The Cold War And Decolonization Essays Examples

The cold war is referred to as the period of military and political tension that occurred between the year 1947 – 1991 between the Eastern bloc comprising of the U.S and its allies and the Western block comprising of Soviet Union and its allies immediately after World War II. The Eastern bloc comprised of the Soviet Union and its allies in the Warsaw Pact while the Western bloc comprised of the United States of America and its allies in NATO. The U.S and the Soviet Union did not engage in actual fighting; they antagonized each other through military coalitions, arms buildups, political maneuvering, propaganda, economic aid, and espionage and proxy war between them. Decolonization, on the other hand, is the process of ending imperial control of nations and establishing independent ones. Although decolonization had occurred prior to the end of the Second World War, a global feeling of nationalism led to decolonization across Africa, Asia, Middle East, and Caribbean.
The Soviet Union and the United States became interested in the decolonization process of these nations as a weapon for their war. As the two superpowers struggled for global military and economic superiority, they needed allies to strengthen their positions. Therefore, decolonization offered an opportunity for new partners; the superpowers believed that the countries that they helped gain independence will be loyal to them. The superpowers used both direct and indirect economic, ideological, and political on the nationalist to win their support and develop a post-independence relationship that was significant to them in the cold war. Unfortunately, the cold war did not endcolonization; it led to three world orders; the U.S and its capitalist allies, the Soviet Union and its allies, and the third world formed by the new decolonized nation.