PCS 309: WORLD WARS AND COLD WAR

LEVEL: 300
UNITS: TWO (2)
SEMESTER: FIRST
1. Introduction to World War I
Before World War II began in 1939, World War I was called the Great War, the World War or
the War to End all Wars. More than 15 million people died. World War 1 was a military conflict
lasting from 1914 to 1918 which involved nearly all the biggest powers of the world. It involved
two opposing alliances – the Allies and the Central Powers. The countries of the Allies included
Russia, France, British Empire, Italy, United States, Japan, Romania, Serbia, Belgium, Greece,
Portugal and Montenegro. The countries of the Central Powers included Germany, Austria-
Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria. The Great War, began when a Serbian nationalist assassinated
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austrian-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, in
Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. Within two months, Austria-Hungary and Germany (the Central
Powers) were at war with Russia, France, Great Britain, and Italy (the Allied Powers). By the
time the armistice was signed, November 11, 1918, 20 million people had been killed (including
113,000 U.S. soldiers) and 20 million people wounded. The modern world had never seen such
horror (poisonous gas, trench warfare, improved technology and new weapons).

Tensions in Europe were very high before the archduke's assassination. The Triple Alliance
(Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy) and the Triple Entente (France, Russia and Great Britain)
struggled to maintain a balance of power. However, three elements undermined this fragile co-
existence. Both alliances had countries committed to building empires and their competing desire
to annex territory in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East increased their distrust of one another.
Industrialization allowed a rapid increase in military and naval equipment. And finally, many of
the ultraconservative governments faced strong internal challenges from liberals and socialists.

America had a history of noninvolvement in European wars and, during Woodrow Wilson's first
term, tried to remain neutral. The Atlantic Ocean separated the U.S. from the war and its large
immigrant population (one-third of the U.S. population according to the 1910 census)
encouraged Americans not to take sides. On February 19, 1915, Germany announced that it
would begin a submarine campaign against all enemy ships. President Wilson said the U.S.
would hold Germany strictly "accountable" for its actions. The following month, Great Britain
announced that it would blockade all ships carrying goods for Germany, including ships owned
by neutral nations that were sailing in the Atlantic Ocean and North Sea. On March 8, 1915, a
German submarine sank the Lusitania (which was carrying American weapons to Britain),
killing 128 Americans (who had been warned not to travel on the ship).

Pressure on Wilson to keep the U.S. out of the war increased. Wilson demanded that German
submarines not sink ships until they had been boarded and searched (an unreasonable request
since submarines could easily be sunk and were too small to carry civilian passengers) and he
campaigned for reelection with the slogan "He Kept Us Out of War." Germany sunk three more
American ships. The British leaked the Zimmerman telegram (a dramatic German scheme to get
Mexico to invade Texas and New Mexico) to the American press to pressure America to enter
the war.

On April 2, 1917, Wilson asked Congress to declare war, arguing "the world must be made safe
for democracy." Wilson reorganized the federal government to coordinate almost every phase of
the war: production of weapons and war materials (the War Industries Board), workers (the War
Labor Board), and transportation (the Railway Board). Franklin D. Roosevelt, as assistant
secretary of the navy, became very involved in ship production and the drafting of sailors. In
May 1917, General John Pershing led American troops into horrific battles at Cantigny and
Belleau Wood. By June, Pershing joined with British and French troops and helped coordinate an
attack along a 200-mile front. The combined allied armies pushed the Central Powers out of the
Argonne Forest and back into Belgium and Germany. Germany asked Wilson to negotiate a
truce October 16, 1918 and the armistice was signed November 11, 1918. Fighting stopped at the
eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month and is remembered every year on
November 11, now called Veteran's Day.

World War I stunned America. Anti-German feelings ran high and inspired a propaganda
campaign that often turned into a witch hunt (the First Red Scare). Many Americans rejected the
positive view of human nature they held before the war and, reeling from the economic and
emotional depression the war inflicted, embraced a foreign policy that would not involve the
U.S. in foreign conflicts. The war also spurred a world-wide peace movement and helped U.S.
women secure the vote.
World War I (WW1) also known as the First World War, was a global war centered in Europe
that began on 28th July 1914 and lasted until 11th November 1918. The war lasted exactly four
years, three months and 14 days. Before World War II began in 1939, World War I was called
the Great War, the World War or the War to End all Wars. 135 countries took part in World War
I, and more than 15 million people died.
Causes of the War
World War I occurred between July 1914 and November 11, 1918. By the end of the war, over
17 million people were killed including over 100,000 American troops. The reason why war
erupted is actually much more complicated than a simple list of causes. While there was a chain
of events that directly led to the fighting, the actual root causes are much deeper and part of
continued debate and discussion. This list is an overview of the most popular reasons that are
cited as the root causes of World War 1.
1. Immediate Cause:
Archduke Franz Ferdinand
The immediate cause of World War I that made the aforementioned items come into play
(alliances, imperialism, militarism, nationalism) was the assassination of Archduke Franz
Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary. In June 1914, a Serbian-nationalist terrorist group called the
Black Hand sent groups to assassinate the Archduke. Their first attempt failed when a driver
avoided a grenade thrown at their car. However, later that day a Serbian nationalist named
Gavrilo Princip assassinated him and his wife while they were in Sarajevo, Bosnia which was
part of Austria-Hungary. This was in protest to Austria-Hungary having control of this region.
Serbia wanted to take over Bosnia and Herzegovina. This assassination led to Austria-Hungary
declaring war on Serbia. When Russia began to mobilize due to its alliance with Serbia,
Germany declared war on Russia. Thus, began the expansion of the war to include all those
involved in the mutual defense alliances.
2. Mutual Defense Alliances
Over time, countries throughout Europe made mutual defense agreements that would pull them
into battle. These treaties meant that if one country was attacked, allied countries were bound to
defend them. Before World War 1, the following alliances existed:

Russia and Serbia

Germany and Austria-Hungary

France and Russia

Britain and France and Belgium

Japan and Britain

Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, Russia got involved to defend Serbia. Germany seeing
Russia mobilizing, declared war on Russia. France was then drawn in against Germany and
Austria-Hungary. Germany attacked France through Belgium pulling Britain into war. Then
Japan entered the war. Later, Italy and the United States would enter on the side of the allies.
3. Imperialism
Imperialism is when a country increases their power and wealth by bringing additional territories
under their control. Before World War I, Africa and parts of Asia were points of contention
among the European countries. This was especially true because of the raw materials these areas
could provide. The increasing competition and desire for greater empires led to an increase in
confrontation that helped push the world into WW I.
4. Militarism
As the world entered the 20th century, an arms race had begun. By 1914, Germany had the
greatest increase in military buildup. Great Britain and Germany both greatly increased their
navies in this time period. Further, in Germany and Russia particularly, the military
establishment began to have a greater influence on public policy. This increase in militarism
helped push the countries involved into war.
5. Nationalism
Much of the origin of the war was based on the desire of the Slavic peoples in Bosnia and
Herzegovina to no longer be part of Austria Hungary but instead be part of Serbia. In this way,
nationalism led directly to the War. But in a more general way, the nationalism of the various
countries throughout Europe contributed not only to the beginning but the extension of the war in
Europe. Each country tried to prove their dominance and power.

Duration of the War

World War I (WW1) also known as the First World War, was a global war centered in Europe
that began on 28th July 1914 and lasted until 11th November 1918. The war lasted exactly four
years, three months and 14 days.

Number of countries that took part in the War

135 countries took part in World War I.

Theatres of engagement

1. Battle of the Somme (1916)

2. German Spring Offensives on the Western Front (1918)

3. Battle of Cambrai (1917)

4. Battle of Caporetto (Fall of 1917)

5. Battle of Passchendaele (1917)

6. Battle of Verdun (1916)

7. Battle of Jutland (Spring of 1916)

8. Battle of Gallipoli (1915-1916)

9. First Battle of Marne (September of 1914)

10. Battle of Tannenberg (August of 1914)

Two important facts about the war

World War I triggered on June 28, 1914.

World War 1 was triggered on 28 June 1914 by the assassination of the Archduke Franz
Ferdinand of Austria and his pregnant wife Sophie. Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was
the nephew of Emperor Franz Josef and heir to the throne of Austria and Hungary. The
assassination was planned by a Serbian terrorist group, called The Black Hand and the man who
shot Franz Ferdinand and his wife was a Bosnian revolutionary named Gavrilo Princip.
A primary cause of WW1 was a difference over foreign policy. Although the assassination of
Franz Ferdinand triggered WW1, that was only the immediate cause. Differences over foreign
policy between the major world powers was the underlying cause of the war
Effects of World War I
1 ETHNIC CLEANSING AND GENOCIDE
The Armenians had inhabited the Caucasus region of Eurasia for close to 3 millennia having
taken up the Christian faith in the 4th Century AD. Over the years the region shifted hands
among its neighboring empires, and in the 15th Century was occupied by the Ottomans; making
them a small religious minority in an Empire ruled by the Muslims. As the Ottoman Empire
crumbled in the decades leading up to WW1, suspicion against the Armenians grew and brutal
action was taken against those who protested against the empire. Things came to a boil after the
Ottoman defeat against the Russians in the Battle of Sarikamish in the early stages of World War
I. On his return to Istanbul, Ottoman General Enver Pasha publicly blamed his defeat on
Armenians, who were supposedly collaborating with the enemy.

Armenian soldiers and other non-Muslims in the army were soon demobilized and killed by
Ottoman troops while irregular forces began mass killings in the villages. Any resistance was
used as a pretext for harsher measures and, on April 24, 1915, close to 250 Armenian politicians
and intellectuals were arrested. Most scholars agree on the date, as the beginning of the
Armenian Genocide that would involve the persecution of almost 1.5 million Armenians in the
coming years. By the end of the Great War the Ottoman Empire was ethnically cleansed of 90
percent of its Armenian population. Similar pretexts were also used against the Assyrians and the
Greeks. As of 2018, Turkey still denies genocide as an accurate term for the crimes while 29
countries have officially recognized the mass killings as genocide.
2. REVOLUTIONS OF 1917–1923
The period towards the end of WWI and in its aftermath saw an outburst of political unrest and
revolts around the world. War weary Russia saw the February Revolution in 1917 which toppled
the monarchy and forced the Tsar to abdicate. The provisional government thus formed was
further overthrown by the Bolshevik Revolution of October, beginning the reign of communists
in Russia. Inspired by the success of the Russian Revolutions and the political uncertainty of the
time, many such uprisings took place around the world. In 1918 as the war ended a socialist
revolution broke out in Germany, resulting in the creation of the left-leaning Weimar Republic,
which lasted until Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party seized power in the early 1930s. Then there was the
Irish War of Independence in 1919-20, the Hungarian Revolution in 1918-1920, the Egyptian
Revolution in 1919, the Biennio Rosso in Italy and many other movements including colonial
revolts in the Middle East and in Southeast Asia. These uprisings were mainly socialist or anti-
colonial in nature and were mostly short-lived, failing to have a long-term impact.
3. LOST GENERATION
World War I was a catastrophic event in terms of lives lost in the history of the world. Between 8
to 10 million died while fighting, one among eight combatants. Another 5 million civilians were
also killed along with another 15 million seriously wounded and 7 million permanently disabled.
Germany lost 15.1% of its active male population, Austria–Hungary lost 17.1%, and France lost
10.5%. In the early post-war period, among the major countries involved, it was difficult to find
anyone who had not lost someone in the war. Approximately 65 million combatants from 28
countries fought in the conflict. There was great confusion and disillusionment among those that
had returned. Most had gone to war believing in heroism and nobility but experienced a rude
shock fighting in the trenches and experiencing the horrors of war. Europe had not seen a major
war for 100 years, and those who fought became known as “the Lost Generation” because they
never fully recovered from the suffering.
4. COLLAPSE OF FOUR GREAT EMPIRES
The economic, social, military and political pressures of WW1 proved to be the final death blow
for four great monarchies and their empires. They were namely the Hohenzollern, the Habsburg,
the Romanov and the Ottoman. These had dominated the political scene in Europe for centuries.
Romanov and the Russian Empire
The humiliating loss in the 1904-05 Russo Japanese War led to 1905 Russian Revolution; a long
brewing discontent with the Russian social and political system. Tsar Nicholas II was thus forced
to consider the transformation of the Russian government from an autocracy into a constitutional
monarchy. However little changed on the ground and the resentment towards the ruling
continued to rise. Russia’s poor performance in the Great War acted as a catalyst in quickly
deteriorating the situation. Russia suffered heavy losses in men and territory and the social
situation led to the Russian Revolutions of 1917. This ended the 300-year rule of the Romanovs
with the rise of the Bolsheviks and a communist regime in Russia. The Romanov family was
massacred in the process.
Hapsburgs of Austria-Hungary
In the age of rising nationalism, Austria Hungary was struggling with a large ethnic population,
especially the Slav nationalism in the Balkans. The problem would in fact lead to the
assassination of Austro–Hungarian heir apparent Franz Ferdinand by a Bosnian Serb, an event
that caused Austria Hungary to start the First World War. The Austro-Hungarian Empire
completely ceased to exist as the War ended in the defeat of the Central Powers. Centuries of
Hapsburg rule in central Europe ended with their exile. Moreover, Austria and Hungary were
separated and reduced to small states surrounded by new and often less than friendly countries.
Hohenzollern and Imperial Germany
As the war ended with the defeat of the Central powers, Germany was blamed for the entire
conflict. The Hohenzollern dynasty, which had been the ruling house of Prussia since 1415 AD
and that of Imperial Germany since 1871, lost both their sovereignty in 1918. A wave of Marxist
agitations spread across the falling empire, which were later suppressed by returning war
veterans. Germany lost its colonies; large portions of territory to France and Poland; and was left
humiliated in the Treaty of Versailles. Kaiser Wilhelm II went into exile in Netherlands where he
remained till his last.
The Ottoman Empire
With the death of Sultan Mehmed V in 1918, Sultan Mehmed VI presided over the dissolution of
the Ottoman Empire under the Severes Treaty. The Arabic lands were divided among the British
and the French and the Ottoman Empire was left to almost a fifth of the size of modern-day
Turkey. This led to a national revolt under Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, against both Ottoman Empire
and the Allies. The five-year struggle known as the Turkish War of Independence led to the
Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 that superseded the Severes Treaty and established the Republic of
Turkey. The monarchy was abolished and the last Sultan was exiled from Constantinople.
5 RISE OF NEW NATION STATES
Though ethnic nationalism was on a rise for decades before WW1, the powerful and age-old
empires had the strength and resources to keep it in check. The Great War depleted the power of
monarchs and as their Empires collapsed, new nations were born and were now able to survive in
the new world order.

Austria-Hungary was split into Austria and Hungary and other independent states emerged from
its territory, like Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. Russia and Germany gave land to Poland
among other countries. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia gained independence from Russia along
with Finland. Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan were established as independent states in the
Caucasus region, but were over time absorbed into the Soviet Union. With the collapse of the
Ottoman Empire; Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Palestine were declared “mandates“under the League of
Nations. France essentially took control of Syria and Britain took control over the remaining
three mandates. What was left of the Ottoman Empire became Turkey after the Turkish War of
Independence.
6 MILLION OF WOMEN ENTER THE WORKFORCE
The First World War was a pivotal moment in the impact of women’s role in society. As warring
countries mobilized for war and later entered a state of ‘total war’, millions of men entered the
military and armed services. The drain in the labor pool caused by the vacating servicemen
created a vacuum that could only be filled by the women. This meant that significant number of
women entered into jobs, even in areas where they were traditionally thought to be incompetent
like heavy industry, munitions and police work.

This was mostly viewed as a temporary situation and women were frequently forced out of jobs
as the soldiers returned. But during the years between 1914 and 1918, women learned skills and
independence, which would have long term benefits and consequences for those societies. Some
women publicly embraced this new access to traditionally male occupations and were
determined not to relinquish them when the war was over. There were others not keen on the
new challenges and eager for a return to pre-war conditions. But the door had now opened and
the beginning of a social change had begun.
7 EMERGENCE OF UNITED STATES AS A WORLD POWER
With its vast resources and the advent of the second industrial revolution, America was a rising
economic power in the decades preceding WWI. However, Europe and its colonial empires had
been for a few centuries the nerve center in the world. The Great War and particularly the year
1917, marked a turning point in world politics, which would come a full circle in the coming
decades and in the aftermath of the Second World War. As war broke out in 1914 and prolonged,
it began severely disrupting the European economies, allowing the United States to become the
world’s leading creditor and industrial power. This became apparent in 1916 when European
countries, especially Britain, placed larger and larger war orders with the U.S. Britain and France
paid for these purchases by floating larger and larger bond issues to American buyers,
denominated in dollars.

American President Woodrow Wilson had ensured that U.S. stayed neutral in the war; and his
policy was partly responsible for his reelection in 1916. However, in the beginning of 1917 as
Russia withdrew from the war, America’s financial and political interests prompted it to enter the
war on the side of the Allies. A German general staff had perhaps rightly appraised American
military strength as being somewhere “between Belgium and Portugal” A country with untapped
military potential transformed with speed, turning into a large-scale fighting force towards the
end of the war. Its entry thus tilted the balance in the favor of the Allies in 1918. Consequently,
the United States became one of the major powers in the world.
8 FAMINES AND DISEASE
Famines and diseases were common and flourished in the chaotic wartime conditions. A louse
borne typhus epidemic claimed the life of 200,000 in Serbia in 1914. As Allied blockades
suffocated its enemies another 200,000 deaths occurred in the Great Famine of Mount Lebanon
(1915-1918) and 750,000 German civilians died from starvation. In Russia, the devastation
caused by the War resulted in the 1921 famine killing anywhere between 5 to 10 million people
and leaving 4.5 to 7 million homeless children. 3 million more died of typhus and 3.5 million of
malaria. The most devastating was the worldwide influenza pandemic, also known as the
Spanish Flu. It broke out in 1918, killing more people than the war itself. With death count at
somewhere between 20 and 40 million people, it has been cited as the most devastating epidemic
in recorded world history.
9 TREATY OF VERSAILLES AND SEEDS FOR WWII
The Treaty of Versailles was the peace treaty which effectively ended the state of war between
Germany and the Allied Powers after WW1. It was signed on 28 June 1919 in Versailles, Paris,
five years to date of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. The treaty was
“too harsh “on the Germans, designed to humiliate a defeated enemy. Thus, it laid seeds for a
future conflict. Germany was required to accept the blame for all the loss and destruction caused
during the war. This article, Article 231, later became known as the War Guilt clause. 13 percent
of Germany’s European territory was taken away and it was required to renounce sovereignty
over its former colonies, which came under Allied control in the League of Nations mandates.
The treaty reduced Germany’s armed forces to very low levels and prohibited Germany from
possessing certain classes of weapons. Adding to that, Germany was forced into accepting to pay
$31.4 billion (£6.6 billion, roughly equivalent to US$442 billion or UK£284 billion in 2019) as
reparations to certain countries that had formed the Entente powers. These enormous charges led
to hyperinflation and massive unemployment in the country. The humiliation of the Treaty and
the economic woes it brought led to the rise of the National Socialists (Nazis), which in turn led
to World War II. Moreover, the two other future Axis Powers of WWII, Italy and Japan, had
been with the Allies but were snubbed at the negotiating table after WWI, by the bigger powers
Britain and France.
10 GALVANIZED TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES
The tremendous scale and scope of the First World War where the most powerful nations were in
conflict, invited numerous new situations and challenges. The war was thus a time that brought
forth numerous new technological advancements both on and off the fighting arenas. World War
I introduced machine guns, modern artillery and airplanes to the battlefield. The horses were
soon found to be ineffective and tanks entered service in 1916. Research in chemistry led to the
discovery of the infamous poison gases and other means for chemical warfare. Moreover, arms
and ammunition improved by leaps and bounds. In the waters, the war saw the deployment of
submarines, aircraft carriers, hydrophones and depth charges while aviation received enormous
attention and growth.

With millions wounded or sick, advances were made in the field of medicine and surgery like
mobile X-Ray machines, new medicinal drugs, antiseptics, anesthesia, sun lamps and facial
reconstruction surgery. As the world went through a difficult time, many other day to day
inventions were born out of necessity like the wristwatch, sanitary pads, stainless steel, tea bags,
paper napkins, zips, drone and industrial fertilizer.Resolution

In 1919, The Treaty of Versailles officially ended the WW1. The Treaty required that Germany
accept full responsibility for causing the war; make reparations to some Allied countries;
surrender some of its territory to surrounding countries; surrender its African colonies; and limit
the size of its military. The Treaty also established the League of Nations to prevent future wars.
The League of Nations helped Europe rebuild and fifty-three nations joined by 1923. But the
U.S. Senate refused to let the United States join the League of Nations, and as a result, President
Woodrow Wilson, who had established the League, suffered a nervous collapse and spent the
rest of his term as an invalid.

Germany joined the League of Nations in 1926, but many Germans were very resentful of the
Treaty of Versailles. Germany and Japan withdrew from the League of Nations in 1933. Italy
withdrew three years later. The League of Nations was unable to stop German, Italian, and
Japanese from expanding their power and taking over smaller countries. Many believe World
War I never really ended, and that World War II never would have happened if not for WW1.
2. Introduction to World War II
World War II (WWII or WW2), also known as the Second World War, was a global war that
lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all
the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. In a state
of total war, directly involving more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries, the
major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind
the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was
the deadliest conflict in human history, resulting in 70 to 85 million fatalities, with more civilians
than military personnel killed. Tens of millions of people died due to genocides (including the
Holocaust), premeditated death from starvation, massacres, and disease. Aircraft played a major
role in the conflict, including in strategic bombing of population centres, the development
of nuclear weapons, and the only two uses of such in war.

World War II is generally considered to have begun on 1 September 1939, with the invasion of
Poland by Germany and subsequent declarations of war on Germany by the United
Kingdom and France on the 3rd. From late 1939 to early 1941, in a series
of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and
formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan, along with other countries later on. Under
the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and
annexed territories of their European neighbours: Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states.
Following the onset of campaigns in North Africa and East Africa, and the fall of France in mid-
1940, the war continued primarily between the European Axis powers and the British Empire,
with war in the Balkans, the aerial Battle of Britain, the Blitz, and the Battle of the Atlantic. On
22 June 1941, Germany led the European Axis powers in an invasion of the Soviet Union,
opening the Eastern Front, the largest land theatre of war in history and trapping the Axis,
crucially the German Wehrmacht, in a war of attrition.

Japan, which aimed to dominate Asia and the Pacific, was at war with the Republic of China by
1937. In December 1941, Japan attacked American and British territories with near-
simultaneous offensives against Southeast Asia and the Central Pacific including an attack on the
US fleet at Pearl Harbor. Following a US declaration of war against Japan, which followed one
from the UK, the European Axis powers declared war on the United States in solidarity with
their ally. Japan soon captured much of the Western Pacific, but its advances were halted in 1942
after losing the critical Battle of Midway; later, Germany and Italy were defeated in North
Africa and at Stalingrad in the Soviet Union. Key setbacks in 1943—including a series of
German defeats on the Eastern Front, the Allied invasions of Sicily and the Italian mainland, and
Allied offensives in the Pacific—cost the Axis its initiative and forced it into strategic retreat on
all fronts. In 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet
Union regained its territorial losses and turned towards Germany and its allies. During 1944 and
1945, Japan suffered reversals in mainland Asia, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy and
captured key Western Pacific islands.

The war in Europe concluded with the liberation of German-occupied territories, and
the invasion of Germany by the Western Allies and the Soviet Union, culminating in the fall of
Berlin to Soviet troops, the suicide of Adolf Hitler and the German unconditional surrender on 8
May 1945. Following the Potsdam Declaration by the Allies on 26 July 1945 and the refusal of
Japan to surrender on its terms, the United States dropped the first atomic bombs on the Japanese
cities of Hiroshima, on 6 August 1945, and Nagasaki, on 9 August. Faced with an
imminent invasion of the Japanese archipelago, the possibility of additional atomic bombings,
and the Soviet entry into the war against Japan and its invasion of Manchuria on 9 August, Japan
announced its intention to surrender on 15 August 1945, cementing total victory in Asia for the
Allies. In the wake of the war, Germany and Japan were occupied, and war crimes tribunals were
conducted against German and Japanese leaders. Despite their well documented war crimes,
mainly perpetrated in Greece and Yugoslavia, Italian leaders and generals were often pardoned,
thanks to diplomatic activities.
World War II changed the political alignment and social structure of the globe. The United
Nations (UN) was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts,
and the victorious great powers—China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the
United States—became the permanent members of its Security Council. The Soviet Union and
the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the nearly half-century-
long Cold War. In the wake of European devastation, the influence of its great powers waned,
triggering the decolonization of Africa and Asia. Most countries whose industries had been
damaged moved towards economic recovery and expansion. Political integration, especially in
Europe, began as an effort to forestall future hostilities, end pre-war enmities and forge a sense
of common identity.
Causes of World War II
The causes of World War II were numerous, but the major causes are summarized to include the
impact of the Treaty of Versailles following WWI, the worldwide economic depression, failure
of appeasement, the rise of militarism in Germany and Japan, and the failure of the League of
Nations.
1. Treaty of Versailles
Following World War, I, the victorious Allied Powers met to decide Germany’s future.
Germany would be forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles. Germany had to accept guilt for the
war and to pay reparations. Germany lost territory and was prohibited from having a large
military.
2. Failure of the League of Nations
The League of Nations was an international organization set up in 1919 to keep world peace. It
was intended that all countries would be members and that if there were disputes between
countries; they could be settled by negotiation rather than by force. The League of Nations was a
good idea, but ultimately a failure. Not all countries joined the league and the League had no
army to prevent military aggression such as Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia in Africa or Japan’s
invasion of Manchuria in China.
3. Failure of Appeasement
Appeasement meant agreeing to the demands of another nation in order to avoid conflict. During
the 1930s, politicians in Britain and France began to believe that the Treaty of Versailles was
unfair to Germany and that Hitler’s actions were understandable and justifiable. This belief,
adopted by Britain, was the Policy of Appeasement. An example of appeasement was the
Munich Agreement of September 1938. In the Agreement, Britain and France allowed Germany
to annex areas in Czechoslovakia where German-speakers lived. Germany agreed not to invade
the rest of Czechoslovakia or any other country. In March 1939, Germany broke its promise and
invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia. Neither Britain nor France was prepared to take military
action. Then, on September 1, 1939, German troops invaded Poland. Britain and France
immediately declared war on Germany. World War II had begun in Europe.
4. Germany’s Militarism
Hitler immediately began secretly building up Germany’s army and weapons. Although Britain
and France knew of Hitler’s actions, they thought a stronger Germany would stop the spread of
Communism from Russia. In 1936 Hitler ordered German troops to enter the German-speaking
areas of the Rhineland (France), Austria, and Czechoslovakia. At this point neither France nor
Britain was prepared to go to war. In 1936, Hitler made alliances with Italy and Japan. The
military alliance of Germany, Italy, and Japan was called the Axis Powers.
5. Japan’s Militarism
In 1931, Japan was hit badly by the economic depression. Japanese people lost faith in the
government. They turned to the army in order to find a solution to their economic problems. In
order to produce more goods, Japan needed natural resources for its factories. The Japanese army
invaded China, an area rich in minerals and resources. China asked for help from the League of
Nations. Japan ignored the League of Nations and continued to occupy China and Korea. As
Japan invaded other areas of South East Asia including Vietnam, the United States grew
concerned about its territories in Asia, such as the Philippines and Guam. Japan felt that its
expansion could be threatened by the United States military and attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii,
in December 1941. World War II had begun in Asia.
6. Formation of the Axis Coalition
Adolf Hitler, the Leader of the German National Socialist (Nazi) party, preached a racist brand
of fascism. Hitler promised to overturn the Versailles Treaty and secure
additional Lebensraum (“living space”) for the German people, who he contended deserve more
as members of a superior race. In the early 1930s, the Great Depression hit Germany. The
moderate parties could not agree on what to do about it, and large numbers of voters turned to
the Nazis and Communists. In 1933 Hitler became the German Chancellor, and in a series of
subsequent moves established himself as dictator. Japan did not formally adopt fascism, but the
armed forces’ powerful position in government enabled them to impose a similar type of
totalitarianism. As dismantlers of the world status quo, the Japanese were well ahead of Hitler.
They used a minor clash with Chinese troops near Mukden, also known as the Mukden or
Manchurian crisis, in 1931 as a pretext for taking over all of Manchuria, where they proclaimed
the puppet state of Manchukuo in 1932. In 1937-8 they occupied the main Chinese ports. Having
denounced the disarmament clauses of the Versailles Treaty, created a new air force, and
reintroduced conscription, Hitler tried out his new weapons on the side of right-wing military
rebels in the Spanish civil war (1936-9). This venture brought him into collaboration with
Mussolini who was also supporting the Spanish revolt after having seized (1935-6) Ethiopia in a
small war. Treaties between Germany, Italy, and Japan in 1936-7 brought into being the Rome-
Berlin-Tokyo Axis. For example, Japan and Germany signed the Anti-Comintern pact in 1936
and then Italy joined in 1937. This pact denounced communism and it showed their unity in the
matter. The Axis thereafter became the collective term for those countries and their allies.
7. The Worldwide Great Depression
The costs of carrying out World War I, as well as the costs to rebuild Western Europe after years
of fighting, resulted in enormous debts on the part of the Western European powers to the United
States. The enormous reparations put on Germany in the Treaty of Versailles also increased the
debts. Coupled with ineffective governments in many of these European States (notably the
Weinmar Republic, pre-Mussolini Italy and Socialist France) led to slow reconstruction and poor
economic growth. With the crash of the New York Stock Market on 29 October, 1929, the
United States recalled all foreign loans in the following days. Unable to repay these loans, the
economies of the West collapsed, beginning the Great Depression.
8. Pearl Harbor and Simultaneous Invasions (early December 1941)
On December 7, 1941, Japanese warplanes commanded by Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo
carried out a surprise air raid on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the largest U.S. naval base in the Pacific.
The Japanese forces met little resistance and devastated the harbor. This attack resulted in 8
battleships either sunk or damaged, 3 light cruisers and 3 destroyers sunk as well as damage to
some auxiliaries and 343 aircraft either damaged or destroyed. 2408 Americans were killed
including 68 civilians; 1178 were wounded. Japan lost only 29 aircraft and their crews and five
midget submarines. However, the attack failed to strike targets that could have been crippling
losses to the US Pacific Fleet such as the aircraft carriers which were out at sea at the time of the
attack or the base’s ship fuel storage and repair facilities. The survivals of these assets have led
many to consider this attack a catastrophic long-term strategic blunder for Japan.

The following day, the United States declared war on Japan. Simultaneously to the attack on
Pearl Harbor, Japan also attacked U.S. air bases in the Philippines. Immediately following these
attacks, Japan invaded the Philippines and also the British Colonies of Hong Kong, Malaya,
Borneo and Burma with the intention of seizing the oilfields of the Dutch East Indies. Following
the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Germany declared war on the United States on 11
December 1941, even though it was not obliged to do so under the Tripartite Pact of 1940. Hitler
made the declaration in the hopes that Japan would support him by attacking the Soviet Union.
Japan did not oblige him, and this diplomatic move proved a catastrophic blunder which gave
President Franklin D. Roosevelt the pretext needed for the United States joining the fight in
Europe with full commitment and with no meaningful opposition from Congress. Some
historians mark this moment as another major turning point of the war with Hitler provoking a
grand alliance of powerful nations, most prominently the UK, the USA and the USSR, who
could wage powerful offensives on both East and West simultaneously.
Leaders of the World War II
The Allied powers were led by Winston Churchill (United Kingdom); Joseph Stalin (Soviet
Union); Charles de Gaulle (France); and Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman (United
States). The Axis powers were led by Adolf Hitler (Germany), Benito Mussolini (Italy),
and Hideki Tojo (Japan).
Countries Involved in the World War II
Virtually every country of the world was involved in the Second World War. But the main
combatants were the Axis powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan) and the Allies (France, Great
Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union, and, to a lesser extent, China).
Theatres of Engagement
1. Battle of Stalingrad, July 1942 to February 1943
Considered by many historians as the turning point of the Second World War, the Battle of
Stalingrad was fought between July 1942 and February 1943. The German army suffered many
losses, after which it began its full retreat and the war turned in favor of the Allies. The Russians
consider this battle to be the greatest of the Second World War, and it is also known as the Great
Patriotic War in Russia. The battle was devastating with nearly two million military and civilian
casualties, one of the greatest losses in military history.
2. Battle of Normandy, June to August 1944
The Battle of Normandy was codenamed Operation Overlord. With Operation Overload, the
Allies launched the largest amphibious invasion of Normandy to free German-occupied Western
Europe during the Second World War. Commonly known as D-Day, the operation was launched
on June 6, 1944 with the Normandy landings. About 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel
on the same day and over two million Allied troops had reached France by the end of August.
Special technology was developed to cope with the conditions on the Normandy beaches,
including artificial ports known as “Mulberry harbors” and a series of specialized tanks called
Hobart’s Funnies. The Allies carried out a military deception plan called Operation Bodyguard in
which electronic and visual misinformation tricked the Germans over the date and location of the
main landings. The Allies did not attain their objectives on the first day but gained substantial
momentum and captured the port of Cherbourg on June 26 and the city of Caen on July 21.
Operation Dragoon was launched to invade southern France followed by the liberation of Paris
on August 25. By August 30, 1944, the German forces had retreated across the Seine which
marked the end of Operation Overlord.
3. Battle of Midway, June 1942
The Japanese planned to eliminate the United States’ position as a strategic power in the Pacific
by launching the Battle of Midway. At the start of the battle, the Americans were outnumbered
about 2 to 1. Between June 4 and 7, 1942, the Battle of Midway began with the US side
commanded by Admirals Chester Nimitz, Frank Jack Fletcher, and Raymond A. Spruance and
the Imperial Japanese Navy under Admirals Isoroku Yamamoto, Chuichi Nagumo, and
Nobutake Kondo. Largely due to developments in codebreaking, the US was able to predict the
date and location of the attack, giving them the upper hand.

The Japanese plan was also a failure due to their incorrect assumptions about the American
mindset. All of the four large Japanese aircraft carriers which were a part of the force that
attacked Pearl Harbor were sunk while the US only lost the carrier Yorktown and a destroyer.
Six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Americans had earned a decisive victory over
the Japanese and gained an offensive position for the Allies. Military historian John Keegan
called the Battle of Midway one of the most stunning and decisive moments in the history of
naval warfare.
4. Battle of Britain, July to October 1940
After the fall of France, Hitler expected the British to seek a peace settlement with Germany, but
Britain continued to fight. To bring the war to a quick end Hitler planned an invasion of Britain,
codenamed Operation Sealion. For the operation to be successful, the Germans had to first secure
the skies over the United Kingdom which was protected by the Royal Air Force (RAF). Germany
had been banned from having an air force after the First World War but the Nazi government had
reestablished it and it was one of the most formidable air forces in the world. The RAF fought
the Germans off with the Hawker Hurricane and the Supermarine Spitfire, two of the best fighter
aircraft in the world. Unable to gain advantage over the RAF, the Germans shifted their focus to
London. This would be a critical error by the Germans, because despite the devastation it caused
to the residents of London, it also gave the British defenses time to recover. On September 15,
the British resisted another massive attack by the Germans who suffered many losses. Later,
Hitler postponed Operation Sealion indefinitely. This victory was one of the most important for
Britain and proof that air power alone could be used to win a major battle.
5. Battle of France May to June 1940
The German invasion of France and the Low Countries in 1940 is known as the Battle of France
or the Fall of France. In a short space of six weeks starting on May 10, 1940, the German forces
defeated the Allies and conquered France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. Italy also
tried to invade France by entering the war on June 10, 1940. The land operations on the Western
Front from the German side were all over by June 6, 1944. The Battle of France saw two main
operations on the German side. Fall Gelb (Case Yellow) saw the armored German units break
through the Ardennes along the Somme Valley cutting off and surrounding the Allied units
advancing to Belgium. After the Belgian and French forces were driven back to the sea, the
British evacuated their own troops and several French divisions from Dunkirk in Operation
Dynamo. After the British troops left, Fall Rot (Case Red) began on June 5. The remaining
French divisions resisted but were soon overcome. Paris was occupied by German forces on June
14. After the battle, France was divided up and occupied by Germany, Italy, and the neutral
Vichy government.
6. Battle of Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941
The devastating attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii by Operation AI of the
Japanese Imperial Army was a complete surprise and took place on December 7, 1941. This
attack marked a climax in the worsening relationship between Japan and the Unites States. Once
the US fleet was out of their way, the road to conquering all of Southeast Asia and the
Indonesian archipelago would open up for the Japanese. On November 26, a Japanese fleet
including six aircraft carriers, two battleships, three cruisers, and eleven destroyers sailed 275
miles north of Hawaii. About 360 planes were launched from this point for the final assault. Four
US Navy battleships were sunk and the remaining four were damaged. Additionally, three
cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship and one minelayer were also sunk or
damaged. A total of 2,403 Americans died in the attack and 1,178 others were wounded. This
surprise attack came as a shock to the American people and led to the US entering the Second
World War in both Europe and the Pacific. On December 8, the United States declared war on
Japan.
7. Second Battle of Kharkov, May 1942
The Second Battle of Kharkov was fought from May 12 to 28, 1942. It was an Axis counter-
offensive in the region around Kharkov against the Red Army on the Eastern Front. The
objective of the offensive was to eliminate the Izium bridgehead over Seversky Donets or the
“Barvenkovo bulge,” an area known for staging Soviet offensives. After the Battle of Moscow,
which drove the German forces away from the Soviet capital, the Kharkov Offensive was a new
attempt from the Soviet side to expand their strategic initiative. On May 12, 1942, under the
command of Marshal Semyon Timoshenko, the Soviet forces attacked the German 6th Army
from a salient established during the winter counterattacks. This offensive further depleted the
Red Army’s reserves and failed to gain a significant element of surprise. Initially there were
promising signs for the Red Army but the offensives were stopped by German counterattacks.
Joseph Stalin and several staff officers made critical errors in underestimating the 6th Army’s
potential and overestimating their own forces. This cut off the advancing Soviet troops from the
rest of the front. The battle led to almost 300,000 casualties on the Soviet side and 20,000 for the
Germans and their allies.
8. Battle of Moscow, October 1941 to January 1942
The Battle of Moscow represents two significant periods of fighting on the Eastern Front during
the Second World War from October 1941 to January 1942. By early October, after four million
casualties on the Soviet side, the German army had come to within 200 miles of Moscow. This
was when Operation Typhoon was launched, an offensive intended to seize the Soviet capital
and put an end to the campaign. But the reality turned out to be far from what either side had
expected. The Soviets had a huge but badly organized army. The Germans, on the other hand,
with their expertise and equipment could have won any war on the planet. But due to the freezing
weather and inability to get supplies through to the Panzer Army, the Soviet defense was able to
hold off the Germans. The poor-quality Russian roads had taken out about 40 percent of the
German truck fleet and by the time the Germans were within 15 miles (24 kilometers) of
Moscow, they were battered and exhausted. The Soviets defended the city by constructing three
defensive belts, deploying new armies and bringing troops from the Siberian and Far Eastern
Military Districts.
9. Battle of Berlin, April to May 1945
Also known as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, the Battle of Berlin
was the final major offensive of the Second World War in Europe. After the Vistula-Oder
Offensive of January - February 1945, the Red Army halted on a line 60 kilometers east of
Berlin. Operation Clausewitz was the German defense plan against the Soviet attack. After the
Soviet offensive was resumed on April 16, the city was attacked from the east and south, and a
third force countered the Germans in the north. A Soviet soldier described the enormous amount
of equipment deployed during the attack. The Soviet army was successful in encircling the city
and on April 20, 1945, also Hitler’s birthday, the 1st Belorussian Front started shelling the city
center, while the 1st Ukrainian Front advanced to the southern suburbs. Hitler and a number of
his followers committed suicide before the battle was over. The city surrendered on May 2 while
fighting continued to the northwest, west and southwest of the city until May 8, when the war
finally ended in Europe. After this battle, the city of Berlin was divided into four as agreed by the
Allies.
10. Battle of Kursk, July to August 1943
The Battle of Kursk was fought during the Second World War from July to August 1943. It was
a series of offensives between the German and Soviet forces on the Eastern Front near Kursk,
450 kilometers southwest of Moscow. Operation Citadel was the German codename for the
offensive. It led to one of the largest ever armored clashes, the Battle of Prokhorovka, fought on
July 12, 1943. The Battle of Kursk was an unsuccessful attempt by the Germans to take over the
Soviet forces, and they lost a huge number of men and tanks in the process.
Duration of the War
The Second World War also christened the “World War II” lasted between September 1st 1939
and September 2nd 1945, approximating five years (5yrs.) and one day.
Resolution of the War
World War 2 ended with the unconditional surrender of the Axis powers. On 8 May 1945, the
Allies accepted Germany's surrender, about a week after Adolf Hitler had committed suicide.
Negotiating a postwar world order
In 1944, delegations from the United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and the
Republic of China—four of the main Allied powers in World War II—met in Washington, DC to
negotiate the parameters of the postwar world and to discuss the establishment of the
international organization that would become known as the United Nations (UN).

The United Nations replaced the League of Nations, which had been created at the end of the
First World War to provide states with an international forum for the peaceful resolution of
disputes. Even though US President Woodrow Wilson was one of the key supporters of the
League of Nations, the United States never officially joined the organization due to intense
opposition from isolationist members of Congress. The League of Nations ultimately proved
ineffective in preventing the outbreak of another world war and was formally dissolved in 1946.

The United States played an instrumental role in the founding of the United Nations. The UN
Charter, with its emphasis on peace, security, international law, economic development, and
human rights, reflected the influence of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime
Minister Winston Churchill, who shared a vision for the postwar world. In 1941, the two leaders
drafted the Atlantic Charter, which declared that there would be no territorial aggrandizement as
a result of the war that postwar international relations would be cooperative, and that disputes
between states would be resolved through peaceful negotiation and not the use or threat of force.
The Atlantic Charter eventually became the basis for the UN Charter.
The United Nations (UN) was created at the end of World War II as an international
peacekeeping organization and a forum for resolving conflicts between nations.

The UN replaced the ineffective League of Nations, which had failed to prevent the outbreak of
the Second World War.

The UN was established on October 24, 1945, with headquarters in Manhattan, New York City,
and reflected the rise of the United States to global leadership in the postwar period.
Impacts of World War II
As expected, in every conflict and war situation, there would be some consequences, aftermaths
and effects of such occurrences. This however is mainly patterned into two folds: positive and
negative which altogether depends on the person giving the narratives. Therefore, following are
seen as the immediate impacts of the deadliest war in human race.
1. Heavy loss of lives
It is on record that more than 12 million soldiers lost their lives during the Second World War.
And an outrageous 25 million civilians were killed partly due to starvation and diseases. Also,
about 24 million people became injured and handicapped in the battle. For instance, the two
atomic bombs dropped by US in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki led to 160,000 casualties
and the two cities were destroyed beyond recognition. In short, Second World War was and still
the greatest tragedy to humanity.
2. Loss of Property
As a result of the war, there were huge amount of properties permanently destroyed. According
to a version of an estimation given by analyst, it was estimated that 1000 billion dollars was
spent in waging the war by the concerned and principal belligerents of the war. For example,
United States of America alone was believed to have spent a whooping 350 billion dollars in
prosecuting the war. Therefore, other sectors of the country were neglected as a result of the war.
In other word, money which primarily should have been used to improve those sectors was
committed to the war. Again, the war had also completely or partially accounted for collapsed
buildings, roads, infrastructures, warships and fighter planes.
3. Division of the World into Two Blocks and Foundation laid for the Cold War
The Second World War resulted in the division of world into two blocks: capitalist and
communist. The capitalist block was chaired by the United States of America and the communist
block was led by Russia. They started opposing, antagonizing and criticizing each other’s
ideology which inadvertently resulted to the cold war. During the cold war, nuclear weapons
were developed which can cause heavy destruction in a very short period of time.
4. End of Colonialism
At the end of the Second World War, there was an abrupt abolition of the practice of colonialism
in the world. The imperialist countries became very weak after the war. This weakness was as
result of heavy resources committed to the war; consequently, regions and countries under could
not be sustained financially. Thereafter, there were plethoric national movements against
colonialism; the movement was first launched in Asia and Africa, as a result, countries like India,
Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Egypt got independence from British Empire. Vietnam, Cambodia and
Laos got freedom from French empire.
5. Establishment of United Nations Organization (UNO)
In a space of one month after the end of the Second World War, United Nations was established
on the 24th October, 1945. The League of Nations was established to prevent the world from
experiencing war but its failure led to the outbreak of the Second World War. However, 4 years
after the Atlantic Charter was signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, UN was
established. The main objective of the organization is to maintain world peace and prevent the
world from wars and terrible destruction.
6. Wave of Democratic Changes in the World
Right after the Second World War had ended, most of the countries got freedom and foundation
for democratic emancipation were viciously laid thereby signaling the end of imperialism.
People of many countries became conscious and aware against the undemocratic system and
fought for democracy, independence and self rule.

The Cold War (1947-1991)

Overview
During World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union fought together as allies against the
Axis powers. However, the relationship between the two nations was a tense one. Americans had
long been wary of Soviet communism and concerned about Russian leader Joseph Stalin’s
tyrannical rule of his own country. For their part, the Soviets resented the Americans’ decades-
long refusal to treat the USSR as a legitimate part of the international community as well as
their delayed entry into World War II, which resulted in the deaths of tens of millions of
Russians. After the war ended, these grievances ripened into an overwhelming sense of mutual
distrust and enmity.

Postwar Soviet expansionism in Eastern Europe fueled many Americans’ fears of a Russian plan
to control the world. Meanwhile, the USSR came to resent what they perceived as American
officials’ bellicose rhetoric, arms buildup and interventionist approach to international relations.
In such a hostile atmosphere, no single party was entirely to blame for the Cold War; in fact,
some historians believe it was inevitable.
The Cold War: Containment Strategy
By the time World War II ended, most American officials agreed that the best defense against
the Soviet threat was a strategy called “containment.” In his famous “Long Telegram,” the
diplomat George Kennan (1904-2005) explained the policy: The Soviet Union, he wrote, was “a
political force committed fanatically to the belief that with the U.S. there can be no permanent
modus Vivendi [agreement between parties that disagree].” As a result, America’s only choice
was the “long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies.”
“It must be the policy of the United States,” he declared before Congress in 1947, “to support
free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation…by outside pressures.” This way of
thinking would shape American foreign policy for the next four decades.

The Grand Alliance formed by the U.S., USSR and the UK in World War II managed to defeat
European fascism, Nazism and Japanese expansionism, but began to crumble even before Allied
troops occupied Berlin. American President Harry S. Truman announced a new policy of
containment to prevent further Soviet advances into Europe which Jdanov, one of Stalin’s close
advisors, condemned as ‘imperialist'. This event marked the beginning of the Cold War Two
years later, the Allies had broken their friendship. The Cold War began a long period of rivalry
(1947-1991) which pitted the U.S. against the Soviet Union and their respective allies and
determined international relations for almost half a century.

The Cold War was fought on the political, economic, and propaganda fronts. There was no direct
military confrontation between the two nuclear superpowers: the U.S. and the USSR. Such a
conflict would have led to a nuclear holocaust on the planet. However, multiple wars in other
locations punctuated the period. In almost all of these conflicts, the two superpowers and their
allies supported diplomatically and armed the contenders. The Cold War ended with the collapse
of the Soviet bloc. Weapons did not defeat the USSR, but the ineffectiveness of its economic
system and the lack of political freedoms.
The world is divided into two blocs
The settlement of the communist system in European countries conquered by the Red Army
alarmed Western leaders. Churchill proclaimed in 1946 that an "Iron curtain" separated
communist Europe from free Europe. In 1947, U.S. President Truman expressed their
willingness to implement a policy of "containment of communism" to prevent its expansion to
Greece and other parts of world. To achieve this goal, the US implemented the Marshall Plan, an
economic plan that sent aid to Europe. The goal of this plan was to prevent the impoverishment
of the populations that favoured European communist expansion.

The first stage of the Cold War took place in the defeated country of Germany. The country had
been divided into four occupation zones: British, French, American and Soviet. The city of
Berlin was similarly divided. Soon there were increased differences between Western and Soviet
authorities. The rupture between the former allies led to the division of Germany. In 1949, the
Federal Republic of Germany, in the western zones, and the German Democratic Republic in the
Soviet zone, was born. Henceforth, throughout the Cold War, there existed two Germanys, one a
democratic and capitalist, the other a Soviet-style communist dictatorship.

That same year the Cold War moved to Asia. The victory of Mao Zedong's communist forces led
to the proclamation in October 1949 of the Republic of China. The world's most populous
country joined the communist bloc. To further increase Western anxiety, a few months before the
Soviet Union had detonated its first atomic bomb. Thereafter the two nuclear powers could face
off anywhere in the world. The new point of conflict arose again in Asia. The Korean War
(1950-1953) led to the partition of Korea into two antagonistic countries. The North was a tight
communist regime backed by the USSR and China, while the South was a US-backed military
dictatorship. The Korean War clearly showed the global dimension to the Cold War. Henceforth,
Asia became one of the main stages for the Cold War.
The Bipolar World 1949-1955
The partition of Germany and the Korean War showed the world a new reality: a division into
two separate blocs led by the United States and the USSR. Thereafter, each block defended its
hinterland against the advance of their opponent block.

U.S. took various measures to establish its global influence. First, it reinforced its ties with
Western Europe. NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was created in 1949. The great
Western bloc military alliance is still in existence to this day. Second, Washington pushed the
European integration process that culminated in 1957 with the birth of the European Economic
Community. Finally, the U.S. wove a network of anti-Soviet alliances worldwide.

The Soviet bloc was strengthened by the victory of Mao Zedong in 1949. The USSR signed
military agreements and cooperation with communist China of Mao. Finally, in 1955, the
Warsaw Pact created a military alliance that joined the USSR with all European countries of the
communist bloc with the exception of Yugoslavia.
Peaceful Coexistence 1955-1962
Stalin's death in 1953 and the rise to power of a new Soviet leader, Khrushchev opened a new
period in the Cold War. After a period of great tension, a new and more diplomatic climate in
relations developed between Washington and Moscow, which led to talk of "peaceful
coexistence" and "thaw". However, this new environment did not mean the end of international
crises. In this period the Berlin Wall was erected and the Cold War came to America with the
Cuban Missile Crisis. It was also during these years when, to the delight U.S., that the two
communist giants, China and the USSR, broke their alliance and became antagonistic powers.

The main factor that led to the "thaw" in relations between the two superpowers was what was
called the "balance of terror", i.e. the situation created after the conversion of the USSR to
atomic power and accelerated rearmament for both powers. There was a general certainty that a
war between the superpowers would lead to mutual destruction of both and much of the planet.
Paradoxically, during the new period of peaceful coexistence were two of the most serious crises
of the Cold War: the construction of the Berlin Wall and the Cuban Missile Crisis. From 1951 to
1958 the German Democratic Republic (GDR), the German Communist, had seen more than two
million East Germans fled to West Germany. The differences in living standards and lack of
freedoms prompted this exodus of the population.
On August 13, 1961, before the astonished eyes of the Berliners, the GDR authorities began
building an impenetrable wall that would surround the entirety of western Berlin. As it was
known in the West, the "wall of shame" became the great symbol of the Cold War. Two years
earlier, with the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro took the Cold War at the gates of
the U.S. Hostility culminated when the US failed to invade the island and were repulsed by
Castro's forces in Playa Girón. The Cuban Revolution was, in principle, was not communist, but
the revolutionaries sided with the communist bloc.

The U.S. aggression allowed Cuban dictator to ask the USSR to deploy nuclear missiles to its
territory. When U.S. spy planes detected missile ramps, Kennedy reacted by declaring a
blockade of the island and announcing in October 22, 1962 that the U.S. Navy would prevent the
passage of any Soviet ship to be routed to the island. The world held his breath at the prospect of
an incident that could lead to fatal nuclear escalation. Finally, on October 29, Khrushchev
relented and gave the order to their ships to turn back. The USSR agreed to remove the missiles
from Cuba in exchange for the U.S. commitment not to invade the island. The worst crisis of the
Cold War had passed.

The next major event of this period was great news for the United States. The two communist
giants, the USSR and China, broke relations and initiated a period of deep hostility. Ideological
and strategic rivalries led communist bloc excision. In another dimension, the ideological and
strategic positions taken by the USSR and the USA led to the division of large sections of the
world into alliances with one or the other of the Great Powers. This bipolar situation remained in
place despite the emergence of the Non-Aligned Movement.
Theaters of Engagement
Europe was the principal theatre for ideological warfare between the Soviet Union and the
United States. It was divided into two separate blocs by what Winston Churchill called the "Iron
Curtain". Apart from Europe, Asian continent was another battle field where the cold war also
took center stage.
The Détente 1962-1975
After peeking "over the edge" in the nuclear missile crisis in Cuba, Kennedy and Khrushchev
decided to start a more systematic and enduring policy of détente. This opened a new Cold War
period in which agreements between the superpowers did not prevent serious conflicts such as
Vietnam or the Middle East. Among the treaties highlighted was the NPT (Nuclear Non-
Proliferation Treaty), signed in 1968 by the U.S., the USSR, and the United Kingdom and the
SALT I (Strategic Arms Limitation) Agreement (1972) which limited the number of
intercontinental missiles that the USSR and the USA could own.

The détente did not prevent local conflicts from degenerating into bloody wars in which both

Superpowers intervened. The Middle East conflict, which began with the birth of the state of
Israel in 1948, reached a peak with the "Six Day War" in 1967 and the Yom Kippur War in 1973.
Both conflicts brought major changes in the region: Israel, with U.S. support, went from being a
small country besieged by enemies to becoming the hegemony of the region and occupied
Palestinian territories and part of Syria.

Arab countries reacted by using oil as an economic weapon against Western countries that
supported Israel. The oil price increases that followed the Yom Kippur War in 1973 triggered the
"oil crisis" that marked the end of a long period of expansion of capitalism in the developed
countries. The war in Vietnam, a country ravaged by conflict since the Second World War, is the
biggest humiliation of the U.S. during the Cold War. After a long war that saw the US shipping
half a million soldiers and not hesitating to use chemical weapons and massive bombings, the
U.S. government had to accept defeat. It was impossible to defeat North Vietnam and the
Vietcong guerrillas, who were supported by the USSR. In 1975, Vietnam was reunified under a
communist government.
The New Cold War 1975-1985
The Western world's economic difficulties following the "oil crisis" of 1973 and the American
reluctance to engage militarily abroad after the failure of Vietnam encouraged Moscow to
intervene in various areas of the world. It was a mirage. American weakness was apparent. The
Soviet was real. However, its economy had entered a period of stagnation that ultimately led to
the collapse of the communist system. US President Reagan in the eighties returned to a policy
of confrontation with the Soviet Union and the USSR could not cope with the new challenge that
came from Washington. The Soviet economic weakness precipitated the end of the Cold War
and the subsequent collapse of the USSR.
The USSR international misread the situation and launched an expansion of its international
influence regardless of the serious difficulties that depleted its economy. The last period in the
Soviet leadership of Leonid Brezhnev (1964-1982) witnessed what can be called a deceptive
Soviet expansion:

In Asia, Vietnam was reunified in 1975 under a communist government.

In Central America, the Sandinista revolution of 1979 established a revolutionary regime in

Nicaragua with the support of Moscow and Havana.

In Africa, the Soviet expansion was even more spectacular. Starting in 1974, pro-Soviet regimes
in Ethiopia, Angola, and Mozambique were established

However, the Soviet expansion was based upon a feeble and stagnant economy. In 1985, a new
leader took over power in Moscow: Mijail Gorbachov. Pushed by the serious economic situation,
Gorbachov launched a reformist program called the “Perestroika”, which eventually dismantled
the communist bloc (the Berlin Wall fell in 1989) and led to the collapse of the Soviet Union in
1991 and consequently the end of the Cold War.
Some Important Timelines of the Cold War
Military alliances in Europe 1949-1991
Faced with threats from the Soviet military powers, the Western European nations and the
United States were convinced that they had to negotiate and sign a military alliance in April
1949: The North Atlantic Treaty. The USSR and the popular democratic states in Europe
countered this move with the Warsaw Pact which was signed in 1955.
The Berlin Crisis (1948-1949)
On 24 June 1948, following a decision by the West to introduce a single currency inside their
occupied zones, Stalin launched a coup de force by setting up a tight blockade to prevent the
delivery of essential supplies to the 2 million inhabitants of West Berlin
The Korean War (1950-1953)
The Korean War cost many lives, but neither side could claim victory. It ended with the long-
term division of the Korean Peninsula into two separate states
The Cuban missile crisis
The deployment on the island of Cuba of Soviet missiles which could reach almost the entire
territory of the United States brought the world very close to an outbreak of nuclear war in
October 1962.
The construction of the Berlin Wall
During the night of 13 August 1961, thousands of soldiers were deployed to supervise the
installation of fences and barbed wire around the Western perimeter of Berlin in order to prevent
people from fleeing the Eastern European countries for the "free world".
Before long, West Berlin was surrounded by a 155-kilometre long wall
The Vietnam War
To avoid the spread of Communism to all regions of Vietnam and neighbouring countries, the
United States provided support for Saigon in its conflict with Hanoi. Despite its considerable
superiority in terms of men and equipment, the US Army’s involvement was a failure and
Vietnam became a unified Communist state.
The Euro-missile Crisis 1977-1987
In 1977 the USSR installed its new SS20 medium-range missiles in Europe, which led to a new
period of tension between the East and West and sparked a huge series of peace movements.
The Close of Cold War
Almost as soon as he took office, President Richard Nixon (1913-1994) began to implement a
new approach to international relations. Instead of viewing the world as a hostile, “bi-polar”
place, he suggested, why not use diplomacy instead of military action to create more poles? To
that end, he encouraged the United Nations to recognize the communist Chinese government
and, after a trip there in 1972, began to establish diplomatic relations with Beijing, he adopted a
policy of “détente”–”relaxation”–toward the Soviet Union. In 1972, he and Soviet
premier Leonid Brezhnev (1906-1982) signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I),
which prohibited the manufacture of nuclear missiles by both sides and took a step toward
reducing the decades-old threat of nuclear war.

Despite Nixon’s efforts, the Cold War heated up again under President Ronald Reagan (1911-
2004). Like many leaders of his generation, Reagan believed that the spread of communism
anywhere threatened freedom everywhere. As a result, he worked to provide financial and
military aid to anticommunist governments and insurgencies around the world. This policy,
particularly as it was applied in the developing world in places like Grenada and El Salvador,
was known as the Reagan Doctrine.

Even as Reagan fought communism in Central America, however, the Soviet Union was
disintegrating. In response to severe economic problems and growing political ferment in the
USSR, Premier Mikhail Gorbachev (1931-) took office in 1985 and introduced two policies that
redefined Russia’s relationship to the rest of the world: “glasnost,” or political openness, and
“perestroika,” or economic reform.

Soviet influence in Eastern Europe waned. In 1989, every other communist state in the region
replaced its government with a noncommunist one. In November of that year, the Berlin Wall–
the most visible symbol of the decades-long Cold War–was finally destroyed, just over two years
after Reagan had challenged the Soviet premier in a speech at Brandenburg Gate in Berlin: “Mr.
Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” By 1991, the Soviet Union itself had fallen apart. The Cold
War was over.
4. Foreign Policy
Overview
Each nation has the right and power to secure the goals of her national interest in international
relations. It is her supreme duty to satisfy the needs of her people. Each nation wants to be self-
reliant in all areas of activity. However, in reality no nation can achieve cent per cent self-
reliance and self-sufficiency. These are ideals towards which a nation can try to move.

“The Foreign Policy of a nation is always made and implemented with an eye on the situation in
various regions of the world. A situational change in West Asia or South-East Asia or Africa
necessitates a change or modification of the foreign policies of many nations.” Nations have
always been interdependent and these are bound to remain so even after attaining high levels of
development. “Interdependence has been an incontrovertible fact of international relations.” It
compels every nation to get essentially involved in the process of establishing and conducting
relations with other nations. Each nation establishes diplomatic, economic, trade, educational,
cultural and political relations with other nations. For giving meaning and direction to her
relations with other nations, each nation formulates and adopts a Foreign Policy. It is through its
foreign policy that it tries to secure the goals of national interest in international relations. The
behaviour of each nation in international environment is always conditioned by its foreign
policy.
What is Foreign Policy?
Foreign Policy can be defined as a set of principles, decisions and means, adopted and followed
by a nation for securing her goals of national interest in international relations. Foreign Policy
defines the goals of national interest and then tries to secure these through the exercise of
national power.
Other Classical Definitions of Foreign Policy:
1. “Foreign Policy is the system of activities evolved by communities for changing the
behaviour of other states and for adjusting their own activities to the international
environment.” —George Modelski.
2. “Foreign Policy is the substance of nation’s efforts to promote its interest’s vis-a-vis
other nations.” —Normal Hill.
3. “Foreign Policy is the key element in the process by which a state translates its broadly
conceived goals and interests into concrete courses of action and to attain these objectives
and preserve its interests.” —Padelford and Loncoln
4. “Foreign Policy is a thought-out course of action for achieving objectives in foreign
relations as dictated by the ideology of national interest.” —Dr. Mohinder Kumar
The Foreign Policy of Each Nation Contains:
1. A set of principles, policies and decisions adopted and followed by the nation in
international relations.
2. Objectives, goals or aims of national interest which are to be secured.
3. Means to be used for achieving the goals of national interest.
4. Broad policy principles and decisions for conducting international relations.
5. Assessment of the gains and failures of the nation in respect of its goals of national
interest.
6. Policies, decisions and action-programmes for maintaining continuity
or change or both in international relations.

“The study of foreign policy includes both the study of national objectives to be achieved and the
means used for securing these.” —Ceeil V. Crabb
In simple words, it can be observed that Foreign Policy is a set of principles and decisions, a plan
of action and a thought-out course of action adopted and used by a nation for conducting
relations with other nations and all international actors with a view to secure the preferred and
defined goals of her national interest.
Elements of Foreign Policy:
The foreign policy of a nation is formulated and implemented by its policy makers. In doing so
they consider the national interest of the nation, the internal and external environment, the
national values, the foreign policy goals and decisions of other nations and the nature of
international power structure. These constitute the factors/elements of Foreign Policy.
1. Size of State Territory:
The size of a state is an important factor of its Foreign Policy. Size influences the psychological
and operational environment within which the foreign policy-makers and public respond. It
includes, as Rosenau says, both human and non-human resources. Nations with large human and
non-human resources always try to be big powers and they have better chances of becoming big
powers in international relations.

Foreign Policy of a big sized state is bound to be different from the foreign policy of a small
sized state. Public and foreign policy-makers of big sized states are definitely governed by their
desire to be big powers in the World. Size has been a factor in the foreign policies of the U.S.A.,
Russia, China, India, Brazil, France and others. Large sized states, with few exceptions, always
formulate and use an active Foreign Policy and through it these play an active role in
international relations.

However, size alone is not an independent determinant of foreign policy. Resources and
capabilities of the state are not always dependent upon size. The countries of the Middle East,
even with small sizes but with the largest quantity of oil resources, have been playing quite an
active role in international relations. Japan is relatively a small sized state and yet its role in
international relations has been active and influential.

Israel, despite being a small sized state has been influencing the course of politics among
nations. Before 1945, Britain, with a small size, could play the role of a world power. Large size
poses the problem of defence, security and maintenance of communications. In the absence of
natural boundaries, the large size of a nation very often creates the problem of relations with
neighbouring states. Despite being the large sized states, Australian and Canadian foreign
policies have not been very active. Russia is a large sized state but its role in contemporary
international relations continues to be weak.
2. Geographical Factor:
Geography of a state is relatively the most permanent and stable factor of its foreign Policy. The
topography of land, its fertility, climate and location are the major geographic factors which
influence the Foreign Policy of a nation. These factors determine both the needs as well as the
capability to fulfill the needs of the people of a nation. Suitable geographical factors can help and
encourage the nation to adopt and pursue higher goals. The role played by English Channel in
the development of Britain as a major naval power and consequently as an imperial power is well
known. The influence of the Atlantic
Ocean on the US Foreign Policy has been always there. Indian Foreign Policy now definitely
bears the influence of the geographical location of India as the largest littoral state of the Indian
Ocean.

The relatively unhelpful geographical conditions of Canada have been a factor in the
determination of its Foreign Policy. The territorial expanse makes it difficult for other nations to
think of securing an outright military victory over Russia. The location of Pakistan too has
influenced its relations with India, China and the Central Asian republics. The geographical
distance from Pakistan has been a factor in the foreign policy of Bangladesh. The natural
resources and the food production capacity of a nation is directly linked with its geography.
These factors are also important factors in the formulation and implementation of foreign policy.
Adequate existence of vital natural resources—minerals, food and energy resources—have been
helping factors of the US and Russian foreign policies. Food shortage was a source of limitation
on Indian Foreign Policy in the 1950s & 1960s. Consumer goods shortage have been hitting hard
the foreign policy and relations of Russia. Large quantities of oil have made it possible for the
West Asian and Gulf nations to adopt oil diplomacy as a means of their foreign policies.
Geography, as such is an important and permanent factor of foreign policy, yet it is not a
deterministic factor. The revolutionary developments in communications and modern
warfare, and the ability of nations to overcome geographical hindrances have tended to reduce
the importance of geography.
3. Level and Nature of Economic Development:
One of the main reasons why the US Foreign Policy has been very often successful in securing
its national objectives, particularly in relation to the poor and economically lowly placed states
of the world is the high degree of its economic development. The developed countries of our
times are highly industrialized and economically developed states. These can use foreign aid as a
tool for securing their foreign policy goals. The global perspectives and policies of the two
super-powers (1945-90) were again governed by their vast economic and industrial resources and
their needs for foreign markets and trade. In fact, all economically and industrially developed
nations (Group of seven plus one, countries in particular) are now playing a more a vigorous role
in international relations than the lowly developed and developing countries.
The strong commitment of the foreign policies of the lowly developed and developing countries
to the cause of a New International Economic. Order is again a proof of the role of economic
factors of international relations. The level of economic development also determines the scope
of relations that a nation wishes to establish with other nations. The Foreign Policy of Japan in
the contemporary times is directly and fundamentally related to its economic development. The
military preparedness and military capability of a nation is again directly related to the factor of
economic development and industrialization. Only industrially and economically developed
nations can hope to become major and stable military powers.

Economic power constitutes a fundamental dimension of national power in contemporary times

and at present; it can be used more effectively for securing foreign policy goals. The US
economic power has been a major instrument of its foreign policy. Economic weakness of Russia
has forced it to change its policy towards the U.S.A. and other countries. Steadily developing
India economy has definitely given a boost to India’s foreign relations. Thus, the level and nature
of economic development, industrialization and modernization are important factors of foreign
policy.
4. Cultural and Historical Factors:
The cultural heritage and the history of a nation are again important and valuable factors of its
Foreign Policy. The norms and traditions that characterize the life of the people of a state are
highly influential factors of its foreign policy. During the process of interpreting and formulating
the objectives of national interest, the decision makers are always governed by their cultural
links, historical traditions and experiences. Strong cultural unity of the people is always a source
of strength for them. It materially influences their ability to secure the objectives of national
interest during the course of international bargaining. Historical experiences and cultural links
further help them to analyze and assess the nature and scope of relations with other nations.
Indeed, the weakness of the foreign policies of most of the Asian and African states has been
largely due to the presence of internal dissensions and conflicts among their peoples. Bitter
experiences with the policies of imperialism and colonialism have been a determining factor of
the anti-imperialist and anti-colonial contents of the foreign policies of most of the
new sovereign states. History is an important factor in determining the relations among the
neighbouring nations. Foreign policy interactions between India and Pakistan are mostly the
legacies of past history. The shadow of the history of 1962 still influences the course of Sino-
Indian relations.

However, cultural values and links are always subject to perpetual changes and adjustments.
Historical experiences too are forgotten in the face of national interest. The existence of conflict
among the European nations, despite their cultural links and the development, and continuance
of strong US—Japanese friendship and relations bear ample proof that cultural
and historical factors have to have combination with other factors before influencing the course
of Foreign Policy.
5. Social Structure:
The structure and nature of the society for which the foreign policy operates is also an important
element. The nature of social groups and the degree of conflict and harmony that characterize
their mutual relations are determined by the social structure. A society characterised by strong
internal conflict and strife acts as a source of weakness for the foreign policy. A society of
united, enlightened and disciplined people with a high degree of group harmony is always a
source of strength? The democratization of the process of policy-making in recent times has
increased the importance of social structure as an element of foreign policy. The linkages
between the domestic and international environments have tended to strengthen the role of this
element.
6. Government Structure:
The organisation and structure of government i.e. the organisational agencies which handle the
foreign policy-making and implementation is another important element of foreign policy. The
shape of the foreign policy is also determined by the fact as to whether the government agencies
handling it are democratically constituted or not. Whether the authority relations are centralized
or decision-making is free and open. The government officials also act as decision makers and
this factor always influences the formulation of foreign policy. Foreign policy of a nation has to
adapt to the environment. In a centralized and authoritarian system, the foreign policy can remain
and often remains isolated from the domestic environment.
The nature of legislature-executive relations is also an influential factor in Foreign Policy
decision-making. The harmony between the two, as is there in a parliamentary system, can be a
source of strength and lack of harmony between the two can be a source of hindrance for the
foreign policy makers. Similarly, the nature of party system, elections and electorate are other
influential factors. The continuity in Indian Foreign Policy has been also due to the nature of
government-making in India.
7. Internal Situation:
Like the external situational factors, sudden changes, disturbances or disorders that occur within
the internal environment of a nation also influence the nature and course of foreign policy. The
resignation of President Nixon over the issue of Watergate Scandal considerably limited the
foreign policy of USA under President Ford. The internal opposition to the military regime in
Pakistan during 1947-89 was a determinant of Pakistani foreign policy.

Similarly, the declaration of emergency in India in 1975 did materially affect the relations of
India with other countries particularly the super powers. A change of government is always a
source of change in the foreign policy of a state. The rise of new leadership in China is now an
important input of Chinese Foreign Policy. The rise of Congress-led UPA Government in India
in 2004 acted as a source of some changes in relations with India’s neighbours. The internal
situation of Pakistan—a military dominated state trying to be a democratic political system has
always been a factor of Pakistan’s Foreign Policy.
8. Ideology:
Foreign Policy is a set of principles and a strategic plan of action adopted by a nation to fulfill
the goals of national interest. It has always an ideological content. For securing support for its
goal as well as for criticizing the foreign policy goals of other nations, it needs and adopts an
ideology or some ideological principles. It, therefore, always tries to use the ideology as well as
to popularize its ideology. The ideology of communism remained an important factor of the
foreign policies of communist nations during 1945-90. Anti- Communism and Pro-Liberal
Democracy ideologies have always influenced the shape and course of foreign policies of non-
communist Western nations. Ideological conflict remained determining factor in the cold war
policies (1945-90) of both the super powers.

The drive in favour of democratisation, decentralisation and liberalisation in the socialist states
of Europe, the new states of Central Asia, Russia and Mongolia has given a new direction to
international relations of post-1990 period. Similarly, ideological commitments have been a
source of affinity in the foreign policies of Islamic nations.
9. Diplomacy:
Diplomacy is the instrument by which foreign policy of a nation travels beyond its borders and
establishes contacts with other nations. It is diplomacy which tries to secure the goals of foreign
policy during the course of relations with other nations. Besides being a means, diplomacy is
also an input of foreign policy. The world view sketched by diplomacy and the reports prepared
by the diplomats are valuable sources of foreign policymaking. The modes of operation and
quality of diplomacy always affect the operational quality and efficiency of a foreign policy. In
the late 1960s the contacts between India and Chinese diplomats helped the emergence of a
definite trend towards normalization of Sino- Indian relations. It has been through diplomacy that
India and Pakistan have been trying to initiate and adopt confidence building measures.
Morgenthau regards Diplomacy as the best instrument of power management among states.
10. Opinion:
Public Opinion, (national as well as international) is another important input of Foreign Policy.
Decision-makers of each nation have to accept and give due place to the opinion of the people
they represent as well as to the World Public Opinion. Undoubtedly, the decisionmakers as
leaders have to lead the public yet they also have to accommodate the demands of public
opinion.

The American Senate’s refusal to ratify the American membership of the League of Nations, and
the opposition of Vietnam War by the Americans and other peoples, had a big impact on the
Foreign Policy of the U.S.A. The real strength behind the objectives of Disarmament, Arms
Control and Nuclear Disarmament, Anti- colonialism, Anti-apartheid policies of various nations,
has been the World Public Opinion. The rise of several peace and development movements in the
World has decidedly acted as a check against foreign policies of war, aggression and destruction.
No one is now prepared to talk and act as Hitler and Mussolini did in 1930s.
11. Technology:
The application of the knowledge of scientific inventions to practical and useful purposes leads
to technology. The level of technological development and the nature of technical know-how are
important elements of foreign policy. Highly advanced technology has been a major factor of the
strength of the foreign policies of the major powers. The ability to provide technical know-how
to lowly developed and developing nations has been an instrument of influence, rather power, of
the foreign policies of the developed nations. India’s dependence on developed nations for
getting advanced dual use technology has been a limiting factor of Indian Foreign Policy.

However, a steady progress in the sphere of technological advancement has been a source of
strength for Indian Foreign Policy. The U.S.A. has always used the technology factor for putting
pressure on the foreign policies of developing nations. The level and nature of industrial output
and military preparedness of a nation are dependent upon technology. These in turn are
important components of Foreign Policy. “Technological changes can alter the military and
economic capabilities of a society and thus its status and role in the international system.” —
Rosenau

The rise of France, China, Germany, Japan and India are the classic examples of the change that
technological development can bring about in the role of a nation in international relations.
Technology is, however, a relatively less stable element of foreign policy because technological
changes always and continuously take place in every society. Moreover, it is only in relation to
scientific and industrial development that technology becomes a factor of
foreign policy.
12. Alliances and International Treaties (Bilateral and Multilateral):
Alliance is a means by which some nations pool their powers or agree to pool their powers in the
event of a particular situation. Alliances serve as instruments of foreign policies. The extensive
and intensive system of alliances that emerged in the Post-1945 period had a big impact on the
foreign policies of all the nations. During 1945-90 both the United States and the USSR,
recognized and used alliances as the means for consolidating their respective positions.
Their foreign policies, as well as the foreign policies of their allies were always governed by the
goal to secure new partners in their respective alliances and to maintain and consolidate the
alliance partnerships. Even now, after the demise of Warsaw Pact, the U.S.A. continues to
consider NATO as the mainstay of its foreign policy in Europe. NATO’s support to the US
decision to declare a war against Taliban’s Afghanistan decidedly gave strength to the US
foreign policy. However, many other nations, the Non-aligned nations, still continue to regard
alliances as a source of tension and distrust and their foreign policies are still governed by the
anti-alliance principle. Recently, another factor has become an influential factor in Foreign
Policy- making. The realization for mutual inter-dependence has given birth to a large number of
regional organisations, arrangements, agreements and trading blocs. European Union, ASEAN,
SAARC NAFTA, APEC, SCO and several others have been major players in international
economic relations. The foreign policy of every nation is now becoming conscious of these
organisations, trading blocs and economic and trade agreements. The pressures of NPT & CTBT
and the decisions of WTO on every foreign policy is a well-known fact.

Hence, international treaties, pacts, trading blocs and alliances also constitute a factor of foreign
policy. All these are the major inputs or factors of foreign policy. These are popularly called the
determinants of Foreign Policy. One thing must be, however, clearly understood that all these
factors are inter-related and interdependent. These act together or in combination for influencing
the making and implementation of a foreign policy. None of these is an independent determinant
of Foreign Policy. All these factors have to be analyzed together for understanding the nature and
objective of Foreign Policy of each nation.