POL101Y1 Lecture : A assembl of points on cold war realism
Document Summary
N cold war saw its origins in europe in 1948. N political and military lines had divided the european continent between affiliates of the united. N after the soviet invasion of hungary there is a break in political stability since the us was a supporter of hungarian revolution. N germany ended up divided between east and west; the berlin wall soon followed and tension rose between the united states and the soviets. N despite subtle, miniature confrontations, the war eventually reached a point of stalemate. N the threat of nuclear weapons is a prospect so terrifying that war became an unlikely possibility due to the sheer consequences of what a nuclear conflict would mean for the world. Initially, the us had a monopoly over nuclear weapons (1949) N nuclear power became a deterrent to war instead of defence against it. N when they lost this monopoly, the nuclear race began.