HIST 122 Lecture Notes - Mccarthyism, Arms Race, Mutual Assured Destruction
17 Apr 2013
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Document Summary
Historical distance: truth is the daughter of time, retrospective-ness is the secret weapon of the historian. The kitchen debate, july 1959: nixon vs. khrushchev, nothing happened, expect verbal exchange, continued tensions. Competing socio-economic systems: promise of social mobility and free market, vs promise of state control/ dungeon with social benefits . Competing political ideology: nation-state and democracy, vs rejection of nation-state democracy; ideas of spreading communism to all. A geopolitical and strategic struggle: carve the influence of the other, spheres of influence. Supporters: polarized between spheres of influence and client states. Arms race: us economy did very well, so many did not suffer, ussr economy did very poorly, so people suffered. National interest vs. the spirit of cooperation: problematic peace after wwii. Formation of superpowers: usa vs. ussr. Polarized europe: political institutions, nato vs. the warsaw pact, economic systems, free trade vs. communism, foreign policy. 4 divisions of ger and berlin: fr, gb, usa, ussr.
