Primary causes behind the start of the Cold War Essay

Primary causes behind the start of the Cold War - Essay Example Cold War is recognized as an era of extreme tension and hostility between Soviet Union and the United States of America. The War had its origins at the end of Second World War and ended in the early decade of 1990s. The fear of nuclear escalation did not allow the two economies to indulge into an active war therefore; this war is known as Cold War. This war is different from the other wars because it was not an active war and it was fought through propagandas, military clashes, economic clashes and diplomatic bargaining. Most of the world economies came under the impact of Cold War including the neutral economies, newly independent economies and others. Various factors contributed to intensify the conflicts between the two nations however, a few of them appeared as the primary causes of Cold War. The aim of this essay is to discuss the primary causes of Cold War. In general, there are three views about â€Å"who was to blame for the Cold War? (Johndclare)† The Traditional view is supported by western writers who blame Soviet Russia for the Cold War and they argue that Stalin was seeking to establish a Soviet empire. The Revisionist view is supported by western writers who blame America for the Cold War. They argue that Truman could not understand the impact of Second World War on Russia. Third view is the Post-Revisionists view which considers the hatred of both nations as the primary cause of Cold War. ... The historians have disagreements over the exact date of Cold War however; most of the historians agree that this war started when the President of the United States, Truman announced an anti-communist policy. The Second World War has its significance in the discussion of Cold War because the war started immediately after the Second World War. The ideological, political and economic differences between the United States and Soviet Union were not much prominent before the World War II however; mutual suspicions and distrust intensified the differences between the two nations and came on screen after the World War II. These differences and the factors intensifying these differences became the primary causes of Cold War. The defeat of Nazi Germany became the collapse of old Europe and appeared as a common victory of American and Soviet soldiers who celebrated the victory together in Germany in 1945. However, the conflicts between Soviet Union and the United States increased when it came to make a decision about the occupied Germany and the composition of a new Polish government. These conflicts intensified when the two nations failed to agree on a common plan relevant to the control of atomic energy and Soviets started communizing the lands under their occupation which threatened the United States on the division of Europe. The United States could see the spread of Communist State in the Western Europe whereas; the Soviet Union was threatened by American nuclear power and control. Fuller argues that the fear of democratic west about the Soviet Union was the primary cause of Cold War. If at one end, Soviet Union had a fear of western invasions of her new satellites, then at the other end, the western states were seeing the spread of Marxism.