how would you answer this question??? (1 Viewer)

[heeyeoni]

influence of various groups on the creation and maintaince of Cold War

if the question asks about influence of groups what would you talk about??

and if it says assess or evaluate what sort of conclusion are you supposed to come to??

 

[The Brucemaster]

Im not sure of any particular groups that had an effect on the outbreak of the Cold War or its maintenance but some things to consider:

1) Communist ideology
Whether or not Communist expansion in to Eastern Europe was aggressive and intended to spread Communism or if it was a search for security by creating a buffer zone of friendly nations.
If it was aggressive then Communist ideology played a significant part but if it was a search for security then Western over-reaction played a role.

2) Economic Factors
Revisionist historians argue that US diplomacy aimed not necessarily to reduce the threat of Communism but to promote commercial activity in Eastern Europe.

They're the two main points in relation to the origins of the Cold War, as to its maintenance there are numerous factors that played a role - the emergence of Stalin and his influence in Korea (Kim Il Sung), Western fear of Communism, the nuclear arms race etc. etc.

Hope that helps

 

[Silver Persian]

In the syllabus there are a few specified groups that are listed, Id suggest you look at those...Potential groups you could look at

-Government: (I'm fairly sure this would qualify as a group...you might need to as a teacher to make sure) - this would allow you to look at the policies that led to the creation and formation of the Cold War from both the USSR and USA perspective. Also, you can look at propaganda efforts to influence public opinion against the adversary
-Military-Industrial Complex: In the US, about 10% of the entire economy was devoted to the production of military supplies. Some historians have argued that the Cold War mentality was maintained to keep the economy moving along. In the USSR the percentage used on military production was much larger, but as their economy was command-based there was less need to justify it.\
-NATO/Warsaw Pact: You can look at the affect of these international groupings and the tendency for international relationships to be divided between two camps. You could also look at the UN and its attempts to defuse the various Cold War Crises and its inability to mediate between the US and the USSR.


That's all I've got at the moment - you should check out the syllabus listing of relevant groups. IF the question asks you to 'evaluate or assess' you need to come up with some sort of conclusion about how important these groups were in creating and maintaining the Cold War. So, were the governments, military-industrial complexes. international organisations and other groups important in creating the Cold War, and then keeping it going.