Karen_A._Mingst,_Ivan_M._Arregu_n-Toft]_Essentia

The Cold War 49

nam, Ethiopia versus Somalia) that, in all likelihood, neither the United States nor the

Soviet Union had intended to escalate as they did. Thus, the Cold War comprised not

only superpower confrontations but also confrontations between two blocs of states:

the non- communist bloc (the United States, with Canada, Australia, most of Western

Eu rope [allied in NATO], South Korea, Japan, and the Philippines); and the commu-

nist bloc (the Soviet Union, with its Warsaw Pact allies in Eastern Eu rope, North

Korea, Vietnam, and the People’s Repubic of China, along with Cuba). Over the life

of the Cold War, these blocs loosened, and states sometimes took positions dif er ent

from that of the dominant power. But for much of this time, bloc politics operated.

Table 2.1 shows a timeline of major events related to the Cold War.

One of the high- level, direct confrontations between the superpowers took place

in Germany. Germany had been divided immediately after World War II into zones

of occupation. The United States, France, and Great Britain administered the western

portion; the Soviet Union, the eastern. Berlin, Germany’s capital, was similarly

divided but lay within Soviet- controlled East Germany. In 1948, the Soviet Union

blocked land access to Berlin, prompting the United States and Britain to airlift

supplies for 13 months. In 1949, the separate states of West and East Germany were

declared. In 1961, East Germany erected the Berlin Wall around the West German

Tabl E 2.1 Im por TanT EvEnTs of ThE Cold War

1945–48 Soviet Union establishes communist regimes in Eastern Eu rope.

1947 Announcement of Truman Doctrine; United States proposes Marshall Plan for the rebuilding of Eu rope.

1948–49 Soviets blockade Berlin; United States and Allies carry out airlift.

1949

Soviets test atomic bomb, ending U.S. nuclear mono poly.

Chinese communists under Mao win civil war, establish People’s

Republic of China. United States and Allies establish NATO.

1950–53 Korean War.

1957 Soviets launch the satellite and catalyzing superpower scientific competition.Sputnik, causing anxiety in the West

1960–63 Congo crisis and UN action to fill power vacuum.

1962 Cuban missile crisis, nuclear war narrowly averted.

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