Containment, Expansionism and the Cold War

Containment and expansionism were terms used for policies adopted by the U.S and Russia respectively. This paper evaluates containment and expansion and the interaction of the U.S. and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
The American Policy of “Containment” was successful in ending Soviet Union’s Policy of expansionism. Do you agree or not?
Containment was an American policy and military strategy used by the U.S. to stop the Soviet Union from expanding their territory during the Cold War CITATION Tsy13 l 1089 (Tsygankov). Expansionism refers to a policy of territorial expansion and increasing economic influence, usually, though not necessarily through the use of military aggression.
Containment policy was both successful and unsuccessful in ending Soviet Unions policy of expansionism. The Soviet Union had successfully exploded the nuclear bomb in 1949, and won the Korean War in 1950. This put the U.S in a delicate position as it brought to the table a serious threat to U.S national security.
Adopting this policy was, therefore, a response to the Soviet Union’s aggressive posture. The U.S policy makers came up with the policy of containment that would spread over five decades. The policy held strong until the collapse of the Soviet Union, thus pointing partly to its success.
The containment policy was successful because it helped to bankrupt the Union in many ways. The Soviet Union could not expand its sphere of influence and their nuclear power diminished. This bankruptcy eventually led to an end of the union.

Due to this policy, the U.S made a pact that would keep the Chinese from the Soviet Union. In this way, China became a threat to the Soviet Union. This move prevented the crisis that would have been if the Soviet Union and China had collaborated.
The policy can also be seen to be successful in the view of its consequences. It does not only bring an end to a regime, but also much of Russia is now democratic. This, by all means, is a success of the containment policy.
The policy of containment can also be seen as successful, because through containment, another armed war was prevented. Had this policy not been successful, the Cold War would have turned into an armed war.
On the other hand, containment did not only bring the Soviet Union to bankruptcy but the U.S as well, this in itself is hard to count as a success. For it to be a success, the policy should have contained Soviet Russia but not at the cost of their economic well-being.
The Cold War was an Ideological, Political, Social and Economic Conflict between U.S and the Soviet Union
The cold war was a result of differences in ideology between the U.S and the Soviet Union CITATION Bet15 l 1089 (Betts). The US were capitalists and democrats while the Soviet Union was communist and totalitarians, allotting all powers to their rulers.
The ideological difference between the U.S and the Soviet Union can also be viewed as an economic difference because it is through these ideologies that the nations run. They differed in the way economic resources were to be shared among the people.
The Soviet Union had reservations against the U.S and Britain for trying to destroy their Revolution in 1918. The U.S could also not forget the Soviet-Nazi Treaty signed in 1939.This led to tensions between the two, eventually leading to the Cold War.
Political interests also played a part in causing the Cold War. The Soviet Union wanted reparations and a buffer zone to protect itself from further invasion, while the U.S wanted to protect democracy and help Germany recover.
Due to the tensions arising, both United States and Russia wanted to retain military power; this led to a missile and nuclear weapons race between the two countries, which contributed to the cold war.
In the early 70s, the Russians adopted a détente policy and sought economic cooperation with Western countries. However, when they invaded Afghanistan in 1979, it brought fresh challenges with the Americans.
Political interests also brought strife between the two parties. Soviet Union built missile installations in Cuba which Americans viewed as an attack on U.S. This led to an exchange between the two nations, raising tensions.
Political differences also came to play when after the war, when Winston Churchill and President Roosevelt felt that the Polish should be able to choose their government but while Stalin backed the Polish Communists.
Works Cited
BIBLIOGRAPHY Betts, Richard K., editor. Conflicts After the Cold War: Arguments on Causes of War and Peace. Routledge, 2015. Print.
Tsygankov, Andrei P. “The Russia-NATO Mistrust: Ethnophobia and the Double Expansion to Contain the “Russian Bear”.” Communist and Post-Communist Studies (2013): 179-188. Print.