HST 210 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Totalitarianism
Document Summary
Us emerges from wwii as an economic and military powerhouse. Gnp rose from 90 billion in 1939 to 212 billion in 1945. Us breaks out of its traditional isolationism in world affairs (leader of free world) Protracted, geostrategic economic and ideological struggle that pitted us and its allies against soviet union and its supporters. Waged by means of diplomatic maneuvering economic pressure, intimidation, propaganda, low intensity military operations and full scale proxy wars. Us envisions a postwar world characterized by american led capitalist democracies. Soviet union promoted a worldview based on socialism and spheres of influence. Soviet union establishes communist govs in eastern europe (buffer zone or prelude to world domination??) Soviet aggressiveness and expansionism or us overreaction and failure to recognize. Both nations were operating in an unstable climate of fear and suspicion and both nations were trapped by their own perceptions and rhetoric.