Theme 2 History: The multiplication of actors in a bipolar world (from 1945 to the beginning of the 1970s)

« Theme 2 History: The multiplication of actors in a bipolar world (from 1945 to the beginning of the 1970s) History  Chapter 1: The End of World War Two and the Beginning of the Cold War 1945-49 Chapter 1 Key issue Assess the role played by the USSR in the origins of the Cold War Marshall Plan Blame for the origins os the Cold War lies mainly with the USA.

How far do you agree? Truman Doctrine The pursuit of national selfinterest by both the USA and the USSR was a Key cause of the Cold War.

How far do you agree? Containment The Cold War was inevitable, due to the ideological opposition of the USA and the USSR.

How far do you agree? I. Key term Yalta & Potsdam The consequences of WW2 a) A human disaster 50 to 70 million people died during WW2 and half of them were civilians.

6 to 8 million of Jews died and that 40% of the world Jewish population.

100 of million injured people.

Millions of people deported, and prisoners go back home, in Germany 5 million of displaced people.

Between 45 and 46 a million of Japanese died of under nutrition.

Some cities were bound and almost completely destroyed (Hiroshima/Nagasaki; Brest).

Overall, the economy of countries who were involved in WW2 were hardly structed. Introductive activity: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z8qnsbk/revision/3 Questions: 1.

Rank the underlying cause of the Cold War according to your opinion from the most to the less important cause. 2.

In this table, write down 2 or 3 arguments to justify your ranking (include facts and precise material) Rank Cause arguments Arguments b) Road to decolonization After WW2 France and Britain wear weakened  they won the war but economically and politicly they were weakened Britain was heavily indebted to the USA WW2 proved that European states and countries could be defeated. Many soldiers who sacrificed their self for France were from the colonies  among them the “Tirailleurs Sénégalais”  it became a massive argument for nationalist movement who wanted to be heard more seriously (people did not wished independence after WW2  they wanted it way before) Besides, the Big Two, USSR and USA were fundamentally against European colonialism, the value they spread, through for instance the newly created United Nations proclaimed the right to selfdetermination of all nations, and as each newly independent nation joined it, it made anticolonialism a global demand. II. Institutions to reshape the world a) The United Nations -- towards a multipolar world? The Atlantic Charter:  signed in 1941 by the USA (Roosevelt) and the UK (Churchill)  two major influences:   Ideas of the enlightenment ideas of Wilsonian ideas (president of the USA)  no territorial gain should result from a war  no territorial change should be made against the wishes of the people  self-determination of the people  goal  restore the self-government of those deprived of it  freedom of the seas  free access to raw materials and no trade restrictions  liberalism  want a global cooperation for a better economy  nations should abandon the use of force and disarmament of aggressor nations Doc: Preamble: We the people of the United Nations, determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small Art.

1 The purposes of the United Nations are To maintain international peace and security, and to this end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace; To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples [...]. To achieve international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.... The Charter of the United Nations, signed in San Francisco on June 26, 1945.  The UN was to be a stronger League with strong US influence (HQ in New York).

Most ideas were already those of the League  difference with the League of Nation is that the UN relies on cooperation and not just free trade, it also relies on a balance of military powers issued from WW2 and its more anticolonialist. For four decades, the conflict between the USA and the USSR would yet be prevent the UN from working efficiently: the bipolarity of world relations took over the wishes of multilateralism that presided over the creation of the UN. The League of Nations had not worked.

Why didn’t it work? A unanimous decision was needed. Here the 4 winners of the war + France = permanent members of the Security Council + right of veto. 1948: the Un adopts the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Genocide Convention. Since 1955, any sovereign state can become a member of the UN. b) Rebuilding a world economic order: Bretton woods agreements Context  post WW2 and Great Depression, so aimed to avoid new events like those. Actors  USA played the man role.

First 44 countries member of the UN Decision taken  Creation of the IMF (International Monetary Fund); Creation of the World Bank; GATT (General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs)  Bretton-Woods agreements and its consequences In July 1944, the countries of the Great Alliance met at Bretton-Woods conference (USA) in order to set up a system of rules, institutions, and procedures to regulate the international monetary system. This implied to prevent the return of national selfish policies, such as competitive devaluation or protectionism.

The system could only rely on the strong US economy, and its currency the US dollar, which was considered “as good as gold”.

Only the dollar would now be converted into gold.

The US dollar was given the dominant position in the world economy, and this system benefited the USA. Bretton-Woods established two financial institutions:  The IMF  to provide loans to countries who need money  The IBRD (World Bank)  provide loans but focus on post-war reconstruction and research and development Those institutions were almost totally controlled by the USA  the USA was the largest contributor with the budget  largest voting right  USA had the veto right over the major decisions. The GATT is created in 1947, and it was aimed to set up multilateral agreements on tariffs. At first only 23 countries took part and then the number increased. III. An unavoidable bipolarization of the world? a) A clash of ideologies At the present moment in world history nearly every nation must choose between alternative ways of life.

The choice is too often not a free one. One way of life is based upon the will of the majority, and is distinguished by free institutions, representative government, free elections, guarantees of individual liberty, freedom of speech and religion, and freedom from political oppression. The second way of life is based upon the will of a minority forcibly imposed upon the majority.

It relies upon terror and oppression, a controlled press and radio, fixed elections, and the suppression of personal freedoms. I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures. I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way. I believe that our help should be primarily through economic and financial aid which is essential to economic stability and orderly political processes. Extract of American president Harry Truman speech before the Congress, 1947 March the 12 th The cardinal purpose of the imperialist camp is to strengthen imperialism, to hatch a new imperialist war, to combat socialism and democracy, and to support reactionary and anti-democratic pro-fascist regimes and movements everywhere. In the pursuit of these ends the imperialist camp is prepared to rely on reactionary and anti-democratic forces in all countries, and to support its former adversaries in the war against its wartime allies. The anti-fascist forces comprise the second camp.

This camp is based on the U.S.S.R.

and the new democracies.

It also includes countries that have broken with imperialism and have firmly set foot on the path of democratic development, such as Rumania, Hungary, and Finland. Report from the soviet political figure Andreï Zhdanov, 1947, September the 22nd American point of view: The Truman doctrine  Self-determination of people as long as they.... »