IAFF 1005 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Korean War, Human Capital, Radicalization
26 Mar 2020
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Economically weakened, need for reconstruction at home. Diminished authority in colonies, some still determined to hold on. Portuguese colonies and island states in 70s-80s. Most of the new states were born weak. Newly-independent states would have faced formidable challenges under the best of circumstances. Cold war made things much worse for many states. Goals: conflicts became zero-sum competitions, compromise/power sharing became harder. Levels of violence increased, small conflicts horrific wars. Wars went on for years, conflicts not purely local. Confrontation (berlin) turned into open war (korea) Korean war reinforced chinese idea of us/western capitalist threat. Us perceptions of communist threat increased d. Five economic centers determine the balance of power. Goal: keep four out of soviet/communist control. Selective: some places matter, some places don"t. Instruments: not purely military, economic aid is key. Ussr seeks domination: an attack likely in 4-5 years. The competition is global: every country/conflict matters. Credibility is key: every loss matters, dominos.
