Question 1 · 10 marks · 170 words written
“The Cold War was less a military confrontation and more a battle of ideologies.” Analyse.
Opening · a date or context
Ans) Cold war from 1950s - 1990s was a passive non-warring ideological standoff between US-led Western Bloc V/s USSR led Communist Bloc.
Body · points
Cold war was less of military confrontation
- No direct conventional war between two powers i.e. No ground war between US & USSR.
- Arms race : Higher stockpile but no direct use of arms like ICBMs.
- Geographical distance made it less feasible to engage in direct warfare.
It was a battle of ideology
- Clash of ideologies : West led Capitalism V/s USSR backed communism. Ex : Free Market V/s Planned Economy (US) (USSR)
Geopolitical doctrines to promote own ideology. Ex: Nixon Doctrine of communism containment v/s Brezhnev plan
Use of financial resources to increase allies. Ex: Marshall Plan v/s Molotov Plan
Formation of geopolitical alliances of like minded countries. Ex: NATO(1949) V/s Warsaw pact(1955)
Competition in other domains like space, nuclear arms etc. Ex: launch of Sputnik by USSR
Close · a summary
Cold war was primarily ideological based in bipolar order post world war-II.