The COLD WAR, Explained [AP World History Review—Unit 8 Topic 2]

Summary

In this video, Heimler's History dives into the causes and effects of the Cold War, focusing on the ideological clash between the United States' democratic capitalism and the Soviet Union's authoritarian communism. The video explores how these conflicting ideologies, along with a mutual mistrust, led to a tense geopolitical standoff that lasted for decades. The Cold War's influence extended globally, impacting decolonization and the rise of the non-aligned movement as newly independent states sought to avoid becoming mere pawns in the superpower rivalry.

Highlights

• The Cold War featured an intense ideological standoff between the US and the Soviet Union. 🌍
• Conflicting ideologies and mutual mistrust set the stage for the Cold War. 🔍
• The US and the Soviet Union saw decolonizing nations as ideological pawns. 🗺️
• The non-aligned movement offered an alternative to Cold War dynamics. 🚫
• Non-aligned countries skillfully navigated the Cold War for their benefits. 🤝

Key Takeaways

• The Cold War was defined by an ideological clash between democratic capitalism and authoritarian communism. 🌍
• Mutual mistrust and territorial disputes fueled the Cold War tensions. 🔍
• Decolonization played a significant role as superpowers sought to influence new states. 🗺️
• The non-aligned movement emerged as a third way, rejecting Cold War pressures. 🚫
• Leaders of non-aligned countries leveraged superpower rivalry to their advantage. 🤝

Overview

Imagine a world where the United States' democratic capitalism and the Soviet Union's authoritarian communism are in a constant wrestling match. That's the Cold War for you! An epic ideological showdown that shaped the geopolitical landscape for decades. It wasn't just about 'you do you' – both superpowers were determined to spread their own 'better' ideology across the globe, causing major tensions.

This clash of ideologies was only part of the problem. Pre-existing mutual mistrust stirred the pot even before World War II was over. As Central and Eastern European countries faced post-war elections, suspicions grew. The Soviet Union's desire for a buffer zone and the US's push for democracy clashed like toddlers fighting over the last cookie, setting the stage for four decades of Cold War drama.

Meanwhile, as colonized nations were breaking free and forming new states, the US and Soviet Union raced to win them over like captains picking kickball teams. Cue the non-aligned movement, where newly independent states decided to march to the beat of their own drum. These nations, refusing to be anyone's pawns, found clever ways to benefit from the superpower rivalry while establishing their own paths to independence.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction to Cold War The chapter titled 'Introduction to Cold War' defines the Cold War as a state of hostility between states, characterized by ideological conflict rather than open warfare. Specifically, it refers to the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. The chapter identifies the primary cause of the Cold War as the clash of ideologies between the two superpowers: Democratic capitalism of the United States versus the opposing ideology of the Soviet Union (not fully captured in the transcript).
• 00:30 - 01:00: Conflicting Ideologies: Democracy vs Communism The chapter titled 'Conflicting Ideologies: Democracy vs Communism' explores the ideological clash between democratic capitalism and authoritarian communism. Democratic capitalism is characterized by free-market economics and political participation by the citizens. In contrast, authoritarian communism focuses on strict government control of the economy and equal redistribution of wealth with limited citizen involvement in governance. The chapter aims to explain why these opposing ideologies have significantly influenced global geopolitics, particularly throughout the later part of the 20th century.
• 01:00 - 01:30: Universalizing Ideologies and Global Tensions The chapter titled "Universalizing Ideologies and Global Tensions" discusses the inherently expansionist nature of the American democratic and Soviet communist ideologies during the 20th century. Both nations, as superpowers, were not content with restricting their ideological beliefs to their own borders. Instead, they sought to globalize their influence, each side believing that universal adoption of their model would prove its superiority. This ambition for global ideological conformity led to heightened tensions between the two nations.
• 01:30 - 02:00: Mutual Mistrust and Post-War Agreements The chapter titled 'Mutual Mistrust and Post-War Agreements' explores the underlying causes of the Cold War, highlighting the deep-rooted mutual mistrust between the US and the Soviet Union. This mistrust was already brewing even before World War II ended. The chapter details the series of conferences held by the US, Soviet Union, and Great Britain to discuss post-war plans. A significant focus was on ensuring that Central and Eastern European countries could hold free elections post-war, aligning with democratic principles. However, this post-war democratic vision set the stage for future tensions, particularly because of differing ideological motivations between spreading democracy and communism worldwide.
• 02:00 - 02:30: Soviet Control in Eastern Europe The Soviet Union, fearing the spread of democracy and capitalism which were seen as threats, decided to maintain control over Eastern European states after World War II. This was to ensure these states acted as a buffer zone between Russia and Western Europe. As a result, all these nations quickly became communist, reflecting Soviet ideologies and serving Soviet interests. This move was viewed by the United States as a direct violation of prior agreements granting these nations self-determination and democracy, leading to increased mutual distrust between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. The tension extended to disputes over Germany.
• 02:30 - 03:00: Germany Division and the Iron Curtain Post-World War II, Germany was divided into four occupation zones controlled by the Soviet Union, France, Britain, and the United States. Though meant to be temporary, the Soviet Union's refusal to release Eastern Germany transformed it into a communist state, increasing tensions. Winston Churchill famously declared the emergence of an 'iron curtain' across Europe, signifying the rise of ideological divisions. These divisions were pivotal in the initiation of the Cold War, which was fueled by clashing ideologies and deep-seated mistrust between superpowers and lasted for decades.
• 03:00 - 03:30: Global Implications and Decolonization The chapter discusses the global implications of the Cold War, emphasizing that its effects were not confined to the US and USSR but extended worldwide. It highlights the intersection of the Cold War with the process of decolonization, noting how each superpower aimed to spread their ideology across newly independent states resulting from decolonization. Further subjects like military alliances, nuclear proliferation, and proxy wars are mentioned as topics for subsequent discussions.
• 03:30 - 04:00: The Race for Influence in New States The chapter titled 'The Race for Influence in New States' discusses the geopolitical dynamics during the Cold War, where the United States and the Soviet Union vied for influence over newly independent nations. These countries, emerging from colonial rule, were seen as potential allies in the broader ideological battle between the two superpowers, reminiscent of team captains selecting players for a game. Despite this pressure, some groups and individuals within these nations resisted being used as mere pawns in this global power struggle.
• 04:00 - 04:30: Birth of the Non-Aligned Movement The chapter discusses the origin of the Non-Aligned Movement, which emerged as a response to global conflicts that threatened to make newly independent nations dependent on more powerful countries, a situation reminiscent of their colonial past. The movement was spearheaded by Indonesian President Ahmed Sukarno who convened the first meeting in 1955 with 29 African and Asian heads of state, including significant countries like India, Ghana, Indonesia, and Egypt. These nations were either newly independent or still fighting for independence, and they identified themselves as 'non-aligned' to maintain sovereignty and avoid the dominance of superpowers.
• 04:30 - 05:00: Strategies of Non-Aligned Nations The chapter discusses the strategies employed by non-aligned nations during the Cold War. These nations refused to be dominated by the rivalry between the two superpowers. Instead, the non-aligned movement offered an alternative to the economic, political, and social orders dictated by Cold War dynamics. The leaders of non-aligned countries were strategic in their approach, leveraging the Cold War rivalry to gain support from either side. This allowed some non-aligned states to secure necessary resources and weapons for defense and development. The chapter cites Indonesia as an example, highlighting its ability to receive aid from the Soviet Union amidst its post-war rebuilding efforts.

The COLD WAR, Explained [AP World History Review—Unit 8 Topic 2] Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 the Cold War baby what caused it and what effects did it have well if that's the question you're asking then you have found the Right video My Dear pupil so if you're ready to get them brain cows milk let's get to it okay before we jump right into the causes let me just Define what we mean by Cold War in case you missed it in the last video a cold war describes a state of hostility that exists between two states chiefly characterized by an ideological struggle rather than open Warfare and the particular cold war that we're talking about is between the United States and the Soviet Union so the first cause of the standoff was conflicting ideologies between the two superpowers namely the Dem Democratic capitalism of the United
• 00:30 - 01:00 States and the authoritarian communism of the Soviet Union so Democratic capitalism emphasizes free market economics and political participation from citizens but authoritarian communism emphasizes strict government control of the economy and redistribution of wealth equally to all citizens who have essentially no voice in the government oh by the way if you want note guys to follow along with this video on all my videos then check the link in the description okay so clearly those two ideologies are at odds with one another but why in the fresh hex says you with those ideologies create enough tension to alter Global geopolitics for the last of the 20th
• 01:00 - 01:30 century I mean Americans you do you Soviets you also do you well ultimately the problem is that neither of these ideologies are built on a you do you and I do me principle both ideologies are universalizing ideas meaning that those who hold them want everyone else to hold them as well the US wasn't satisfied to keep democracy to themselves nor were the Soviets satisfied to keep communism to themselves each ideology can only prove its Superior worth once every square inch of the planet was conformed to one ideology or the other so yeah since the US and the Soviet Union were the two great super powers of this age
• 01:30 - 02:00 it's not surprising that their desire to spread democracy or communism throughout the world would cause some uh problems but then the second cause of the Cold War was the mutual mistrust that existed between two powers and that mistrust started even before World War II had ended you see before the end of the war the three big Powers the US the Soviet Union and Great Britain met together at a series of conferences to discuss plans for the post-war world and they basically all agreed that Central and Eastern European countries would be able to hold free elections after the war was over if that smells like democracy to you then your sniffer is working just fine but that presented a big fat
• 02:00 - 02:30 problem to the Soviet Union which bordered those States namely that if those states were Democratic and capitalist well then they wouldn't be Communists and remember both of these ideologies want to make the whole world over in their own image so Joseph Stalin decided to keep those countries under Soviet control to act as a buffer zone between Russia and Europe therefore all those Nations became communist in short order and serve the purposes of the Soviet Union the US not surprisingly saw this as a flagrant violation of their agreement to allow these nations the right of self-determination and democracy so mutual mistrust unlocked but then they also Tangled over Germany
• 02:30 - 03:00 and that led to further antagonism between the two superpowers so after the war Germany was divided into four occupation zones one of which went to the Soviet Union and then the French and the British and the United States respectively and that occupation was meant to be temporary but again Stalin refused to set Eastern Germany free and it quickly became another communist satellite state of the Soviet Union it was all of these territorial divisions that led former British prime minister Winston Churchill to Proclaim that an iron curtain had fallen across Europe therefore Guided by conflicting ideologies and growing mistrust the Cold War began and would last for the next
• 03:00 - 03:30 four decades however the implications of this conflict were much larger than the two superpowers alone in fact the effects of this conflict reach into nearly every last part of the stinking world now we'll talk more about the effects of the Cold War in the next video including new military alliances and the proliferation of nuclear weapons and proxy wars and all the rest but here I just want to focus on how the Cold War intersected with another major development during this period namely decolonization so remember that each power wanted their own ideology to cover the whole earth and so as the process of decolonization was creating dozens of brand new States across the world the US
• 03:30 - 04:00 and the Soviet Union race to influence each of these new States and win them to their respective size like two team captains on the playground picking teams for kickball and so all of these nations are finally becoming free of colonial rule and establishing their own paths to Independence in the United States and the Soviet Union started seeing them as pwns in their larger ideological struggle and so this growing pressure for newly independent nations to join one side or the other of this superpower conflict that had nothing to do with them was kind of a bummer however some groups and individuals in these newly forming States refused to be Pawns in
• 04:00 - 04:30 this global conflict which in many ways would make them dependent on more powerful Nations which is exactly the situation that they had just escaped in their recent Colonial past and therefore something called the non-aligned movement was born it was led by Indonesian president ammed sucaro who hosted the first meeting of this movement in 1955 and there 29 African and Asian heads of state met among the most significant being India Ghana Indonesia and Egypt and they all represented new states that were formerly colonies or those still resisting colonial rule in search of Independence and they described themselves as non-aligned in order to
• 04:30 - 05:00 communicate that they refused to be controlled by the conflict between these two superpowers therefore the non-aligned movement represented an alternative to the existing economic political and social orders created by the Cold War rivalry however leaders of non-aligned nations were also shrewd and they knew how to take advantage of the Cold War rivalry by figing support for one side or the other some non-aligned states were able to gain weapons and resources that they needed for their own defense and development for example Indonesia had no problem receiving aid from the Soviet Union and it struggled to create a post-war state but they also had no problem positiv destroying the
• 05:00 - 05:30 Communist party there racking up something like half a million deaths in the process Okay click here to keep reviewing for Unit 8 and click here to grab my video note guyses which are going to help you cram all the contents of this course firmly into your brain fold I'm glad we got to hang out for a few minutes and I'll catch you on the flipflop I'm lout