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Rise of Soviet Union Power and the Fall of U.S.-USSR Relations: United States and Soviet Union in the Post-World War II Period
The onset of 20th century in the history of human society is characterized by three important events that changed the present socio-political landscape of nations of the world today: World War I, World War II, and the Cold War. These events are linked with each other, with the First World War being the primary reason for the eventual development and declaration of the Second World War. Similarly, WWII became one of the precursors that triggered the Cold War.
The Cold War, a long-term conflict between the Communist states in the Eastern region and the United States, began after WWII, wherein the rise in the popularity and increasing influence of Socialist (Communist) ideology was happening. While the rise of Communism became popular in USSR, China, and other countries like Vietnam and Korea, United States centered its attention in curbing Communism through the Soviet Union, since the nation is the prime mover in embracing and applying Marx's ideology of a socialist society.
This paper discusses and analyzes three important events before and during the Cold War period that chronicles the eventual 'fall' of the "Grand Alliance" between U.S. And USSR. These three events are enumerated as follows: (1) the breakdown of U.S.-USSR ties after WWII due to socio-political differences and incompatibilities; (2) integration...
President Harry Truman's declaration of its Containment Policy against Communist countries, with special focus on USSR.
What led to the breakdown of U.S.-USSR ties after WWII was a gradual process towards hostility between the two countries. The Grand Alliance that was formed during the war was but a strategy in order to fulfill each country's need and goal to gain control over other countries in Europe and the world as well. This objective is essential to each country's goal in becoming a superpower, especially since European countries suffered after the war, and were in dire need of aid from other countries, such as the U.S. and/or USSR. According to Henriksen (1997), "[t]he already emergent cold war gained real definition when the Soviets refused to relinquish control over Eastern Europe and the "iron curtain" fell across Europe" (16-7). In effect, the antagonistic relationship between the two countries, coupled with incompatible and contradicting decisions towards the formulation and implementation of foreign and international policies, led the way towards the breakdown of the Grand Alliance that existed between the U.S. And USSR during the WWII.
Power and control over Europe is an event that marked the Soviet Union's agenda for world domination -- that is, to popularize Communism to the world by influencing each nation to the said ideology. In fact,…
Bibliography
Henriksen, M. (1997). Dr. Strangelove's America: Society and Culture in the Atomic Age. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Roberts, B. (1995). Order and Disorder after the Cold War. Cambridge: MIT Press.
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Reagan Doctrine Scholars studying U.S. foreign relations have long argued that there is great continuity in the conduct of Presidential Administrations. Very often, a policy started by one President continues under the next one. This has especially been the case since World War II. For example, while President Truman began to assist the French to re-take Indochina from local revolutionary forces, in a purported attempt to contain communism, President Eisenhower began
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