To What extent was the Cold War global Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

To What extent was the Cold War global - Essay Example Proxy wars, economic confrontation, spy networks, alliance formation, arms race and technological competition were at their peak during this time. Russia found itself isolated in the world after the revolution of 1917 as most other nations did not concur with the ideological change that had occurred there. The revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin asserted that Russia was encompassed by a ‘hostile capitalist encirclement’ (Gaddis, 1997). This laid the groundwork for what was to follow, i.e. years of hostility and isolation between differing ideological camps. The arms race that supplemented the cold war resulted in dire consequences for several nations after the dissemination of the USSR. The weapons are still used by terrorist and rebel movements all across the world as both the USA and USSR aim to liquidate their excess artillery in the search of economic returns. Globalization of the War:- The arms race between the Soviet Union and the United States resulted in a stockp ile of nuclear and non nuclear weapons at both ends which cost both parties significant portion of their economy (McNeill and Unger, 2010). Throughout the years of the cold war, both camps continued to pursue alliances with states all across the world. ... Americans and Soviets funded, trained, armed and fought alongside local militaries and forces against others in regional and civil wars that spread across several states including Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Guatemala and Angola. What led to Cold War’s Globalization:- Both camps saw themselves as the embodiments of progress and modernity. The United States had a history of intervention into the affairs of non white people (Westad, 2005). By the eve of World War I, the United States had become a protector and balancer of a capitalist world system, by virtue of its economic might. This meant that it considered intervention its responsibility when it saw the laws of capitalism being ‘violated’. Similarly, the Soviet Union continued to pursue its ideology of expansion of the Russian empire and the modernizing and universalistic claims of Marxism. Soviet leaders sought to spread communism into the third world as a means to successfully confront the United States. (Gud erzo and Bagnato, 2010). Both sides saw themselves as the torchbearers of a global progression and ideological revolution. This is one of the reasons why the intensity of conflict between the two countries was so high (Westad, 2005). Decolonization of the world also provided both sides room for manipulation with newly independent states. These new states saw the cold war as an opportunity to gauge money for their own country to pursue development plans. They also saw economic and ideological models which they could follow (Guderzo and Bagnato, 2010). Both countries tried extensively to align countries towards their respective ideologies however, by remaining non aligned