The Cold war
"Diplomacy: the art of restraining power"
-Henry Kissinger on the Cold War
-Henry Kissinger on the Cold War
The Arms Race
During the Cold War, The U.S and its allies sought to convince the USSR that any level of conflict may result a nuclear exchange. For decades, the U.S was able to maintain a substantial nuclear stockpile in order to deter threats from Russia. Russia was viewed as a threat because it remained the only nation with the capacity that could pose as a threat to the existence of the U.S as well as a challenge to U.S interests and allies.
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The Cultural Effect
Extensive propaganda was used and pointless nuclear drills were conducted in order to stabilize the masses during the cold war
The video to the left was a propaganda film showed in classrooms during the cold war instructing the masses what to do in case of a nuclear attack. It is mainly used to keep them calm |
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The iconic peace symbol was originally designed to serve as the anti-nuclear war icon. The was a result of the growing fear of nuclear war among the masses
Mutually Assured Destruction
Throughout the 20th century the strategic framework that defined the adversarial relationship between the Soviet Union and the U.S revolved around the concept of mutually assured destruction. Both parties this time realized that the advancement of their ideologies were not worth the price of their existence. Mutually assured destruction under study of game theory. The two nuclear powers provided players as well as the possibility of their mutual annihilation. This possibility ensured that there was degree of shared interested to avoid such an outcome. The payoffs depended on what would suit the interest of both players, as result, carefully constructed bargain and not an all-out conflict.
At American university, in an attempt to set the stepping stones for peace, JFK asks for students to change their opinion towards the Soviet Union
"For in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish
our children's futures. And we are all mortal"
our children's futures. And we are all mortal"
Cold War Tensions
After decades of threats and tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States, the fear of nuclear annihilation finally began its demise. For this would have been possible without the single most symbolic moment of the changing times: the fall of the Berlin Wall. In the beginning of the cold war, the introduction of the thermonuclear bomb resulted in the accentuation of the division of the two major world powers. But it was the same bomb that prevented them from physically fighting each other. It was the fear of the bomb, that resulted in end of Soviet/U.S tensions at the end of the 20th century. It is a common theme throughout history, to see that two diametrically opposed civilizations go to war with each other.
One would think that with the industrial, military and economic capacity of the U.S and USSR, that total war would be inevitable. However, the rationale of human nature deters such a barbaric atrocity to take place. Had mankind possessed the rationale to engage in nuclear war, by the process of natural selection, we would be eliminated. It would have indicated, that were not fit to live on this planet. It would have indicated, that we do not possess the rationale that allowed for our own survival. The fall of Berlin Wall not only signified the freedom of men from communism, but the freedom for all from the threat of assured destruction. Former President Ronald Reagan expressed this freedom at Brandenburg Gate in 1987
One would think that with the industrial, military and economic capacity of the U.S and USSR, that total war would be inevitable. However, the rationale of human nature deters such a barbaric atrocity to take place. Had mankind possessed the rationale to engage in nuclear war, by the process of natural selection, we would be eliminated. It would have indicated, that were not fit to live on this planet. It would have indicated, that we do not possess the rationale that allowed for our own survival. The fall of Berlin Wall not only signified the freedom of men from communism, but the freedom for all from the threat of assured destruction. Former President Ronald Reagan expressed this freedom at Brandenburg Gate in 1987