Discussion,
why did the Cold War end?
There are
two different models / ways used to explain the end of the cold war. The first
way of explaining states that it was the failures within in the communist
societies that led to the fall of Communism, this fall then led to the end of
Cold War. The second way of explaining what happens states that it was a logic
consequence of the external factors, the detente had set off a chain of events
that eventually would lead to the end of the Cold War.
Internal
explanation.
Once Poland
had succeeded in having free elections without the interference of the soviet
Army the citizens of other countries dared to make their voices heard. When
Hungary opened it’s borders to Austria a hole in the Iron curtain was opened
leading to thousands of East Germans taking their Trabants and went to West
Germany.
These two
events set off a chain reaction that would lead to the fall off communism.
Without the threat of the Red Army, the local communist parties simply couldn’t
maintain their authority and like a house of cards the communist regimes in
Europe would fall.
External
explanation.
The Détente
had started something that couldn’t be stopped, it was impossible to go from
cooperation to confrontation, once the superpower had started the way down the
friendship lane, there was no turning back. Gorbachev has to be seen out this
perspective, he the kind of leader the was destined to come, the actual time
for his arrival was a chance, but that a new kind of leader was needed was
apparent.
Gorbachev
and his “Sinatra Doctrine” was the single most important factor that lead to
the fall of communism and hence the end of the cold war.
Reagan and
his SDI meant that USSR had no chance of keeping up with USA and had to start
cooperating.
The politics
of these two leaders are very important in this explanation.
Another
external factor used to explain that the Cold War ended is the fact that there
were no more things to fight about, Europe had reached a status quo since the
beginning of the Ostpolitik and had only became hotter for a short while at the
beginning of the 80’s and the SS20 / Pershing problems. Once the issue was
settled, there were no more arenas to fight on, the Soviet adventures in the
third world had come to shame after the invasion of Afghanistan etc. This in
combination with the growing economic problems that USSR had with the satelitte
states meant that the Cold War would eventually end.
Questions: