[revolt!]

define the term 'Cold War'

the Cold War has been a remarkable event in international history. a war that never took place the way the first and the second world wars did, but which is commonly refered to as the third 'world war'

there are many different point of views concerning what was actually the Cold War. here are some of them:

* a struggle of conflicting ideologies
capitalism running against socialism and communism
that is a global ideological struggle between the 'western US capitalism' and 'Soviet communism'

*a conflict between two superpowers, the USA and the USSR
a struggle for power and influence around the globe

*a power struggle between two geographical blocs
the 'Western bloc' of NAT, then NATO, opposing the 'threat' of the USSR and communism, on one side and
the Warsaw Pact led by the USSR and icluding many Eastern European states, creating the 'eastern bloc', on the other side

lets hear what you have to say...

[C-Kokos]

Actually, it could be said that the Cold War was all of the above.

It was a struggle for power between the USA and the USSR which were the super powers to emerge from the WWII and on tha grounds, it was conducted clearly as such, with both powers trying to extend their influence as it has always been throughout the years (check the power struggle amongst the European powers after the Vienna Settlement 1815).

Ideology did not really set the objectives for any of the superpowers, but was rather a means to extend their influence. The ideal of "Democracy" and the "Free World" was used by the USA while that of "Socialism" and "end of capitalist exploitation" by the USSR.

Ideology was therefore not that important to the powers themselves; it was however important to those to whom they wished to extend their influence to. The Polish people for example, were actually motivated by the ideals of democracy and freedom of speech when they rose against the Soviets, but that does not necessarily mean that Mrs Thatcher (who met with "Solidarity") along with other western leaders did actually want to see Poland get rid of Soviet overlordship because they wanted to see "democratic ideals" being implemented there. "Democracy" was their means to further their interests (ie set up markets etc.) where they previously could not.

Similarly, the Soviet leadership did not establish close links with Cuba because it was happy to see another socialist haven arise, but because it viewed the island as a means to reduce US influence. This is even more obvious by the fact that the USSR did not take any serious action to support Allende's (a self proclaimed Marxist) Chile against Pinochet's coup, because Chile, having not followed the Soviet model of the single party state, did not appear to be a good sattelite state for the USSR.

Clearly therefore, the Cold War was just another struggle for power between super states, even though a quite peculiar one. The victims were idealistic, the leaders, far from it.

[liberalist]

I tend to agree. I dont really think there is much evidence to support the theory that the Cold War was an ideological struggle. It was a struggle between to superpowers for domination and security. Also I believe the Cold War was also the result of very poor diplomacy and a lack of understanding by both sides about the aims of the other.

[revolt!]

it is probably correct to make a synthesis of the three views originaly provided and evaluate each one.

surely it was mainly a clash between the two superpowers, but it was not always like that. after the end of WW2 the USSR was exhausted. almost 20 million soviets had died during the confrontation with the nazis.

therefore the role of ideology was really important in the early years of the Cold War.
at first the USA did not feel threatened by the amount of power the USSR possesed (this came later with the Warsaw Pact), but only by the thought that the USSR would try to expand the socialism model in Eastern Europe, as it happened.

it is also important to set a date for the start of the Cold War.
this would largely depend on the 'definition' given to the Cold War.

*if the Cold War is seen only as a struggle of conflicting ideologies then then it beggan in 1917 after the Bolshevik Revolution(s) and the emergense of the USSR.
Soviet commmunism would come up against, the already existing US capitalist system

*another view of when the Cold War beggan claims that it was the death of Hitler 1945, that allowed US president Truman to adopt an aggressive policy against the USSR since the threat of Nazism had vanished.
according to this view the Cold War starts in 1945.
it takes extensive dimensions, after Churchill's speech in Washington 1946 claiming the need for an Anglo-American alliance against the 'threat' of the USSR and communism.
in 1947 the 'Truman Doctrine' adapts a policy to "stand up against communism and its threats", resulting in 'a war of words'.
the 'Marshall Plan' only made the situation more explosive, as the USSR urged to answer with similar means.

*if the Cold War is perceived as the military confrontation of the two superpowers, then it beggan in 1948 with the Berlin Blockade and the following division of Germany.
during the following years the military confrontation took another form, with the Korean war, Vietnam and the US forces deposited in European soil.