Introduction
The Cold War is a special term used to describe the military, economic, and political confrontation between the two blocs led by the USSR and the US in the second half of the 20th century. In the literal sense, this cannot be called a war since there were no direct hostilities between the participants in the confrontation. However, the rivalry between the two superpowers was accompanied by an arms race, both conventional and nuclear, which put the world on the brink of World War III. In addition, in the confrontation, great importance was attached to ideology. In the struggle for hegemony in the world, communism and capitalism clashed. This work aims to describe the causes and stages of the Cold War, as well as to assess its impact on the population through the use of qualitative research techniques. As data collection tools, interviews and questionnaires will be offered to determine how the descendants of the historical confrontation analyze the events of that time. Receiving feedback from the participants involved is a mechanism to evaluate people’s opinions towards the Cold War and its impact on global social, economic, and political processes.
Causes of the Cold War
In 1945, the relationships between the former allies in the anti-Hitler coalition began to rapidly cool. The famous speech of the then Prime Minister of Great Britain Winston Churchill in the city of Fulton, Missouri, delivered on March 5, 1946, may be called the formal beginning of the Cold War. In this speech, he accused the USSR of illegally occupying the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, depriving them of democratic freedoms and elected governments. He also stated that the Soviet Union strove for unlimited territorial expansion, which could only be opposed by military force, primarily nuclear weapons. Churchill’s fear was caused by the presence of communist parties in Western countries. The Soviet leadership was also distrustful of the Western allies. The USSR leaders were sure that it was about the struggle of socialism against imperialism and capitalism. These events became the cause of the Cold War between the USSR and the US.
Stages of the Cold War
After 1945, due to World War II consequences, many European countries were in ruins. According to Judge and Langdon, in 1947, to restore their economies, American General D. Marshall developed a plan to provide assistance to countries affected by the war (the Marshall Plan). Initially, the USSR and the countries of pro-Soviet orientation were invited to the conference in Paris, where the conditions for the provision of funding were discussed. However, after learning that one of the main conditions of the Marshall plan was the exclusion of the communists from the subsidized states, the delegations of the Soviet Union with the allies left the meeting. In response to the Marshall Plan, the USSR created Cominform, the international organization designed to coordinate the actions of the communist parties of different European countries to better counter the United States and Western states. Both powers had nuclear weapons that they were ready to use in case of the aggravation of the situation.
The stage of improving relations after Stalin’s death did not last long. The US and the USSR continued building up their military power, and the demonstration of combat capabilities by both sides became part of the confrontation. As Rindzeviciute notes, periodic spy scandals exacerbated the situation and posed an additional threat to peace. The struggle for world domination required constant advancement, and the race in the space industry was another factor adding to the existing tensions. The Cuban missile crisis became one of the drivers of the exacerbation of the situation. Nevertheless, due to the negotiations, the USSR withdrew its troops from Cuba, thereby preventing the start of a large-scale war. However, the confrontation did not end, although a serious danger was averted.
Achieving nuclear parity was a significant stage in the Cold War. Nonetheless, according to Rindzeviciute, despite all efforts to reduce tensions, the buildup and development of new types of weapons continued. The war in Vietnam became a catalyst for the exacerbation of the relationships between the United States and the USSR. The mass casualties of the Vietnamese population and Western troops who fought in the country led to a tense situation between the two superpowers since the Soviet government supported the Asian country.
In the early 1980s, the confrontation reached its climax, and the arms race continued. The introduction of Soviet troops into Afghanistan was proof of a potential threat for the United States. The governments of both countries were ready to attack each other with nuclear weapons, and the world was again on the verge of World Wat III due to the powerful military capabilities of both superpowers.
The end of the 1980s is logically referred to as the end of the Cold War. The new political course of the Soviet government made it possible to reduce armaments, and Soviet troops were withdrawn from Europe. A few years later, the USSR collapsed, which marked the end of the confrontation. For more than 40 years, both states were ready to go to extreme measures more than once, but timely negotiations helped reduce the threat of direct hostilities, and as a result, formal peace was preserved.
Research Methods
To find out how the descendants of the Cold War assess the events of that time and their impact on different spheres of life, a qualitative study can be conducted. By using questionnaires and interviews as the main data collection tools, the information from the participants involved can be obtained and analyzed. As a sample, people from the USA and the former Soviet Union need to be engaged. The key selection criterion is the age of at least 65 because, to obtain the most reliable data, the members of the research team need to be real witnesses of the events of the Cold War. Based on the information collected, a comprehensive picture can be obtained about how the population views one of the longest and most intense confrontations of the second half of the 20th century.
Interviews
Interviews with research participants are essential tools to examine the views on the aftermath of the Cold War and its role in recent history. The economic impacts on the families of the participants will be considered as the main topics covered in individual interviews, as well as possible social implications, for instance, career or other changes. Based on the responses, general conclusions will be drawn, and the findings will be compiled into a coherent report on how the participants involved perceive the Cold War and its legacy.
Questionnaires
The questionnaires will be offered to the participants after all interviews have been completed. They will include simple general questions, and the answering system will be three-scale – “yes,” “no,” and “I find it difficult to answer.” The principle of evaluating the results will be identical to that of the interviews, and the responses of the study members will be compiled and analyzed based on the specific opinions of the majority.
The examples of questions in questionnaires might be as follows:
Do you see the Cold War as one of the key social, economic, and political constraints of the 20th century?
- Would you have supported a particular side of the confrontation if you had been able to make decisions as an authoritative part?
- Have you or your loved ones felt the aftermath of the Cold War?
- Do you think the protracted period of confrontation is logical in the context of the existing contradictions and interests of both sides?
- Were the potential threats of unleashing World War III worth the goals adhered to by the governments of the two superpowers?
Conclusion
Assessing the effects of the Cold War by analyzing the data collected from the descendants of that period is an effective technique to obtain objective information about the implications on various social, political, and economic aspects. The unleashing of aggression between the two superpowers almost cost the lives of millions of people both in the west and in the east. The cyclical nature of the relationships between the Soviet Union and the United States, interrupted by conflicts and decreases in tensions, explains the long period of the Cold War. Either side was reluctant to yield to the other one, and this caused crucial disagreements and, consequently, threats to peace.
References
Heynen, Hilde, and Sebastiaan Loosen. “Cold War History Beyond the Cold War Discourse: A Conversation with Łukasz Stanek.” Architectural Histories 7, no. 1 (2019): 1-10.
Judge, Edward H., and John W. Langdon, eds. The Cold War Through Documents: A Global History. 3rd ed. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2017.
Laakkonen, Simo, Viktor Pal, and Richard Tucker. “The Cold War and Environmental History: Complementary Fields.” Cold War History 16, no. 4 (2016): 377-394.
Rindzeviciute, Egle. The Power of Systems: How Policy Sciences Opened up the Cold War World. New York: Cornell University Press, 2016.