Imperialism, Expansionism, and the Cold War

933 Words2 Pages

Imperialism, Expansionism, and the Cold War

The Cold War developed after the Second World War as a blend of

several unsolved disputes and diplomatic misinterpretations.

Ideological differences worsened the matter and made interaction with

either side less probable since each other was resented by the other's

actions during the previous war. Even so, what really built up and

intensified the war was the imperialistic and expansionist nature of

the capitalist and communist nations since both sides struggled to

obtain better relations with other strong countries and expand their

rule or political influence.

First of all, the ideological differences between the capitalist and

communist parties were probably the main determining factors in the

imperialist/expansionist decisions which were taken. In the case of

the communists, it was their main principles which defied the

capitalists since the communist main points were that the capitalists

would eventually destroy themselves. Communists also felt the duty to

help the capitalists and this is why they believed that they show

impose their rule over these states in order to prevent

self-destruction. This is exactly why the domino effect comes into

play all around Europe and why the communist nations were thought to

follow a strict policy of expansion. Stauchton Lynd put it best, "Why

did the cold war start?... Because for the first time the challenge of

authoritarian socialism to democratic capitalism was backed by

sufficient force to be an ever-present political and military threat,"

which mentions that the U.S.S.R. might have wanted to act against

capitalism before but lacked support ye...

... middle of paper ...

...at the expansionist and imperialistic

nature of capitalism and communism caused misinterpretations and

exaggerations by each side. Communist countries such as the U.S.S.R.

had a strong expansionism policy since they thought it was their duty

to "guide" other countries while capitalists thought that communism

would hamper with their economy if they were let to expand freely.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

[1] Russia had been invaded by Germany twice before and was not

willing to be invaded once again.

[2] The Soviets had closed down part of Berlin and all of its accesses

and exits.

[3] Domino effect- Truman

[4] Most of Europe had been secured by the U.S. and other allied

powers, thus the U.S.S.R. had to rely to Asia in order to find support

from other countries.

Open Document