Origins of the Cold War

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Origins of the Cold War

The purpose of this paper is to explore the origins of the Cold War. To accomplish this exploration, the works of W.A. Williams, Robert Jervis, and Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. serves as the foundation. Before a closer examination of these works, a short explanation of the three common viewpoints regarding the study of the Cold War is warranted. These viewpoints are Attribution, Structural, and Misperception. With these viewpoints to guide the way, the above authors look at the origins of the Cold War. I will make my own points about the origins later.

Following World War II, the United States and the Former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) changed roles from Allies to enemies. The standoff between the two never came to direct blows but instead remained "Cold" for the better part of fifty years. The end of the Cold War in 1989 caused the International Relations community and the world at large to pause and think about what caused this Cold War. There had been beliefs during the "war" as to why it happened, but now with the pressure off and the future uncertain, everyone wanted to know what was (is) in store for the world. The three main explanations for the Cold War are diverse and strongly supported by their faithful followers. The Attribution viewpoint is supported by W.A. Williams, the Structural viewpoint by Spanier (do you mean schlesinger?)and Misperception by Jervis.

The idea of attribution belongs with actors. The attributes of the actors involved produce the biases and perceptions found throughout policymaking and decision making. The USSR was treated as a unitary actor during the Cold War. It was expected that as a monolith with an aggressive nature and a v...

... middle of paper ...

...uctural, and misperception. W. A. Williams in his book exemplif ies the attribution view. The misperception view is put forth by Jervis, and Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. presents his view of attribution and structure. I propose (brought forth-kinda awkward) the view that all three views can exist at once to explain the origins of the COLD WAR.

Bibliography:

Schlesinger, Arthur Jr., "The Origins of the Cold War", in Phil Williams, Donald M. Goldstein, and Jay M. Shafritz, eds., Classic Readings of International Relations (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1994) 395-402.

Viotti, Paul R. and Mark V. Kauppi, 1993. International Relations Theory: Realism, Pluralism, Globalism. 2d ed. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Williams, William Appleman, The Tragedy of American Diplomacy, New Ed. (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1972).

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