Overview[]
The Cold War saw both the USA and USSR trying to expand their nation's influence globally, often supporting opposing sides in various conflicts around the world. The soon USA adopted a policy of “containment” to prevent the spread of communism and bring Europe further under US influence, while the USSR sought to extend its in fluence beyond Eastern Europe and on to the rest of the world via what ever means deemed necessary.
The Cold War played a significant role in the decolonization process that led to the decline and destruction of the British, French, and Portuguese empires. The British Empire was on it's last legs and would have inevitably collapsed, the USA and USSR knew it and actively took advantage of it. The French colonial empire was doomed to fail and had major wars in in Indochina and Algeria, as well as rebellions in Madagascar and Burkina Faso. The Portuguese Empire collapsed after liberation movements by the Soviet Union and China in the Portuguese Colonial War (1961-1974). The Carnation Revolution in 1974, a military coup in Portugal, finally ended the Estado Novo regime and accelerated the decolonization process. Overall, the Cold War created a geopolitical climate that undermined the already failing colonial empires and supported the rise of independent nations across Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean, which may have been delayed by a lack of outside interference.
It has sometimes been asked since the early 1990s whether the Cold War really a joint USA/USSR plot to take over and divide the word between them.
Precedent[]
Spain and Portugal to divide the newly discovered lands outside Europe between them in accordance with the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas.
Several American companies had dealings with Nazi Germany included Ford Motor Company, Coca-Cola, and IBM. Ford Werke and Ford SAF while The 1940 German–Soviet Commercial Agreement (also known as Economic Agreement of 11 February 1940) between the German Reich and the USSR. Shure Adolf Hitler was going mad, but did even he could see the obvious?
Some have suggested that at it's core the Cold War was a joint plot by the USA and USSR to take over and divide the world.
The theory[]
Background[]
After World War II, both the USA and the USSR had emerged as the dominant global powers with USA promoting democracy and capitalism and the USSR aimed to spread communism and autocracy. The resultant ideological clash would lead to a series of political, economic, and military confrontations that could have lead to war. At this point the conflict was at this it was not a coordinated effort to divide the world. Instead, it was a period of intense ideologically lead geopolitical tension and rivalry between them, each with very different ideologies, economic models and goals.
The early years[]
After the death of Joseph Stalin and the end of the Truman presidency both sides tried to co exist and undermine the already collapsing European empires. It was a very edgy time, but this was meant to be a show of force, not a real move to WW 3 until President Kennedy and Premier Khrushchev nearly screwed up over the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The pact comes in to force[]
President Kennedy and Premier Khrushchev agreed never to be so stupid again, set the plan for a divided world in motion. There successors followed in the foot steps untill President Regan and Premier Gorbachev ended it all.
The basic idea was to:
- Not to mess with existing political alignments (the GDR, FRG, ROC, DPRK, etc.).
- To feign hostility to distract the world and as a show of strength to the other side.
- Sub-Saharan Africa was up for grabs as long as no one side had a monopoly on power in it.
- Israel, Iran and the Arabs were not to be allowed to become powerful in there own right and were to join and obey a side rather than go there own way.
- East Asia was to be dominated by Soviet allies.
- Latin was to be dominated by American allies.
- The European countries' colonial empires, especially those of the UK and France, were to be brought down and largely divided between the USA and USSR.
- To ruin, undermine, frustrate, obstruct and eventually destroy EFTA, the Arab League, ASEN, EEC/EU, GCC and ECOWAS who they saw as potential rivals.
The deal was not perfect and because it treated a large part of the world as neo-imperial territories of the USA and USSR. Some leaders like General DeGaulle, Mao Zedong, General Nasser, Enva Hoaxa and Ho Chi Min hated it and when there own way. France's exit from NATO and the Sino-Soviet split is theorised as a direct result of the USA's and USSR's supposed plan to split the world between them.
The Aitolia Khomeini, Saddam Hussain, General Galtiarie, General Nasser, Golder Mayer, Maurice Bishop and Colonel Gadhafi all thought they could carve out there own niche in the world and run there own local agendas, but were soon punished for it.
Laos[]
Laos was a unessasery covert theatre during the Vietnam War which involve an unprovoked proxy war between the global Cold War superpowers and the manipulation of it's politically fracture royalty. Local communists would have one sooner or later anyway.
The end[]
President Regan almost caused WW3 after the Able Archer 83 was a military exercise and Premier Gorbachev knew the USSR was economically doomed and they end the Cold War, real or not.
American and Soviet bad faith in several crises[]
American acts of bad faith[]
They never helped there allies.
- UK and France in Suez.
- The UK in the Malay Emergency.
- The UK in the Aden Crisis.
- The UK in the Falkland's War (some how Ronald Regan got us some satellite imagery, a load of high power radios and a satellite link).
- They gave Ukraine minimal aid (as a % of national reserves and industrial output) and signalled there preference for a Putin victory, whilst simultaneously blaming the EU for stating it all and not making enough sacrifices for it.
Soviet acts of bad faith[]
- Exercise Zapad-81 was in violation of the then current political norms and involved a large Soviet victory parade meant to rub NATO and Polish nosed in the shit afterwards.
It's benefits and detriments[]
The Cold War, real or not, had a profound impact on global politics, economics, and society. While it’s difficult to say definitively whether things would have been better without it, we can consider some potential differences:
- Reduced military spending and more on spending social programs, education, and infrastructure.
- Many of the worlds' technological advancements, such as space exploration, micro electronic and the internet, were driven by Cold War competition and may have occurred later with out the Cold War rivalries.
- The geopolitical landscape might have been more multipolar, not bipolar, potentially leading to different conflicts and alliances and more unity among the Arabs and Latin Americans.
- A world without the Cold War might have seen different economic growth patterns and trade partnerships, especially in Africa and Latin America.
- Without it, there might have been more open cultural interactions and less ideological polarization and bigotry.
- A possible 3rd World war could have occurred as a result of some one like Mau Tsung or Saddam Hussain going on the rampage and ignoring the diplomatic rules set by the UN.
- Many countries might have experienced less external interference or threats from the US and the Soviet Union become more stable political environments
- Many conflicts and coups were influenced would have never happened.
- There might have been more focus on regional cooperation and development rather than aligning with either capitalist or socialist blocs.
- Social movements might have evolved differently, potentially leading to more organic and less externally influenced social changes.
- The cultural landscape might have been more diverse and less polarized and bigoted, which might have not limited the richness of cultural interactions so much.
- If Cold War\Pseudo Cold War skulduggery had not happened beyond the Cuban Missile Crisis several nations would be noticeably deferent to what they are today.
- Brazil would still be a right wing oligarchy with a puppet parliament.
- Chile would be a communist democratic republic.
- India would have lost the Muslim parts of Kashmir, Punjab and Jammu, Tamil Nadu, Assam to separatists and may have faced the treat of further PRC invasions.
- Taiwan would be attacked and possibly captured by the PRC.
- Myanmar would have broken up.
- Afghanistan would be a Islamic centric republican democracy or constitutional monarchy.
- Laos would be a left wing constitutional monarchy.
- Angolan independence and the Carnation Revolution are delayed by 10 years :-(.
- Israel would have been crushed by the more united Arabs.
- Greater integrations amongst members of local poetical blocks (the GCC, ASIAN, ECOWAS, Mercosur and the Arab League) and the EU becoming a federal nation in all but name.
A possible repeat of it[]
The the 2022 to date Russian invasion of Ukraine was meant to be a sham war that Russia was supposed to win, but Boris Johnston, Andrzej Duda and Emanuel Macron did not agree with it and thought they were supposed to save Ukraine, thus ruing the US\Russia conspiracy and truing the sham war in to a real one. As global warming rises some nations wilfully make higher than expected or refuse to cut already high CO2 and global warming gas emissions. Both Russia and the US would benefit greatly from rising temperatures if they could keep the flooding from rising sea levels at bay. Is there a connection? Are the UK's race riots and France's leftist riots the American version of what Russia did to Ukraine before they invaded it?!
Nation. | Climate loss. | Climate gain. |
---|---|---|
USA | Dfb and Dfc | Cfa and Csa |
Russia | Dfc, Dwc and EF | Dfa and Dwc |
China | EF and Dwb | Dwa, Dwc and Cwa |
Poland | Dfb and Bbf | Cfa and BSk |
Saudi Arabia | BWh | Still BWh |
India | Cwa and BSh | Aw |
Canada | EF, DSk and Dfc | Dfa, Dfb, Dsb and BSk |
Iraq | Csa, Dsa and BSh | BWh |
Nigeria | Bsh and BWh | Af, Am and Aw |
Niger | BSh | BWh and AW |
Chad | BSh and BWk | AW and BWh |
Germany | Cfb and Dfb | Cfa |
Australia | Cfb, BWk and BSk | BWh |
S. Korea | Dwa and Dfd | Cwa and Cfa |
Japan | Dfb and Dfw | Cfa and Cfa |
Iran | BSk, BWk and Dsa | BWh, BSh and Csa |
S. Africa | Cwb, BSk and BWk | BSh and BWh |
Mexico | Cwb, Cwa and BSk | Aw, BWh and BSh |
Brazil | Cbf | Aw |
Bold text signifies a near or complete nationwide 2020-2100 climate shift if global warming goes unchecked.
Nation. | Climate loss. | Climate gain. |
---|---|---|
Greenland | ET | EF, Dfc and BSk |
Arctic | EF | About 90% melted away in the winter and 100% melted away in the summer. |
Sub-Antarctic islands like S. Georgia | ET and EF | Dsb, Dsc, Dfc and Dfb |
Jan Mayen Island | ET | EF, and Csc |
Svalbard Island | ET | EF and Dfc |
Novaya Zemlya | ET and EF | Dfc |
Baffin Island | EF and ET | DFc, Dwc and Dsc |
Ellesmere Island | EF | ET and BSk |
Frans Joseph Land | EF | ET and BSk |
Kerguelen Islands | EF and ET | Cfc and BSk |
South Georgia Island | EF and ET | Cfb, Cfc, Dfc and BSk |
Commander islands | EF and ET | Cfb Dfb Cfc, Dfc and BSk |
Attu Island | EF and ET | Cfb, Cfc, Dfc and BSk |
Alaska's Northwest Arctic Borough and North Slope Borough | ET, BSk and Dsc | BSk, Dsb and Dfb |
Antarctic peninsular | EF | ET and Cfc |
Antarctic coast | EF | ET and BSk |
Antarctic Interior | ET | Still ET |
Bold text signifies a near or complete nationwide 2020-2100 climate shift if global warming goes unchecked.
A Chernobyl conspiracy theory[]
The theory holds that Chernobyl was not an accident. It claims that Russia SSR had twigged the USSR was dying and so they sabotaged the reactor to ruin Ukraine SSR and Belarus SSR out of spite.