Week 6: The Cold War in the Truman-Stalin Era: Superpowers, Bipolarity and Ideological Partition Truman Era (1945-53) · Critical juncture in US foreign and security policy · Active economic, diplomatic and military role in regional and global security · Isolationism to Interventionism Post-war expansion of Soviet power Expansion of Soviet influence in Europe · Buffer of client 'satellite' (formally independent but now under military and political influence) states · USSR: learnt lessons of WWII · Western perceived the USSR as driven to achieve Soviet hegemony Context · Reduction of US military presence after end of WWII · Also: US nuclear dominance (until 1949) Expansion of US power in eastern Mediterranean Truman administration actively opposed Soviet expansion (and tried to replace UK) Iranian Crisis (1946) · The Iran crisis of 1946, also known as the Iran-Azerbaijan Crisis, followed the end of World War II and stemmed from the Soviet Union's refusal to relinquish occupied Iranian territory. This diplomatic blunder united US and the UK and forced the Soviets to withdraw. Turkish Straits Crisis (1946) • The Turkish Straits crisis was a Cold War-era territorial conflict between the Soviet Union and Turkey. Turkey was pressured by the Soviet government to allow Russian shipping to flow freely through the Turkish Straits, which connected the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. As the Turkish government would not submit to the Soviet Union's requests, tensions arose in the region, leading to a show of naval force on the side of the Soviets. The tensions caused
Turkey to turn to the United States and NATO, for protection and membership, respectively. Greek Civil War (1946-49) · UK unable to support government vs. Communist insurgents · US economic & military aid (Mar 1947) · Greek support for US grew Truman Doctrine- March 12, 1947 The Truman doctrine implied American support for other nations threatened by Soviet communism, such as Greece and Turkey. The Truman Doctrine became the foundation of American foreign policy, and led, in 1949, to the formation of NATO and to the start of the Cold War. Marshall Plan Marshall Plan (1948-52) brought about by the Secretary of State George Marshall · $13 bn grants, loans to 16 countries · $3.2bn UK · $2.7 bn France · $1.4bn Germany · Catalyst for European economic recovery as Industrial production +35% and Agricultural production +10% · Free trade reinforced by US-led Bretton Woods institutions, e.g. IMF, GATT Western security cooperation Brussels Treaty (Mar 1948) · Belgium, France, Lux, Neth, UK · mutual defence against Germany · outside US control Berlin Blockade (Apr 1948 - May 1949) · During the multinational occupation of post-World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road, and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under Western control. The Soviets offered to drop the blockade if the Western Allies withdrew the newly introduced Deutsch mark from West Berlin.
· In response, the Western Allies organized the Berlin airlift to carry supplies to the people of West Berlin via aircrews from the