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The Cold War in global context, 1945-1991 - Power and principle

4 important questions on The Cold War in global context, 1945-1991 - Power and principle

What is the Marxian ideal and how was it applied in the East?

The Marxian ideal of the classless society, one where human potential would at last be realized under conditions of genuine majority rule, was repeatedly sacrificed to accommodate the territorial, strategic resource, and nationalist ambitions of the one party state and its leadership elite.

How did the US advertise itself politically?

The US advertised itself as the defender of the Enlightenment tradition of liberalism, including the defense of individual liberty, the rule of law, government by consent, and national self-determination.
Along with their West European allies, the Americans claimed the moral high ground over the Soviets by virtue of their respect for the will of the majority and the right of minorities to dissent without hindrance.

Did the US live up to their political ideal?

From authoritarian rulers in South Korea and Southeast Asia, to arbitrary monarchs in Iran and Saudi Arabia, to military juntas in Guatemala and Nicaragua, the US adopted an indiscriminate policy of propping up undemocratic, repressive regimes in the interest of anticommunist solidarity.

To whom do many Western scholars lay the blame for the Cold War?

In the West, many scholars lay the blame for the conflict squarely on the shoulders of Stalin. The Soviet dictator's paranoid fear of encirclement, combined with a longer tradition of Russian expansionism, determined the fate of postwar Eastern Europe and set the stage for decades of communist meddling and coercion in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.

The question on the page originate from the summary of the following study material:

A Concise History of the World Since 1945 | 9781352010206 | W M Spellman

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