the Soviet Union, December 1991
  1. In 1991, conservatives attempted coup; wished to restore communism
  2. With help of loyal Red Amy units, Boris Yeltsin crushed the coup
  3. Yeltsin dismantled Communist party, led market-oriented economic reforms
  4. Regions of ethnic groups became independent; Soviet Union ceased to exist
Toward an uncertain future
1. Ideological contest of the cold war ended in 1991 after defining the world for fifty years
2. NATO and Warsaw Pact provided an uneasy security; now, lack of certainty
3. Communism remained only in Cuba and North Korea