Download Cold War definitions File

COLD WAR DEFINITIONS.
In each paper you will get three questions in which you are asked to define a cold war phrase, doctrine
or policy. These are for three marks. What you write would depend on what was being asked but
essentially it needs to include these sort of points.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
A clear definition of what it is.
What it was seeking to achieve.
The dates involved.
The personalities involved.
Any examples of events where this was relevant .
The Cold War
The Iron Curtain
The Marshall plan
Commecon
Satellite State.
(Client State).
Peaceful co-existence
A period of tension between the United States and their respective
allies and the USSR and their respective allies that lasted between
1945 and 1990. It was characterized by mistrust and an arms race,
the fighting of proxy wars and periods of cooperation. There was no
direct fighting between the two powers in that period.
A term first used by Winston Churchill to describe the divide
between those countries such as Czechoslovakia and Poland in
Eastern Europe that were in the Soviet Zone of Influence and
dominated by Communism. On the other side were the Democratic
countries of Western Europe such as West Germany and Austria
that were in the United States zone of influence.
An American plan to give money to countries devastated by the
Second World War to build up their economies between 1945 and
1952 . It was only given to countries adopting a Western Capitalist
system such as West Germany and Austria. It was generally
successful as their economies recovered quickly from the war.
This was the Soviet Version of the Marshall Plan where they gave
money to countries in their own zone of influence after World War
Two such as East Germany and Poland. Later on it was used to give
money to Soviet Satellite states such as Cuba. It was only given to
countries adopting a communist dictatorship. It was not very
successful as the Soviets couldn’t afford to give much away and the
imposition of a communist system did damage to their economies.
The cost of Commecon was one of the factors that brought the
USSR to collapse
A country that is formally independent but dominated economically
politically and militarily by a super power. Examples include Poland
and East Germany that were Satellite States of the Soviet Union
during the Cold War
A policy devised by Nikita Khrushchev in the 1950’s. Essentially it
meant that the Soviet Union would not threaten the USA directly
but would try and compete with it by increasing spending on arms,
by having a high profile in diplomacy and competing in sport and the
The Warsaw Pact
Zone of Influence
Détente
The Truman doctrine
The Brezhnev Doctrine
Mutually assured
Destruction MAD
NATO
Proxy War
Arms race
space race. This policy ended after the Cuban Missile crisis.
This was a military alliance of communist countries set up in 1955 as
a counterbalance to NATO . Essentially if one country was attacked
the others would help out. It was dominated by the Soviet Union
and membership was compulsory for those States in Eastern Europe
that were under soviet influence.
An area of counties under the economic military or political
domination of a superpower. For example Poland and Bulgaria
were in the Soviet Zone of Influence in the cold War
A policy of defusing tension by talking and limited cooperation
between the two superpowers during the Cold War which lasted
from about 1963 to 1980. Features were a series of meetings and
treaties to try and reduce tension and reduce the number of
weapons that the two sides had. For example Nixon visited Moscow
and the SALT 1 treaty was signed.
A policy devised by President Truman whereby the United States
would provide assistance to any country threatened by the spread
of communism. It was part of a general policy of containment
towards communism. Example of it working were the assistance
given to Greece and America’s participation in the Korean war.
A Soviet Doctrine which said that if there were attempts to turn a
socialist country towards capitalism than the adjoining socialist
countries have a duty to assist and prevent this happening. It was
used to justify the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1966 and the
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979
The belief that if in any war involving the use of Nuclear Weapons
the effects would destroy both the attacker and the defender. This
is because any second strike by an attacked country would have
devastating consequences so no side would win. It was believed
that this would deter a nuclear war.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was set up in 1949 under the
influence of the United States. It contained most of the Countries of
Western Europe such as Britain West Germany and Belgium. It also
contained the United States and Canada. Essentially if one country
was attacked the others would have to come to its aid. Although
this was never stated it was clearly set up to deal with an attack on
Western Europe by the Soviet Union.
A war where one or more superpowers is supplying the belligerents
with aid, training, weapons or encouragement so they get people
fighting on their behalf. However, there is no direct fighting
between the forces of the two superpowers. An example is Vietnam
where the Soviets supplied weapons and money to the north
Vietnamese so they could carry on fighting the Americans.
A situation where two countries spend large sums of money on
expensive weapons in an attempt to get more than the other. The
Soviet Union and the United States had an arms race largely over
nuclear weapons throughout the Cold War
Strategic Defence
initiative (Star Wars)
Superpower
Perestroika
Glasnost
A concept devised by the United States in the mid 1980’s Essentially
a series of laser type satellites would shoot down any Soviet missiles
fired at the United States. In theory this leant the US was safe from
soviet missiles and therefore MAD did not apply and could launch a
first strike. SDI was never built and there is doubt as to whether it
would ever have worked
A country so large and powerful that it is capable of operating as a
global power and dominates it’s region. It needs to be strong
economically politically and militarily. Examples are the United
States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War
A policy introduced by Gorbachev in 1986. It means the
restructuring of the Soviet Economy towards a capitalist free market
system and away from a state controlled communist one
A policy introduced by Gorbachev in 1988. It means openness and
it meant that all the activities of the Soviet system would be shown
to people. It also meant an end to censorship and State control of
newspapers.