Keywords: post-war world, ideology, security
From the mid-1940s to the late 1980s and early 1990s, the "Cold War" between the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, lasted for nearly half a century, which had a far-reaching impact on the development of human history in the 20th century. Published papers. The word "cold war" first appeared in an article published by American columnist Lipman 1946, and was gradually accepted and quoted by everyone. The "cold war" is relative to the "hot war". In short, the Cold War refers to the confrontation and competition between the West headed by the United States and the socialist countries headed by the Soviet Union after the Second World War, involving politics, economy, military affairs, diplomacy, ideology, culture and even science and technology. It is a peaceful state that hides the crisis of war, and it is a special state of war that appears in the form of peace.
The academic circles in various countries have never stopped studying the origin of the Cold War, but they have never agreed on the origin of the Cold War. American scholars' views on this issue can be divided into three schools: orthodoxy, revisionism and post-revisionism. Generally speaking, the "orthodoxy" occupied the mainstream in the 1940s and 1950s. They believe that the main reason for the outbreak of the Cold War is that the Soviet Union seeks world hegemony. The cold war is inevitable because of the Soviet Union's expansion policy outside the team and centralized political system. "Revisionist" became the mainstream in the late 1960s. They believe that the outbreak of the cold war should be the responsibility of the United States, and the cold war occurred because of the needs of capitalist economic development. The Soviet Union mainly defended itself. If the United States had not alienated the Soviet Union, the Cold War might have been avoided. The political, economic and military pressure exerted by the United States on the Soviet Union was an important reason for the outbreak of the Cold War. American policies and actions forced Stalin to be hostile to the West. The "post-revisionist school" rose in the 1970s. They believe that the pragmatic policies of the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union, as well as a series of mistakes and misunderstandings committed by both sides, are important reasons for the Cold War, and both sides are responsible for its outbreak. Moreover, they expanded their research scope to Europe and Asia, and discussed the roles of Britain, China and North Korea in the Cold War. The view of Soviet scholars on the Cold War is basically the view of the Soviet government, that is, the imperialist policy and "power policy" pursued by the United States are the origins of the Cold War.
So, what made the two wartime allies of the United States and the Soviet Union go to the cold war? Investigating the origin of the Cold War from a long historical lens, we should not only examine the international background of the outbreak of the Cold War, but also examine the ideology and national interest construction of the United States and the Soviet Union.
First, the post-war world
(A) the formation of the two major power centers of the United States and the Soviet Union after the war
World War II was an unprecedented disaster in human history. All countries affected by war in the world have been affected to varying degrees and paid a huge price. In this war, the United States has become an all-round world power. From 1939 to 1944, American industrial production increased by 1.2 times, and exports increased by 1. Eight times. In the early postwar period, American gold reserves accounted for 2/3 of the global gold reserves, and industrial production accounted for more than half of the global gold reserves. Stimulated by arms orders and government procurement, it has greatly promoted the development of the American economy. The United States also monopolizes the technology of atomic weapons, has huge and advanced air power, and is the largest naval power in the world. The expansion of American military and economic strength is the material basis for the United States to promote global expansion after the war.
The Soviet Union suffered heavy losses in World War II, losing/kloc-0.5% of the population and 50% of the infrastructure. More than 40% of collective farms and state farms have been looted, and the total agricultural output has decreased by more than 40% compared with that before the war. Although the economic strength of the post-war Soviet Union was far inferior to that of the United States, it was comparable to that of the United States militarily. Soviet troops not only recovered all the territory, but also crossed the national border and went deep into the hinterland of Europe. Establish a "safety belt" in eastern Europe to ensure the sphere of influence in eastern Europe. Becoming a political and military power across Europe and Asia has had an important impact on the post-war international community. French political activist alexis de tocqueville predicted in his book Democracy in America almost 170 years ago: "There are two great powers in the world now. They start from different viewpoints, but they seem to be moving towards the same goal. I mean Russia and the United States. ..... Other countries seem to have reached the limit of nature and can only maintain the status quo; Both countries are growing. All other countries have stopped or moved slowly under extremely difficult circumstances; Only these two countries are marching briskly on an endless road. [1] This coincides with the post-war international situation.
(2) The United States and the Soviet Union confirmed their status.
1. Self-affirmation of American leadership
At the end of World War II, the United States has gradually established its leading position in the international community, which is very consistent with the national characteristics of the American people who consider themselves "God voters". Published papers. From the Atlantic Charter of Roosevelt and Churchill to the vision of the United Nations, the United States is the core of world leaders. 1On April 6, 946, US President Truman said in a speech in Chicago, "The United States is the largest country today, and no country is stronger than it. ..... This means that if we have such power, we must shoulder the burden of leadership and take responsibility. " America's leading position in the post-war world has been recognized by itself.
2. The Soviet Union acknowledged the reality and expanded the security zone.
After the war, the Soviet Union took defending national security, especially the security of the western border, as its top priority. Several invasions in Soviet history came from the west. The Soviet Union resolutely opposed the revival of German militarism and regarded the security of its western border as a major issue related to the survival of the nation. This is also the reason why the Soviet Union never gave in on the Polish issue when the Big Three met in wartime. In addition, the Soviet Union is determined to establish pro-Soviet governments in eastern European countries under its military control, thus turning eastern Europe into a safe area for defending the Soviet Union.
(C) Britain's decline after the war and its role in the Cold War
In World War II, Britain's main task was to defend the motherland from German fascism. In this process, in order to cope with the huge war expenditure, Britain kept cutting its responsibilities. Only 15% of its overseas assets were sold during World War I, but this time it sold 28%. Nevertheless, Britain was still burdened with heavy debts in the early post-war period, and its total foreign debt soared from1476 million pounds in August 1939 to13.355 billion pounds in June 1945. Economist Keynes exclaimed that Britain is facing a "financial Dunkirk". While the financial situation is deteriorating, Britain's economic prospects are also worrying. 1946 Britain's industrial output was only 90% of that of 1937. As an island country whose international economy depends on export trade, the total export trade in 1944 was only 258 million pounds, which was nearly 40% lower than that before the war, while the import in the same period increased by 4.41100 million pounds. In order to save money, from 1946 to 1947, the total number of British generals decreased by 1/3, from 2 million to 1.3 million. At the same time, Britain's foreign policy has also fallen into chaos. The reason for the uncertainty of British diplomatic orientation after the war is the contradiction between the decline of strength and imperial ambition. After the war, Britain still held the illusion of "the sun never sets on the empire" and insisted on providing assistance to Greece and Turkey under extremely difficult domestic finances. And want to maintain its advantage in the eastern Mediterranean region in order to maintain its position as a world power. But by the beginning of 1947, Britain really couldn't support it and reluctantly handed over this "responsibility" to the United States. On February 2 1947, British Foreign Secretary Bevan sent a telegram to the State Council, saying that Britain could no longer bear the burden of aiding Greece and Turkey. If they don't make up their minds to fill the gap, the Soviets will. [2] The US government reacted quickly to this. On February 26th, Marshall handed Truman a memorandum describing the similar opinions reached by the State Council, the navy and other departments on this state of affairs-the situation is very critical, "We must take immediate action and provide all possible assistance to Greece." At this time, Secretary of State Acheson told his journalist friend Louis Fischer that he thought that "in Turkey, the situation is not very urgent, but in Greece, it is only a matter of a few days." [3] Britain recognized the dominant position of the United States, which also contributed to the smooth introduction of Truman Doctrine.