THE USA IN THE COLD WAR: AN ASSUMED SUPERPOWER
The Cold War is a growing out of post-World War II tensions between two nations, the United States and the Soviet Union. It lasted for much of the second half of the 20th century and resulted in mutual suspicions, heightened tensions and a series of international incidents. All of this brought the world’s superpowers to the brink of disaster. After this war without real fights, the USSR diseappered and the USA became the only superpower, with a huge leadership. Why was the cold war a turning point in the american foreign policy ? First of all, we are going to study the role of the USA in the cold war. Then, we will explain the american model and finally, the USA hegemony will be point out.
WHY WAS THE COLD WAR A TURNING POINT IN THE AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY ?
I - THE ROLE OF THE USA IN THE COLD WAR
After World War II, there were three big winners: the USSR, the USA and the Great Britain. However the United States and the Soviet Union fought together as allies against the Axis powers, the relationship between the two nations was a tense one. Indeed, even during the war, the American felt concerned about Russian leader Joseph Staline. For their part, the Soviets resented the Americans’ decades-long refusal to treat the USSR as a legitimate part of the international community. After the war ended, these grievances ripened into an overwhelming sense of mutual distrust and enmity. The US figured that the USSR wanted to destroy democratie and capitalism institutions to control the world. Meanwhile, the USSR feared that the US wanted to use its money and power to dominate Europe and eventually destroy the soviet’s system. In such a hostile atmosphere, no single party was entirely to blame for the Cold War; in fact, some historians believe it was inevitable.
After the WWII, the population in Europe were poor and desperate. From Truman (US president) point of view, that conditions allowed the communism to be more influent though the communism was seen in the USA as a totalitarian and oppressive system. Consequently, Truman wanted to finance the european countries to repulse the communism: the Marshall Plan.
On the other hand, Staline, Communism’s and USSR’s leader, didn’t want to follow the liberalism democracy which was supported by the american. He thought the capitalism was an imperial and fascist system. His wish was to increase the communism all around the world but especially in Europe and to stop the american’s influence.That’s why the USSR used their veto in 1946 to paralyse the UN. Facing the soviet attitude, Truman , United States’s president, started a new policy: the Containement, to defend the free world (capitalism) against the communism.
(VETO : it’s a right accorded to 5 permanents members of the UN: the USA, the USSR, the UK, France and China (winners of the WWII) in order to obstruct a resolution)
Breaking the Alliance created a bipolar world system, forcing other states to fall into one of the two camps. Two blocs had been formed: the Eastern bloc was under Soviet domination and the Western bloc was under American influence with the capitalism.
The Berlin’s wall, for example, (from 1949 to 1989) represents very well these two different ideologies.
That was how, in 1947, began the great ideological struggle, with the US on the side of capitalism and profit, and the USSR pushing Communism. While both sides presented themselves as the good guy in this situation, the reality is that there are no good guys. Both parties to the Cold War engaged in forcible regime changes, built up vast nuclear arsenals. Which leads a Cold War where both models competed not by direct confrontation until 1975. For example, the Korean war was the first major conflict of the Cold War as the Soviet Union supported North Korea and the United States supported South Korea. After the WWII, the Northern half of Korean went under the control of the Soviet Union and the Southern half under the control of the United States. The two sides did not get along and there were constant battles. On June 25, 1950 North Korea invaded South Korea. At first the United Nations was only trying to defend South Korea, however, after the first summer of fighting, President Truman decided to go on the offensive. He said the war was now about liberating North Korea from communism. In 1953 a treaty was signed that ended the war. Both countries would remain independent and the border would remain at the 38th parallel. However, between the two countries a 2 mile demilitarized zone was placed to act as a buffer in hopes to prevent future wars. Although Korea was not strategic to the US, they entered the war because they did not want to appear soft on communism. They also wanted to protect Japan, which they did consider strategic.
II- THE AMERICAN MODEL
They benefited from a huge moral prestige and tried to spread their idealogy model. This one was based on the economic liberalism, the market economy and the capitalism. Its values were democracy, political economy… The European opposition against the USSR strengthened the American status. Thus the bases of a new international ordre were built.
● ECONOMIC
In 1945, the USA are the first economic power: indeed, they are the first international car manufacturer (Ford) and owned 70% of the international gold stock. After the Bretton Woods agreements in 1944, the dollar became the referent currency of all international Cities whose Wall Street, (NYC) is the headquarters. All of this allowed this country to finance the cold war and to apply the Containment.
● DIPLOMATIC
In 1949, 16 states gathered together under the USA military protection. That was the beginning of the NATO. This organisation is a military and political structure founded mostly because of the USA. There is also an other example of the diplomatic power of the United-states. The UN, created in 1945, was mainly controlled by the USA. Moreover, the UN’s offices were and are still in New York.
● POLITICAL
As they wanted to stop the communism, the USA had the intention to develop their policy in the whole wide world. Kennedy went in this way when he made his speech in Berlin. “Ich bin ein Berliner” is now famous and shows that the american president wanted the german and european population to have faith in the USA, in order to follow the american decisions. As we said before, the Marshall Plan was an important point in the American ideology spreading in Europe. This financial and economical help was made in order to defend democraty and capitalism.
Any socialism policy was considered as a threat and was then a pretext to intervene. For example, they defended the South Corea against the communism in 1950-53 (but also some countries in Africa and in Asia). With these interventions, the USA wanted the countries they had helped to adopt the same policy. The countries opinion was attached to the Atlantism (NATO) : they really wanted to the protection of the USA which shows the USA succeeded in making their role essential.
However, in the 60s, the American leadership was questioned, especially with the Vietnam war (1963-75) which tarnished their image. There were lots of problems inside the country, such as riots in ghettos. To this moral crisis, was added an economic crisis. Indeed, the cold war was really expensive. However, Reagan changed this. With his sentence “America is back” and the raise of the Containment, the USA’s president from1981 to 1988, reaffirmed the American forces.
● MILITARY
On the military point of view, the USA were the first nuclear power in the world; by the bye, they were the first country to have the Atomic bomb at the beginning of the Cold War.
This power had and still have military bases (naval and land) in the whole world. That means they could act very fast in all the places of the world. This was a great demonstration of their huge power.
What’s more, the nuclear arms race was a major point of the cold war. The USSR and the USA competed each other in order to create the most powerful army and the most efficient munitions. In 1949 the Soviet Union successfully tested its first atomic bomb. The world was shocked. They did not think the Soviet Union was this far along in their nuclear development. The Arms Race had begun. As both sides continued to develop new and more powerful weapons, the fear of what would happen if war broke out spread throughout the world. For the most part, the Arms Race came to an end with the collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War in 1991.
They also engaged a competition to see ho had the best technology in space. This included such events as who would be the first ti walk on the moon. The Space Race was considered important because it showed the world which country hd the best science, technology and economic system. The Soviets again won the race for putting the first man into space. In 1961, Yuri Gagarin as the first man to orbit the Earth in the spacecraft Vostok I. The Americans were embarassed at being behind the Space Race. Kennedy annoucend then that he wanted to be first to put a man on the Moon. In 1969 the Eagle landed on the Moon. Neil Armstrong stepped outside and became the first man to walk on the Moon. With this operation and others, the US had taken a huge lead in the Space Race.
Nevertheless, the USA forces have their limits: the Vietnam war (1963-1975) is a stinging defeat facing the communism. Indeed, this lost had an international impact: the american superpower was not invincible. That way, the american domination has been questioned.
● CULTURAL
In this context of opposition, the American way of life, with freedom and prosperity, was showed as a model, especially with the cinema. The purpose was to creat a societal ideal where everyone can succeed and where the living is easy.
The transnationals companies like Coca-Cola presented and developped the American model in other countries: Time Magazine’s cover (May 1950) (doc.1) pictured the globe sucking a Coke as a baby with his bottle. We can notice the circle representing Coca-Cola, so the USA, is bigger than the earth. That means the Coca-Cola company leads the world and has a great influence. That can be a metaphore to say the USA are taking care of the whole world.
“Love that Coke, love that American way of life”
Marshall McLuhan, (1911-1979)
The Mechanical Bride. Folklore of Industrial Man (1951)
This quotation reveals the USA’s desire to impose their culture in the whole world. They transformed dietary and clothing habits, just as the artisistic expression ways by the introduction of new objects and services; and the consumer society sped up this development.
The transnationals companies had an important role in the spreading of the American life. Because of the new transports and communications, it is easier to export. That’s why, some compagnies as Coca cola or Microsoft and so much more had won over the whole world, particularly the Europe.
All of these features in the context of the Cold war allowed the USA to assume their leadership on a great part of the world. They used both the hard power, that is to say, politic economic, military, diplomatic power, and the soft power, with the cultural influence, which hade made them a superpower.
III- THE END OF THE COLD WAR: THE USA’S HEGEMONY
Because of this American way of life, the USA became a great power with an international influence. That was a reason of the fast increase of the american power. That has really contribued to develop the american hegemony.
Hegemony requires both hard power and soft power. It means that political alliances, international institutions, and ideological influence must supplement more obvious military and economic superiority. Without the soft power, there is no hegemony but domination.
Nonetheless, the USA owned this kind of power, espacially during the Nixon presidency. The U.S. had to cover their failure with the Vietnam war. That’s why they increased the relations with China and started talking about arm control treaties with the Soviet Union, such as the Moscow accords. What was called “détente” at the time can now be seen as the beginning of a long period of hegemonic engagement. Indeed, the U.S. used their soft power to eventually transform enemies into potential partners.
However, without the hard power, there is no hegemony. An hegemony requires an ideology that can mobilize for war at any time, a military-industrial complex that provides the means to do so, and a permanent war mind set. And as we have explained before, the hard power can be seen in the USA policy during the Cold War. When the USA felt truly theatened by developments in the international system, they had a tendency to turn to their hard power to control events. That is actually what they have done in the Coldd War with for example the nuclear arms race.
The USA had and still have hard power and soft power, so they can be called « hyperpower ».
The period of the “Detente” organized in 1962, as soon as the Cold War peaked, with the missiles’ crisis in Cuba and finished around 1975. The major point in the “Detente” was to limit the nuclear weapon in order to limit the risk of mutual destruction. Indeed, it pacified the global politic tension and gave priority to dialogue between States, espacially between USA and USSR. It was beneficial because States suceeded in some political, economic and cultural agreements.
Nonetheless, in 1981, Ronald Reagan, president of the USA, came to power and pronunced his famous speech: “America is back”. Reagan’s policy wanted to etablished the American domination, without competiton. He particularly defined the USSR and the communism bloc as “the evil empire” which left its mark on a new arms race facing the Soviet military’s development and which resulted in the “Star War” programme. Moreover, he brang back the Endigment. To sum up, to become the only superpower of world, America wanted to destroy Soviet bloc and enable the capitalism advent.
This document, coming from Time’s cover (April 1983) represents the USA’s president Ronald Reagan (mandate: 1981-1989) with behind him the Strategic Defense Initiative project developped in nighties by the USA. It was named either the “Star War”, in reference to the famous movies. The SDI set up missiles’s network which made possible to detect and destroy potential’s ennemies’ missiles. At this time, Reagan wanted to rearm the USA in order to counter the Soviet threat. Despite this, the country had to convey its peaceful intent along with its military might. But his principal aim was to affirm the military superiority of US.
But behind this desire of rearm the USA, the american strategy was lead the USSR to military and economic competition in order to financially stifled this country. Indeed, this “Star War” made the Soviets increase their military expenses at the cost of civilian expenses: education, areas planning,...
Therefore, they encouraged the fall of the USSR, that enabled them to establish themselves as the only superpower in the whole world.
Consequently in 1991, the U.S. power is not anymore challenged. They had more and more influence and allies so we can say it was the hegemony. Because of their strong military budget and their interventionism all around the world, the United States could have been called “the wolrd’s policeman”.
We can say that the USA had a rising hegemony at the end of the Cold War.
To sum up, the Unites States had built their hegemony on power, economics and on the conviction they have a pre-eminent role to play in the world. They have developed a multiform’s power model, which in the Cold War, allowed them to assume their leadership on almost all the world. Being the only superpower in the world, especially through soft and hard power, allowed them to etablished a new mundial order. TThe USA proved their ability to assume their leadership through actions and organisations. For example, their huge commitment in the UN allowed them to make respect the international laws.
In spite of this hegemony and great influence, the american domination is now questioned. This country can’t lead alone the world and they arouse attractiveness or, on the contrary, rejection. What’s more, the appareance on the global stage of countries such as China or Bresil, contests this hyperpower. Eventhough, the americain power stay a reality and is able to get used to changes.