Question 01. How has the balance of power changed in international arena after World War II?
Answer. Before the Second World War, the main one was the confrontation between the fascist and Western blocs. The USSR, which did not have its own bloc (except for Mongolia), was a third force. As a result of the war, fascism ceased to participate in the global confrontation, and the USSR acquired its own bloc and became the main force that fought the West (which was also led by the United States as a result of World War II) for world domination.
Question 02. Define the meaning of the term "cold war". What were the reasons for it? Why do you think modern historians find it difficult to define them unambiguously?
Answer. The term "cold war" means the military enmity of states, but without fighting directly between the armies of these states. The "Cold War" between the US and the USSR has many causes, researchers doubt which of them to recognize as decisive. I would venture to guess that the main ones are the following:
1) the pre-war rivalry of the three ideological systems after the war turned into a rivalry of two, but so different that it was difficult to establish peace between them, even if someone wanted to;
2) personal hostility to the opposite ideology of political leaders - the "cold war" began with the Fulton speech of W. Churchill (who hated the Bolsheviks from the time they came to power in Russia) and I.V. Stalin (despite the fact that W. Churchill at that time did not have any post in the British government);
3) the desire of subsequent leaders to continue the "cold war" - before M.S. Gorbachev, of the leaders of both superpowers, only G.M. Malenkov spoke out for its termination, but this party leader lost the struggle for power;
4) the war was precisely “cold” due to the presence nuclear weapons who did fighting directly between the troops of the superpowers, too destructive for both the vanquished and the winner.
Question 04. What are local conflicts? Why were they dangerous to international security? Justify your answer.
Answer. Local is called a conflict with a small number of direct participants and the territory of hostilities. During the Cold War, the superpowers almost always stood behind the opposing sides. The greatest danger was the aggravation of relations between the superpowers, as well as the participation of their military specialists in hostilities (the death of the latter could provoke intervention in the conflict by the superpower itself, which brought the threat of a global war closer). The second danger was not realized then, but has become relevant now: a significant part of extremists, especially Islamic fundamentalists today, are personnel trained during local conflicts of one of the superpowers (the most famous example is Osama bin Laden).
Question 05. Why did the Cuban Missile Crisis not end? nuclear war between the USSR and the USA? What lessons have the governments of the two superpowers learned for themselves?
Answer. Both superpowers understood that a direct military clash between them could be the end for both of them, as well as for modern human civilization as a whole (it was not for nothing that A. Einstein said: “I don’t know how they will fight in the Third World War, but in the Fourth they will fight with sticks and stones). It was after the Cuban Missile Crisis that the inadmissibility of even the thought of a nuclear war became clearly understood.
Second World War led to fundamental changes in the world and international relations. Fascist Germany and Italy, militarist Japan were defeated, war criminals were punished, and an international organization, the United Nations, was created. All this demonstrated the relative unity of the victorious powers. The great powers reduced their armed forces: the USA from 12 to 1.6 million people, the USSR - from 11.4 to 2.5 million people.
The war led to drastic changes on the world map. First of all, the United States has grown enormously in economic, military and political terms. This country owned the vast majority of world industrial production and gold and foreign exchange reserves. The United States had a first-class army, turned into the leader of the Western world. Germany and Japan were defeated and left the ranks of the leading countries, other European countries were weakened by the war.
The military and political influence of the USSR increased significantly. However, its international position was paradoxical: the country that won at the cost of heavy losses was ruined, but, despite this, it had a legitimate right to claim a prominent role in the life of the world community. The economic ruin was offset by military and political advantages. The USSR derived political benefits, in particular, thanks to the vast territory of the countries of South-Eastern Europe under its control. He had the largest army in the world, but at the same time, in the field of military technology, he was far ahead of the United States and Great Britain.
On the whole, the position of the USSR has changed: it has emerged from international isolation and has become a recognized great power. The number of countries with which the USSR had diplomatic relations increased from 26 to 52 compared to the pre-war period. It became one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, along with the USA, Britain, France and China. The Great Powers recognized the right of the USSR to part of East Prussia, South Sakhalin, its dominant position in China and North Korea. The Yalta and Potsdam agreements recognized the interests of the USSR in Eastern Europe.
However, with the disappearance of the fascist threat, more and more contradictions began to appear between the former allies. The clash of their geopolitical interests soon led to the collapse of the coalition and the creation of hostile blocs. Allied relations persisted until about 1947. However, already in 1945. serious contradictions were revealed, primarily in the struggle for the division of influence in Europe. Against the backdrop of heightened disagreements, Churchill ordered Field Marshal Montgomery to collect German weapons to arm the prisoners in case the Russians continued their advance into the West.
The highest military and intelligence agencies of the United States dramatically changed their assessment of the military potential of the USSR and began to develop plans future war. In the directive of the Joint Military Planning Committee of December 14, 1945. No. 432/D outlined a plan for the bombardment of the main industrial centers of the USSR. In particular, 20 Soviet cities were supposed to drop 196 atomic bombs. At the same time, the former allies referred to the refusal of the USSR to fulfill the Yalta and Potsdam agreements, to the threat from the Red Army, located in the center of Europe. Churchill 5 March 1946 in the city of Fulton (USA), in the presence of President Truman, for the first time openly accused the USSR of having fenced off Eastern Europe with an "Iron Curtain", called for organizing pressure on Russia in order to obtain from it both foreign policy concessions and changes in domestic policy . It was a call for an open and tough confrontation with Soviet Union. A year later, Truman officially announced US commitments in Europe to curb Soviet expansion and led the West's fight against the Soviet Union.
Indeed, there is evidence from V.M. Molotov that Stalin deliberately refused to fulfill some of the allied obligations of the USSR. Stalin decided to use the victory in the war to realize the age-old Russian dream - the capture of the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. The USSR demanded that Turkey transfer the provinces of Kare and Ardagan to it, and allow it to build a naval base near the straits. Danger loomed over Greece, where Civil War and communist partisans tried to seize power. With American support, the Greek government crushed the communist uprising, and Turkey rejected the Soviet demands.
The main attention of the Soviet leadership was focused on putting together a socialist bloc in Europe. The creation of a socialist camp was considered the main achievement after the October Revolution. Using the insufficient firmness of the positions of the West, Stalin sought to establish his influence primarily in Eastern Europe. In these countries, communist parties were supported, and the leaders of the opposition were eliminated (often physically). Therefore, the Eastern European countries were dependent on the USSR, under its control they pursued their foreign and domestic policies (with the exception of Yugoslavia). In them in 1945 - 1947. coalition governments existed, then they were forcibly replaced by communist power. Only the leader of Yugoslavia, I.B. Tito, behaved differently. At one time he led the struggle of the Yugoslav people against the fascist occupation, created powerful armed forces, without refusing to fight and from Soviet assistance. Being popular, Tito himself sought to reign supreme in the Balkans and did not want to submit to Stalin's dictatorship. Moreover, he began to build socialism of a non-Soviet model: his socialism was based not on total state ownership (as was the case in the USSR), but on the self-management of enterprises. Stalin achieved the unanimous condemnation of Tito by the communist countries and parties as a revisionist, "agent of imperialism" in 1949. severed diplomatic and trade relations with Yugoslavia, forcing his allies to do the same. But he could not remove Tito, although he boasted to his comrades-in-arms: if you move your little finger, Tito will not be. It was one of the few episodes in Stalin's career when he was defeated by failing to take revenge on the successful Yugoslav leader.
The Soviet-Yugoslav conflict had the consequence that the myth of the monolithic unity of communist ranks and ideas collapsed. In an attempt to prevent the emergence of new heresies and continuing to promote the Soviet model of socialism, Stalin organized high-profile political trials of prominent party and statesmen satellite countries. Such leaders as V. Gomulka in Poland, L. Raik and J. Kadar in Hungary, T. Kostov in Bulgaria, J. Klementis and R. Slansky in Czechoslovakia, A. Tauker in Romania. The purpose of the purges was to eliminate those who allowed the slightest hesitation, replacing them with those who unconditionally supported the policy of the USSR. The establishment of socialist orders cost these countries dearly: more than 120 thousand people were repressed in East Germany (1945-1950), in Poland (1944-1948) - about 300 thousand, Czechoslovakia (1948-1954) - about 150 thousand
The formation of the Soviet bloc went in parallel with the intensification of confrontation with the West. The turning point was 1947, when the Soviet leadership refused to participate in the Marshall Plan and forced other Eastern European countries to do the same. USA in June 1947. put forward a plan to help European states in the amount of 13 billion dollars, the vast majority free of charge. The Marshall Plan formally extended to the USSR and was at first favorably received by the Soviet leaders, who expected to receive assistance on the terms of lend-lease. However, it soon became clear that the Americans insisted on the creation of supranational bodies that would identify the resources of countries and determine their needs. This did not suit the USSR, and it refused to participate in the Marshall Plan and did not allow its satellites to accept it. Western European states accepted him with gratitude. American assistance gave a powerful impetus to the almost crisis-free post-war development of the economy of Western Europe.
To tighten control over his allies, Stalin in (September 1947 established the Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers' Parties - Cominform (he dissolved the Comintern in 1943, hoping that this would contribute to the opening of a second front). The Cominform included Eastern European Communist Parties and from Western - Italian and French.In 1949, the socialist countries formed the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) as an alternative to the Marshall Plan.However, the closeness, lack of a real market, free flow of capital did not allow the CMEA countries to achieve economic proximity and integration, as was the case in the West.
The formed socialist bloc of countries led by the USSR was opposed by the union of the countries of Western Europe and North America led by the United States, which, with the creation in 1949. NATO has finally taken shape. Tough confrontation between West and East contributed to the "correction" domestic policy leading powers. In 1947 under the influence of the US ruling circles, the communists were removed from the governments of Italy and France. In the United States itself, a test of the loyalty of civil servants began, lists of "subversive organizations" were drawn up, whose members were expelled from work. Communists and people of leftist views were especially persecuted. In June 1947 The US Congress approved the Taft-Hartley Act, which restricted strike and trade union movements.
The confrontation took on more and more dangerous outlines, and in the late 40s, Germany turned out to be the main arena of struggle. The United States began to send economic aid to the zones of occupation Western countries striving to create a democratic and friendly state in them. Stalin tried to thwart this plan, fearing a resurgence of German power. He exploited the vulnerability of West Berlin, which was inside the Soviet zone of occupation. On June 24, 1948, following the introduction of the West German currency in the western sectors of the city, Soviet troops cut the roads leading to West Berlin. For a whole year, the United States and Great Britain supplied the city by air bridge, until Stalin lifted the blockade. By and large, the blockade only harmed Soviet interests: it contributed to the re-election for a second term of Truman, who showed firmness towards the USSR, to the victory democratic parties in the elections in West Germany and West Berlin and the proclamation in these territories in September 1949. the Federal Republic of Germany, the formation of the NATO military bloc. In response to the formation of the Federal Republic of Germany, the USSR responded by creating in October 1949. German Democratic Republic in its zone of occupation. So Germany was divided into two states.
The division of Europe ended in the West. It became obvious that Stalin's attempts to further expand his sphere of influence here were repulsed. Now the center of confrontation has moved to Asia. In 1949 the Chinese Revolution won, even earlier the communist regime had established itself in North Korea. At the end of the 1940s, world socialism covered more than 1/4 of the entire earth's land mass and 1/3 of the world's population. Based on this circumstance, and also taking into account the existence of the communist movement in the countries of the West, the leaders of the Soviet bloc and China, apparently, were inclined to the opinion that it was possible to change the balance of power that had developed in the world in their favor. In February 1950, the leaders of the USSR and China signed an agreement on mutual assistance for a period of 30 years.
Further, Stalin organized an international adventure on a large scale on the Korean Peninsula. He played a decisive role in initiating the Korean War (1950-1953) in which more than a million people died on both sides. The war began with an attack by North Korea on South Korea. Despite this, communist propaganda claimed otherwise. However, the UN Security Council unmistakably stated "an armed attack on the Republic of Korea by North Korean troops." According to his decision, US troops and 15 other states intervened in the conflict under the UN flag.
Stalin did not want the Americans to catch him preparing for the war, but wanted only the Chinese to openly participate in the Korean War for the time being. He confirmed his readiness to arm 60 Chinese infantry divisions. Stalin gave the order to form a special corps to cover China and the North Koreans. In total, during the war in Korea, 15 Soviet aviation and several anti-aircraft artillery divisions received combat practice. There was a strict order: not a single adviser or pilot should be captured. On Soviet aircraft, the identification marks were Chinese, the pilots wore Chinese or Korean uniforms. Soviet pilots and anti-aircraft gunners shot down 1309 American aircraft. About 300 Soviet pilots and advisers were killed.
AT last years Stalin's life attracted the Bering Strait and Alaska. It was here that the active deployment of the armed forces of the USSR began. Since the beginning of the 50s, airfields and military bases have been created. In the spring of 1952 Stalin decided to urgently form 100 divisions of front-line jet bombers. Preparations for a new world war were unfolding in the immediate vicinity of the US borders. In the event of war, America was threatened with massive air strikes and invasion by ground forces. Humanity as a whole was on the verge of a third world war with monstrous consequences. Fortunately, Stalin's plans were not destined to come true, and his successors had a different vision in solving the problem of war and peace.
The Second World War led to fundamental changes in the world and international relations. Fascist Germany and Italy, militarist Japan were defeated, war criminals were punished, and an international organization, the United Nations, was created. All this demonstrated the relative unity of the victorious powers.
The war led to drastic changes on the world map. First of all, the United States has grown enormously in economic, military and political terms. The US has become the leader of the Western world.
The military and political influence of the USSR increased significantly. The economic devastation caused by the war was offset by military and political advantages. On the whole, the position of the USSR has changed: it has emerged from international isolation and has become a recognized great power.
However, with the disappearance of the fascist threat, more and more contradictions began to appear between the former allies. The clash of their geopolitical interests soon led to the collapse of the coalition and the creation of hostile blocs. Allied relations persisted until approximately 1947. However, already in 1945, serious contradictions were revealed, primarily in the struggle for influence in Europe.
W. Churchill March 5, 1946 in the city of Fulton (USA), in the presence of President G. Truman, for the first time openly accused the USSR of having fenced off Eastern Europe with an "Iron Curtain", called for organizing pressure on Russia in order to obtain from it both foreign policy concessions and changes in internal politics. It was a call for an open and tough confrontation with the Soviet Union. A year later, Truman officially announced US commitments in Europe to curb Soviet expansion and led the West's fight against the Soviet Union.
The main attention of the Soviet leadership was focused on putting together a socialist bloc in Europe. The formation of the Soviet bloc in Eastern Europe went hand in hand with the intensification of confrontation with the West. The turning point was 1947, when the Soviet leadership refused to participate in the "Marshall Plan" (which concerned the economic recovery of Europe) and forced other Eastern European countries to do the same.
In 1949, Germany split into two states - the GDR and the FRG. In the same year, a NATO bloc was created under the auspices of the United States. The USSR responded to this with an alternative to the "Marshall Plan" - the creation of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA), which operated in Eastern Europe, and the creation of the Warsaw Pact Organization (OVD).
The confrontation between the two blocs unfolded both in Europe (the Berlin Crisis of 1948) and in Asia (the victory of the Communists in China in 1949, the Korean War of 1950-1953, the beginning of decolonization).
43. "Cold War": concept, causes, stages
The term "cold war" belonged to the American diplomat D.F. Dulles and was mentioned in 1947. He defined the Cold War as the art of brinkmanship. There are different points of view regarding the date of its beginning (the death of F. Roosevelt, the use of atomic weapons, the speech of W. Churchill in Fulton in March 1946). The Cold War was largely the result of a misunderstanding of the plans of the parties. I.V. Stalin believed that imperialism breeds wars. Since it persists, a third world war is inevitable. At the same time, the Cold War suited both sides: the USSR consolidated its dominance in Eastern Europe, and the United States asserted its leadership in Western Europe, investing money in it for restoration.
1946 - 1953 Relations between the USSR and the USA became tense already in the spring and summer of 1947, during the beginning of the implementation of the Marshall Plan. Under pressure from the USSR, the Eastern European countries refused to participate in this plan. In 1948-1949. The Berlin crisis broke out, caused by the unwillingness of both sides to agree on the German question. Ultimately, this led to the creation of two German states, and then to the formation of the military-political blocs of NATO (1949) and the Warsaw Pact (1955). In parallel, the formation of people's democracy regimes was going on in the Eastern European countries.
1953 - 1962 During this period of the Cold War, the world was on the brink of nuclear conflict. Despite some improvement in relations between the USSR and the USA in the mid-1950s, it was at this stage that the anti-communist uprising in Hungary (1956), unrest in the GDR (1953) and Poland (1956), as well as the Suez Crisis (1956) took place. ). This period of relations between the superpowers ended with the Berlin and Caribbean crises of 1961 and 1962, respectively.
1962 - 1979 The period was marked by an arms race that undermined the economies of rival countries. Despite the presence of tension in relations between the USSR and the USA, agreements on the limitation of strategic weapons are signed. A joint space program "Soyuz-Apollo" is being developed. However, by the beginning of the 80s, the USSR began to lose in the arms race.
1979 - 1987 Relations between the USSR and the USA are again aggravated after the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan. In 1983 the United States deployed ballistic missiles at bases in Italy, Denmark, England, the FRG, and Belgium. An anti-space defense system is being developed.
1987 - 1991 M. Gorbachev's coming to power in the USSR in 1985 entailed not only global changes within the country, but also radical changes in foreign policy, called "new political thinking". A number of disarmament agreements are being concluded between the USSR and the USA. The collapse of the USSR in 1991 meant the end of the Cold War.
| " |
Send your good work in the knowledge base is simple. Use the form below
Students, graduate students, young scientists who use the knowledge base in their studies and work will be very grateful to you.
Posted on http://www.allbest.ru/
The alignment of forces in the international arena after the First World War. Peace Plans: Wilson's 14 Points
wilson program trade principle
By the end of the war, a new alignment of forces in the world was determined, which reflected significant changes. The power of world rank - Germany - was defeated, its political status changed, the question of a peace treaty was urgent. As a result of the October Revolution in Russia, 1/6 of the territory of the earth fell away from the general world system. Western powers sought to bring it back into the world system through military intervention.
The United States entered the international arena as an active contender for world domination. The war enriched the United States of America unheard of, turning it into one of the most important creditors of the world: it lent to the countries of Europe about 10 billion dollars, of which about 6.5 billion dollars were private American investments. The US ruling circles sought to use their position as a world creditor and their military might by dictating their will at the forthcoming peace conference in Paris. Therefore, the interests of the United States clashed with the aspirations of England and France.
One of the first points of contention on the eve of the conference was the question of how to link the debts of the Entente powers to the United States of America with the reparations that were supposed to be collected from Germany, as well as with the general settlement of international debts.
The attitude of the allies towards the principle of "freedom of the seas" proclaimed by the United States and the question of the superiority of the fleets was contradictory. Great Britain sought to maintain maritime dominion and expand colonial empire. She retained her status after the war great power, although it was pushed into the background by the United States, becoming their debtor. England suffered considerable losses in the war, which affected industrial production. In the Middle East, England controlled a significant part of the "legacy" of the Turkish empire, she got the German colonies in Africa and Oceania. British diplomacy at the peace conference sought to secure the position of the winner in the war, to counteract the growing claims of France in Europe, and, relying on an alliance with Japan, to prevent US hegemony in the world.
The position of France remained strong. Despite the fact that she suffered significant material damage and human losses more than others, her positions were strengthened militarily. The French land army of two million was the largest in Europe. France strove for the maximum economic and military weakening of Germany in order to assert its hegemony on the continent.
New states that emerged on the political map of post-war Europe - Poland, Czechoslovakia, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia), as well as Romania were supposed to form a chain of France's allies on the eastern borders of Germany, replace the former ally - Russia, become a "cordon sanitaire" between Germany and Russia.
Italy expected to increase its territory by adding a number of lands of Austria-Hungary, as well as colonies in Africa, and Japan - to strengthen its economic and military potential through the German island colonies in the Pacific Ocean.
Settlement of interstate relations on the basis of peace treaties of 1919-1922. created conditions for political and economic stabilization in the world. In Europe, the Versailles system legalized the formation of independent nation-states. Their number increased due to the collapse of Austria-Hungary and Turkey, the reduction of the territory of Germany. Among them are Czechoslovakia, Austria, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (since 1929 Yugoslavia), Poland, and the Romanian Kingdom, which expanded its territory (it included Northern Bukovina, Bessarabia and Southern Dobruja), significantly reduced in size Bulgaria and Hungary. In the north-east of Europe, Finland and the Baltic republics appeared - Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia.
A significant expansion of the circle of new active participants in European politics was one of its important factors. But the new state-political map of Europe did not always coincide with the ethno-national map: the German people were divided by the borders of several states; in multinational Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, the national question was used for political purposes, became the basis for the growth of separatism and territorial claims, and aggravated interstate relations.
Two weakened, but potentially influential powers - Soviet Russia and Germany were actually set by tough conditions of the winners - the leading countries of the Entente outside the Versailles international system. In the interwar period, two main issues arose - Russian and German, requiring a joint solution by the international community.
"14 points" by W. Wilson.
Soviet Russia, after the October Revolution of 1917, negotiated with Germany and its allies on the conclusion of a separate peace. The Entente countries, seeking to prevent the conclusion of a separate peace, developed their own plan for ending the war.
The program of US President W. Wilson was of great importance. On January 8, 1918, in a message to Congress, he outlined a program with peace conditions and the principles of the post-war world order, which went down in history under the name "14 points". W. Wilson's program formed the basis of peace treaties, the essence of which was the democratic reorganization of the world.
This program included the following principles:
1) open peace negotiations and treaties, thereby non-recognition of all secret treaties and agreements;
2) the principle of freedom of the seas;
3) the principle of free trade - the elimination of customs barriers;
4) the establishment of guarantees to ensure the reduction of armaments;
5) impartial settlement of colonial issues;
6) the liberation by Germany of all Russian territories occupied by it, giving Russia the opportunity to determine its national policy and join the community of free nations;
7) liberation and restoration of Belgium;
8) the return to France of the territories occupied by Germany, including Alsace and Lorraine;
9) fixing Italy's borders;
10) granting autonomy to the peoples of Austria-Hungary;
11) the liberation by Germany of the occupied territories of Romania, Serbia and Montenegro; giving Serbia access to the sea;
12) the independent existence of the Turkish and the autonomy of the national parts of the Ottoman Empire, and the opening of the Black Sea straits;
13) creation of an independent Poland;
14) the creation of "a general union of nations (League of Nations) in order to provide mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity - equally to large and small states."
Hosted on Allbest.ru
Similar Documents
End of World War I 1914-18, Treaty of Versailles, its purpose; fourteen points of W. Wilson on the redistribution of the world in favor of the victorious powers; The League of nations. Reasons for the instability of the Versailles-Washington system of peace settlement.
abstract, added 05/07/2011
Positions of powers in the international arena as a result of the First World War. Contradictions at the Paris Peace Conference. Features of the Versailles Peace Treaty. The clash of imperialist interests of Great Britain, the USA and Japan in the Far East.
abstract, added 02/10/2012
International relations in 1919-1929, prerequisites for the conclusion of the Versailles Peace Treaty. The finalization of the results of the First World War, the creation of a system for maintaining international security. Changing the balance of power in Europe after the war.
abstract, added 12/14/2011
Socio-economic specifics of the final stage of the First World War. Economic terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The Dawes and Young plans. Germany after the payment of reparation payments. Mine reforms, elimination of unemployment. Three bank system.
term paper, added 07/09/2013
The neutrality of the United States of America "in thought and in reality" and Wilson's reflections on the future world. The end of the policy of reconciliation and entry into the war. The end of the World War and the role of the American peace program. The decision to intervene in Russia.
term paper, added 01/14/2015
Exodus Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905 Terms of the Treaty of Portsmouth. Consideration of interstate relations 1905-1916. and the role of post-war peace treaties in them. Culture and religion are two miracles that closely connected the two warring parties.
term paper, added 10/31/2012
The formation of nation-states in Europe after the end of the war and the ways of their creation. Goals of the victorious countries. Contents of the Paris and Versailles peace treaties. Their results for Germany. Tasks of the League of Nations. Conference in Washington in 1921-22.
presentation, added 10/28/2015
The development of the foreign policy process in the first half of the 20th century as the formation of the prerequisites for its development after the Second World War. The results of the Second World War and the change in the status of Great Britain on the world stage. Formation of the British Commonwealth.
term paper, added 11/23/2008
The transition of the British colonies to self-government after the 1919 conference. Transition from a military economy to a peacetime economy. Demobilization of the population. Law on universal suffrage. Foreign policy Britain in the post-war years.
presentation, added 09/06/2011
Biography of the 28th President of the United States, milestones in his development as a national leader. Prerequisites for US intervention in global historical processes along with European countries. Participation of Woodrow Wilson in the organization and course of the Paris Peace Conference.
After World War II, the balance of power in the international arena changed dramatically. The world has become bipolar: the two superpowers of the USA and the USSR began to play the leading role in it. During the years of the war, the military-industrial complex in the USA quickly developed, which allowed the Americans to have one of the strongest armies in the world. The United States emerged from the war as the richest country - the vast majority of world industrial production and the gold and foreign exchange reserves of Western countries are concentrated here. At the same time, the European countries were weakened by the war and the beginning of the collapse of the colonial system, and Germany and Japan, after a military defeat, dropped out of the ranks of world leaders.
The USSR had enormous influence as a country that played a decisive role in the defeat of fascism and the liberation of Eastern Europe. In addition, the USSR relied on a huge economic and military potential.
a) Creation of the United Nations.
The Potsdam Conference laid the foundations for the post-war order of the world; its decisions could ensure stability and cooperation in Europe for many years to come.
One of the most important elements of the post-war world order was the creation of the United Nations. Its creation was initiated by a conference of 50 states in San Francisco in April 1945. The UN Charter was adopted on June 26, 1945. Officially, the organization has existed since October 24, 1945 - by this day, the UN Charter was ratified by Great Britain, China, the USSR, the USA, France (permanent members of the Security Council) and most of the other signatories. The main goals of the UN were to maintain international peace and security through all-round cooperation among peoples.
The governing bodies of the UN are the annual General Assembly ( general meeting all members) and the Security Council. Decisions are made by majority vote on the basis of equality of all members. But at the same time, the principle of unanimity of the great powers (they are permanent members of the Security Council) is respected: no decision can be taken if at least one of them votes against.
The cooperation of UN members is carried out through a system of numerous councils, committees and other bodies. The UN has the right to impose economic sanctions and use force against individual states (by decision of the Security Council).
b) The beginning of the Cold War
Potsdam system international relations opened wide opportunities for cooperation between states with different socio-economic systems. But in practice, the desire for hegemony won out. Fearing the growth of the influence of socialism, former partners The USSR, in the anti-Hitler coalition, went to aggravate relations with its former ally. This marked the beginning of the Cold War, in which the United States played a leading role.
"Cold War" - the confrontation between the two world systems using all means, except for direct military action between the superpowers. The main areas of this confrontation were:
1) an arms race, the creation of military blocs, the unleashing of local conflicts;
2) economic blockade, the struggle for the economic division of the world into spheres of influence;
3) psychological warfare, exacerbation of ideological confrontation.
The beginning of the Cold War is associated with the speech of W. Churchill at the military academy in Fulton (USA) in March 1946, where he called for "putting an iron curtain on communism." The cold war in the first post-war years manifested itself most clearly in the following.
The economic blockade of the USSR and the countries of Eastern Europe, which refused to accept the American "Marshall Plan", according to which the United States provided financial assistance to countries affected by World War II, but controlled its spending;
The split of Germany (in violation of the Potsdam agreements) and the formation of the FRG, the GDR and West Berlin;
Creation of the NATO military-political bloc (1949), which united the USA, Canada and a number of Western European countries, which created a direct military threat to the USSR and Eastern Europe;
Nuclear and conventional arms race;
The war in Korea (1950-1953), in which the United States took part on the one hand (on the basis of a decision of the UN Security Council, taken in the absence of the Soviet delegation), and on the other, the USSR and the PRC.
c) Formation of the world system of socialism
After World War II, communists came to power in a number of countries in Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia. As a result, in the period 1944-1949. the world system of socialism was formed, in which the USSR played a leading role.
The USSR rendered all-round assistance to these states. He immediately established diplomatic relations with the new governments, thus thwarting the possibility of their international isolation and political blockade. The USSR defended their interests in the UN, using its advantage as a permanent member of the Security Council.
The USSR concluded treaties of friendship and mutual assistance with the socialist countries. These treaties became the basis for the development of further cooperation between the socialist countries.
In the first post-war years, the USSR provided these states with substantial economic assistance, transferring them part of the captured equipment, selling them raw materials and foodstuffs at reduced prices, providing loans, and sending their specialists. In 1952, the USSR transferred to the People's Republic of China its rights to manage the CER. Trade agreements between the USSR and the socialist countries were based on the most favored nation treatment. The logical conclusion of this process was the creation in 1949 of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, which included Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, the USSR, Czechoslovakia, Albania (withdrew in 1961), the GDR (since 1950).
In 1947, the Information Bureau (Cominform) was created to coordinate the actions of the communist parties. But in 1949 there was a conflict between the leaders of the USSR and Yugoslavia. The Yugoslav leadership defended its own path of building socialism, Stalin believed that only the Soviet version was possible. As a result, the Yugoslav communists were expelled from the Cominform. This conflict split the world communist movement.