INT REL B.4 YEAR 12

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  • the immediate post-war period
    • changing relations in Europe c.1945-1991
      • Soviet expansion/control into Eastern Europe
        • a. permanent revolution
          • soviet foreign policy had 2 main aims: 1.protecting state from hostile neighbours, 2.encourging communist revolution
          • communist comintern = set up due to expected revolution
        • b. safeguarding soviet security
          • Russia had been invaded by the west and damage was substantial. created a buffer zone of soviet influenced states in eastern Europe
        • c. atomic bomb
          • promoted the onset of cold war - stalin wanted the USSR to have its own bomb
        • d. power vacuum
          • Given the political and military vacuum that existed after the defeat of Nazi Germany, the Red Army was well placed to exert influence in eastern Europe
        • e. USSR established political control over Eastern Europe
          • Germany was divided into four military zones of occupation. The Soviet zone =  GDR in 1949. In Poland, Stalin had already laid the groundwork for creation of a communist regime.
          • In Bulgaria  and Albania the communists formed a coalition.
          • In Romania in March 1945 the Soviet army  forced King to appoint communist government.  In Hungary, PM forced to resign
        • f. economic control
          • COMINFORM was established as well at the Molotov Plan = trade agreements of USSR and its satellites who carried trade with Russia.
          • all industry was nationalised and agriculture collectivised on Soviet model
          • trade with west very strictly controlled
        • g. military control
          • armed forces controlled from Moscow
          • ministry for state security in east Germany was effective + repressive
          • Warsaw Pact 1955 = USSR and satellites to defend eachother
        • h. destalinisation
          • Khrushchev denounced Stalin and begun 'desalinisation'
          • a new, less repressive regime
      • Cold War 1945-1949
        • a. conflicting ideologies
          • a conflict between capitalism + democracy (west) + communism (ussr)
          • both USA and USSR emerged from war as superpowers
          • no one was gonna let the vacuum power slip
        • b. yalta + potsdam
          • left no party fully satisfied and legitimised stalin's takeover on eastern Europe
          • historians argue a dying Roosevelt was misled into making many concessions to Russia
            • his main concern was to end the war ASAP
        • c. atomic bomb
          • promoted the onset of cold war.
          • USA had been prompted to develop the bomb to shorten Japan war but also as an advantage over USSR
          • increased tension and suspicion
        • d. division of Germany
          • 4 zones of occupation became the cold war's frontline
          • arrangements caused practical difficulties
          • western powers realised they could only access zones by crossing soviet controlled territory
          • blockade of west berlin = forced west out of berlin
            • led to berlin airlift = 2 mil tons of supplies
              • stalin thought the west wanted to re-unite Germany
            • led to formation of 2 german states = GFR + GDR
        • e. soviet expansion
          • increased tension
          • creation of satellites was seen as aggressive
        • f. Truman doctrine + marshall plan
          • USA ($400mil from congress) defeated communism by 1949 - change to confrontation
          • marshall plan (5 June 1947) = a European Recovery Programme offered economic + financial help
            • promote economic recovery + ensure markets for US exports + making communism less likely to gain control
              • a success by sept 16 nations had drawn a joint plan for american aid. over 4 years $13 million of marshall aid was flown into western europe
      • tensions in Cold War after 1949
        • a. Germany
          • Berlin Blockade 1948 increased tensions
          • the solution to the Berlin Crisis (1961) was the Berlin Wall
          • since 1949 3 million people had left east Germany
        • b. West attempts to destabilise the east
          • Between 1949 and 1952: unsuccessful operations planned by the Americans + British to overthrow the Communist government.
        • c. Warsaw Pact 1955
          • symbolised the willingness of the USSR to protect the eastern bloc from American imperialism
          • a collective security alliance
        • d. U2 Spy Planes
          • in 1956 the US bought 53 U2 planes
          • they were able to fly over Soviet territory and capture military bases + missile factories
          • by 1960 Soviet technology caught up and shot down a plane.
          • Gary Powers trial
        • e. changes in leadership
          • in 1953 Stalin's leadership led to a collective leadership of Malenkov, Khrushchev, Molotov and Bulganin
          • in 1979 Carter (US) + Brezhnev (SU) argued over troops in Cuba
          • relations between powers were already difficult when Soviets invaded Afghanistan
        • f. arms race
          • caused by the growth of international tension
          • brinksmanship could be risky as Kennedy found out during the Cuban Missile Crisis
            • development of MAD caused both sides to rethink their strategies
          • increased feelings of security
          • 1957 the USA was concerned that Soviet Union had pulled ahead in the arms race + a missile gap had developed.
            • Sputnik by the USSR seemed to confirm those fears.
          • MIRV
          • SDI
          • one of the methods of increasing tension
        • g. soviets in Afghan
          • Events in Afghanistan marked the end of any further negotiations between the superpowers.  Détente was dead
      • co-operation between the countries of Western Europe
        • economic motivation
          • west germany
            • integration offered its 2 most urgent goals: political rehabilitation + economic recovery
          • France
            • offered not only economic recovery but also political confrontation
          • The driving force was a move towards economic efficiency in industries that required vast amounts of capital.
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          • Benelux customs area had been a first step in 1947
        • threat from USSR
          • force that created NATO (1949) was fear of perceived Soviet expansionism in Est. Europe
            • Berlin Blockade and the communist coup in Czechoslovakia  were central moments
          • distrust of Russian expansionism + ideological fears of communism had a part to play
          • Russia was increasingly seen as an enemy to be guarded against by the West
          • September the USSR had successfully tested it first atom bomb,
            • while a month later China fell to the Communists.
        • security
        • status + respect
        • political idealism
          • statesmen of the 1940s and 1950s had the memory of the bitter national quarrels of earlier decades
            • led Europe close to destruction + its seemed move to unity was the best means of prevention
          • European Parliament
          • Council of Europe set up to promote international discussions between parliamentarians + ministers
            • reflected in the view that Europeans belong to a single European culture
        • encouragment from USA
          • in 1947 general marshall stated money would be available to EU if they had economic cooperation
          • OEEC - organise spending of money
      • integration in Western Europe
        • a. economic
          • Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands + Luxembourg integration offered wider markets for their goods.
          • OEEC 1948 = promote trade within Europe between economies stimulated by the funds of the Marshall Plan.
          • French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman proposed  to integrate the coal + steel Industries of Europe
            • 2 elements necessary to make weapons of war.
          • ECSC 1951 = combine economic + political objectives. production increased 50%
          • EEC = remove all customs duties + quotas so there would be free competition + a common market.
            • Within 5 years = the world’s biggest exporter + biggest buyer of raw materials + was 2nd to USA in steel production.
          • most succesful
        • b. political
          • Council of Europe 1949
          • Eu Parliament was also established + a Eu Court of Justice which enforced EEC law + was able to override national law + government.
          • 1967 EEC became EC. A small but significant= seen as more than just an economic union.
        • c. military
          • NATO = no real progress was made towards a common european defence policy
            • april 1949 - mutual defense
        • d. social + cultural
          • ERASMUS 1987
            • encourage and support movement of academics
          • town twinning
      • Causes of Detente
        • developed after 1962
        • a. fear of war
          • The Berlin Blockade (1948-9), the Berlin crisis (1958-62) and the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) highlighted the danger of a superpower confrontation.
        • b. build of nuclear weapons
          • 1969 the USSR had matched the capability of the USA for (MAD)
          • necessity of reducing risks pushed east and west towards Dente.
        • c. needs of USSR
          • national security interests were to be the overriding factor determining Soviet foreign policy
            • this pushed the USSR towards Detente
          • dente would improve the international background to transfer production capacity in industry to consumer goods.
          • Improved relations would allow the USSR access to  western technology + grain supplies
        • d. European needs + Ostpolitik
          • Developments in Europe during the late 1960s also encouraged links across the Iron Curtain.
          • Willy Brandt saw a stabilisation of European relations as essential to the interests of the continent as a whole.
          • Ostpolitik greatly aided the impetus towards Detente. Brandt's policy encouraged other nations to establish links across the East-West divide
            • such as the French government's policy of establishing friendly relations with Romania.
      • Detente successful?
        • a. disarmament
          • test ban treaty 1963  - cease testing of nuclear weapons
          • non-proliferation treaty 1968 - prevent further spread of nuclear weapons
          • accomplished little but allowed for further changes
        • b. SALT
          • 1972 Brezhnev invited Nixon to Moscow and the two leaders signed the SALT I treaty
            • limited the number of long-range missiles each side could have
            • Brezhnev visited Washington in 1973 + Nixon returned to Moscow once more in 1974.
          • The SALT II talks collapsed.
        • c. Treaty of Moscow
          • a non-aggression pact on Germany
          • West Germany promised to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty to support the idea of a European Security conference.
          • a four-Power Pact was signed to ease communications within the city of Berlin and between West Berlin and West Germany.
        • d. Ostpolitik
          • played a major role in reducing tension in Europe + contributing to Détente but it was at a cost
          • west germany had to accept soviet control in eastern europe
            • gave recognition to division of cold war
        • e. The European Security Conference and Helsinki Agreement 1973-5
          • 1973 reps from the USA, Canada + 33 EU states met at Helsinki to try + resolve a number of Cold War issues
          • Belgrade in 1978, Carter alleged that human rights in Russia + Eastern Europe were still not respected.
          • Brezhnev accused the West of trying to interfere in the East’s internal affairs and little was achieved.
        • f. Gorbachev
          • Gorbachev showed a determination not just to restore Détente but to end the Cold War.
            • February 1988 Soviet troops began to pull out of Afghanistan
          • May hundreds of East Germans fled into the West and by November the East German government announced it would open the borders.
            • treaty for reunification was signed on 3 October 1990
    • a, Ideological differences
      • re-emergence of old tensions from before the war threatened hopes of a lasting peace settlement
      • liberal democracies of the West promoted market economies + were deeply opposed to a command economy under a one party dictatorship as anti-communist feeling developed over time.
        • West feared the implications of Trotsky’s idea of ‘permanent revolution’ and the spread of communism
      • From the Soviet perspective the fear and suspicion was mutual. Stalin's foreign policy was based on the idea that the capitalist world when ready would launch a destructive assault on the Soviet Union.
    • b. Conflicting aims of the big three
      • USA
        • USA had felt vulnerable to potential threats from foreign powers + looked for chain of bases in the Pacific and Atlantic. America wanted access to the raw materials + markets of Western Europe + Asia.
      • USSR
        • Stalin wanted security for the USSR and reparations from Germany. He wanted to protect the USSR against any future German attack. Stalin wanted to be surrounded by regimes friendly to the USSR.
      • BRITAIN
        • main aim was to survive as an independent Great Power on friendly terms with both the USA and USSR.
        • Churchill also wanted to see a democratic government in Warsaw
    • c. Peace agreements
      • Yalta, Feb 1945 = hopeful signs of broad agreement such as: the punishment of war criminals, demands for reparations + paralysis of German military power.Set up the UN Organisation + the principles of the Atlantic Charter were reaffirmed.
        • liberate conquered nations + Axis satellite states such as Austria + Czechoslovakia + promised to prepare the way for free + democratic elections
        • Germany (and Berlin) would be divided into four zones of occupation - Russian, American, British and after further negotiation French
          • HID TENSIONS- Western leaders were appalled that so much of Eastern Europe was in the hands of the Soviets
      • Potsdam (July 1945-2 Aug) there was a severe cooling of relations.
        • INITIAL -division of Germany was confirmed. no central government + treated as a single economic unit.
        • Truman and the British were annoyed with the actions the Soviets were taking in Eastern Europe.
          • Eastern Europe communist groups were being positioned in important roles.
    • d. Use of the atomic bomb
      • Truman did not inform Stalin about progress of the atomic bomb.
      • Stalin believed he had to stop American capitalism from dominating the world and a buffer of friendly states would ensure this.
    • e. Soviet expansion
      • Stalin's methods of gaining control upset the West particularly as these went against agreements  made at Yalta + Potsdam.
      • ear of Soviet invasion in the West and Russian fear of the atomic bomb; fear of economic collapse in the west versus fear of economic domination by the west; a clash of ideologies (capitalism versus communism)

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