The end of the Second World War left the world with two super powers who competed to control every aspect of the world politics, economics and social life. The United State had a doctrine based on western civilization that was imprinted in the Capitalistic theory. The USSR had its own theory of civilization based on the communist form of leadership. The capitalistic mode of development was blamed on placing powers on individual leaving the government with minimal control. The communist theory believed that property should be owned by the society with control by the government on its utilization. The two super powers after completion of the Second World War started a war that did not involve their militaries meeting within battlefields. The war involved the two states trying to finance some other states in order to implement their ideologies on development in the sponsored states. The impact of the two states was mostly felt within Asia in countries like Vietnam and Afghanistan. The African countries upon receiving independence became victims of the civilization agendas by the two super powers. The conflict between the two states would make some African countries try to balance their involvement in any side of the country in order to receive favors. Ghana was one of the countries that benefited on aid from the two blocks in order to take capitalism or socialism as its policy upon independence on the leadership of Kwame Nkrumah. The fight on implementation of socialism and capitalism is blamed for some conflicts in African countries. The Congolese war was one key conflict that was blamed on the influence of the United State and Union of Soviet Socialist Republic on the need of controlling the government in implementing their ideologies on civilization.
The western civilization was built on Christian mode of religion, which would divide the world into two civilizations. The countries that were mostly in support of the communist form of government practiced Buddhism, Islam and other forms of religion. The Americans on getting the attention of a country would send Christian missionaries to try and spread Christianity. The countries that supported Communist, which included China, had no need of spreading religion as a way of civilization. The European civilization believed religion teachings would play a significant role in changing human behaviors in order to take up the modern civilization. Religion spread in countries in Africa, was supposed to end some behaviors that were seen to be primitive among the Western civilization champions. Some of the behaviors that the group wanted to eradicate were female genital mutilation in the society. The spread of religion as part of civilization was to help the Americans have an easier time in spreading their ideologies to countries like Ghana. The religious conflict would lead to some questioning on whether same gender marriages should be allowed within the churches. The American argument was that embracing same gender marriage is a way of accepting civilization and change in the world happenings.
The civilization conflict between the two super power nations led to an increase in arm struggle within the world. The arms struggle was attributed to nuclear weapons enrichment as a way of protection and countries flexing their muscles. Historians accredit the cold war period as the time when multiple nuclear weapons testing were done in the pacific regions. The tests were done with minimal inspection to ensure that their effect would not cause harm to the surrounding communities. The USSR with the help of China spent a lot of money in sending astronauts outside the country while building weapons. The heavy budgetary spending of the USSR on weapons led to the union becoming bankrupt leading to its end in the year 1991. The two super powers believed the country with the best military technology was the most civilized. The civilization at this moment would not be measured on human development index but with the military might of a country. The need of military might has extended to the current period where countries like North Korea are trying to advance technologically by having nuclear knowhow to get recognition from other countries. The fight for military control as a way of civilization led the Americans to support one group in the Vietnamese war, while the Russians supported another group. The supply of weapons from both sides of the world super led to prolonged wars in the region and massive loss of life. Historians provide data showing the arms supplied in Vietnam by the two nations are still in use by illegal arms groups leading to insecurity and instability in Vietnam.
The civilization wars between the two super powers were the result of development in some poor nations. States like Nigeria have seen competition between the two world blocks on utilization its resources, thus allowing full utilization of its onshore and offshore oil. The Chinese companies together with British companies are the main competitors in extraction of oil. The difference in ideologies between the two nations on civilization has led to stiff competition between the companies. The competitions between the countries give African nations an option to choose the companies offering the best services. The American under the Marshall plan provided finances for reconstruction to countries that would support capitalism after the second war. The USSR developed a financing plan under the Warsaw pact that supported nations that would take up communism after the Second World War. East Germany took communist thus received finances to reconstruct its economy, while West Germany received finances from the America. The difference in ideologies between the two nations reconstructing Germany after the Second World War led to building of the Berlin wall dividing the nation into two. Korea is another nation that was divided because of the division between the two super power nations on the mode of civilization.
The fall of the USSR was seen as an end to the division of the world based on communism and capitalism but that was not true. The Chinese, a communist nation is competing with United State in spreading ideologies. The division of the world based on religion is still taking shape with the western block of the world seen to be spreading Christianity as a form of civilization. The fall of communism led to most countries that were under the USSR to resort to capitalistic way of running their affairs. The East and West Germany unified again under a capitalistic way of civilization. The effects of the civilization ideologies and conflicts between the two nations are still felt in the modern world in countries trying to restore peace.
Secondary
Booker, M K. Monsters, mushroom clouds, and the Cold War : American science fiction and the roots of postmodernism, 1946-1964. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2001.
Harbutt, Fraser J. The Cold War era. Malden, Mass: Blackwell Publishers, 2002.
Huntington, Samuel P., and Zbigniew Brzeziński. The clash of civilizations and the remaking of world order. New York etc: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2011.
Huntington, Samuel P., et al. The clash of civilizations? : the debate. New York, NY: Foreign Affairs, 2010.
Ong, Russell. China's security interests in the post-Cold War era. Richmond: Curzon, 2002.
Perry, Marvin. Western civilization : a brief history. Boston, MA Australia: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2011
Primary
Corber, Robert J. Homosexuality in cold war America : resistance and the crisis of masculinity. Durham: Duke University Press, 1997.
David law. Russian Civilization. New York, NY : Cengage Learning, 1975.
Endy, Christopher. Cold War Effect on African nations. Chapel Hill: University of North
Carolina Press, 2004.
Immerman, Richard H., and Petra Goedde. The Oxford Handbook of the Cold War. City: Oxford Unit Pr, 2013.
Perry, Marvin. Western civilization : ideas, politics, and society. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage
Learning, 2013
Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western civilization. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2009.
Annotated Bibliography
(Secondary)
Booker, M K. Monsters, mushroom clouds, and the Cold War : American science fiction and the roots of postmodernism, 1946-1964. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2001.
The text is important in providing accounts on fight between USA and USSR in trying to control the Asian nations. The text details about the wars in countries such as Vietnam and Afghanistan.
(Primary)
Corber, Robert J. Homosexuality in cold war America : resistance and the crisis of masculinity. Durham: Duke University Press, 1997.
The text is important in detailing about how the American tried to introduce western life style into the rest of the world. The books show how civilization was associated with Christianity. The books tell about home sexuality which was seen by Americans as a form of civilization.
(Primary)
David law. Russian Civilization. New York, NY : Cengage Learning, 1975.
The text gives an account of what the former USSR believed to be civilization according to their communist policies. The policies of the USSR are shown to be main cause of conflicts between the two super powers. The text talks about the Warsaw pact which was a global financing pact to the rest of world nations.
(Primary)
Endy, Christopher. Cold War Effect on African nations. Chapel Hill: University of North
Carolina Press, 2004.
The text is important in showing how different wars fought in Africa were financed by the two super powers nations. The text shows how the two blocks supplied weapons to the different groups involved in the fights. The text also talks of how the weapons supplied are being used in the modern world in war torn nations.
(Secondary)
Harbutt, Fraser J. The Cold War era. Malden, Mass: Blackwell Publishers, 2002.
The text is important in giving the chronology of the events that took place during the cold war period. The text gives an account of different wars fought between the 1960 to 1990 and who supported them. The book shows how conflicts reduced in the world after the fall of the USSR.
(Secondary)
Huntington, Samuel P., and Zbigniew Brzeziński. The clash of civilizations and the remaking of world order. New York etc: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2011.
The text gives accounts of how the USSR and USA clashed on issues regarding civilization. The clash on civilization was based on providing finances to the different nations gaining independence mostly in Africa. The text shows how nuclear struggle was introduced into the world.
(Secondary)
Huntington, Samuel P., et al. The clash of civilizations? : the debate. New York, NY: Foreign Affairs, 2010.
The writers of the text try to provide in a debate form the problems that were associated to civilization. The text avoids biasness and looks at both sides of the worlds. The text shows how poor nations benefited from the war cold war on receiving donations in return for loyalty.
(Primary)
Immerman, Richard H., and Petra Goedde. The Oxford Handbook of the Cold War. City: Oxford Unit Pr, 2013.
The text is important in giving the chronology of the events that took place during the cold war period. The text gives accounts of the different conflicts the two nations USA and USSR were involved. The text explains the reasons for the different wars in the world.
Secondary
Ong, Russell. China's security interests in the post-Cold War era. Richmond: Curzon, 2002.
The text book is an account how Chinese did not believe in spreading religion as part of civilization. The text also shows how European believed in religion as a way of spreading civilization.
(Primary)
Perry, Marvin. Western civilization : ideas, politics, and society. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage
Learning, 2013.
The text shows how politics and civilization were an important aspect in running the world affairs. The text details how the two blocks through controlling of the world politics spread ideologies on their type of civilization.
(Secondary)
Perry, Marvin. Western civilization : a brief history. Boston, MA Australia: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2011
The text gives details of how western civilization was built on Christianity. The history of how western nations thought introducing religion to the world was a way of bringing civilization.
(Primary)
Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western civilization. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2009.
The text has a belief history on how Britain and USA tried to introduce democratic forms of governments in the world as a way of civilization. The text shows how their aim brought division of nations all over the world.
