The Cold War is one of the most profound conflicts ever to occur in the history of humans, and it lasted for around 45 years. It wasn’t an ongoing combative conflict with open battles like traditional wars. Instead, it was more of a psychological warfare between the two great powers at the time with the fear of nuclear threat possible at any moment.
At the end of World War II the conflict wasn’t over; it was more of an uneasy alliance between powers versus complete peace. It seemed the necessary option at the time to end the bloodshed, but it was also done on the backs of actual usage of atomic weaponry, which was new and never actually thought would be used in a time of war.
Up until the Cold War, wars were carried about by people and moving soldiers logistically to the points of conflict. The Cold War occurred because not only was there no need for soldiers any more to cause devastating damage, the missiles being built could devastate key cities in a matter of hours.
This changed the rules of conflict, and there was a huge psychological shift and fear between both sides that still lasts today. It was a race from both sides to get everyone aligned to their side, to show their superiority in military and technology, and to potentially place weapons of mass destruction at those sites pointed at the enemy. It even led to other major conflicts, such as the Vietnam War.
It was decades of military accumulation that thankfully never truly ended up needing to be utilized, and that’s where the essays can come in. The political landscape, siding between capitalism and communism, the constant fear citizens would feel, and even the military being funded are all areas essays can be written about.
• The Impact of the Cold War on the Middle East
• The Cuban Missile Crisis
• The Space Race
• The Collapse of the Soviet Union
• The Arms Race
• The Fall of the Berlin Wall
And if you are working on your essay outline or searching for ideas to discuss, the samples on this page may help you with it.