POL SCI 139 Chapter Notes - Chapter Week 3: Nikita Khrushchev, Henry Kissinger, Nuclear Warfare
Document Summary
Two superpowers: united states and soviet union: global chess match, military power of each rapidly overshadowing every other country. Between nazi surrender & geneva summit each sought to enhance influence: allies, clients, formalize arrangements through treaties and less formal agreements, sense of unremitting crisis in international relations during first 10 years after war. Direct and predictable outgrowth of far-reaching political realignment. Everyone was part of one side or the other: 1955 - cold war assumed structural dimension. Dividing line between east and west was unambiguous. In respective spheres, both imposed quasi-legitimate order to defend what. Belonged to them and prevent unwanted change: if no country disturbed status quo by use of arms, this imperfect peace might endure for indefinite future, still found themselves in number of confrontations. Berlin and cuba: if bipolarity served to reduce incidences of crises, it did nothing for intensity of those that did prevail. Sputnik, the missile gap, and the beginnings of arms control.
