history essay on the US and the USSR

oxforduni2010

history essay: was it inevitable that the USA and the USSR would rise to the status of super powers (world leaders)?

Russia and before USSR was super power.Russian Empire was greater than USSR.
USA was too far for serious enemy military forces at both world wars.Canada and Mexica couldn't occupy it anyway.
Don't forget that half of USA science world is Russian.If not Lenin,USA wouldn't get so clever migrants and wouldn't have much tehnologies.So USA couldn't become super power without communists help.

Reply 2

Cesare Borgia

RUssIa StRONg !!!!!!!1!!!1

May I suggest 'One soldier's war in Chechnya' by Arkady Babchenko.

Now **** off.

Refers to above post, forgot to quote :erm:

Reply 3

Corrosive Blossom

oxforduni2010

history essay: was it inevitable that the USA and the USSR would rise to the status of super powers (world leaders)?

That is a VERY broad question, i'd probably be here for days trying to help.. What background have you been studying etc?

Edit: Is this a GCSE/AS/A2/Uni question?

Reply 4

oxforduni2010

we've already covered Stalin and the USSR and the boom and bust in America. but we haven't done the cold war which i think is when the US and the USSR were at the peak of their power.

Reply 5

AliciaJ703

oxforduni2010

history essay: was it inevitable that the USA and the USSR would rise to the status of super powers (world leaders)?

The bipolar system, which governed political relations between the two main superpowers, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the United States, characterized the international system from the end of the Second World War to 1991 (source: John T. Rourke, “Ch. 2: The Evolution of World Politics,” in International Politics on the World Stage, 12th ed. (Boston: McGraw – Hill Higher Education, 2008), p. 46 – 48.). These two superpowers sought to advance their political ideologies in the underdeveloped world under the guise of advancing natural security interests of state supremacy and survival. The prevailing logic of realism within the anarchical international system regulated the behavior of these “aggressor” states who felt they had a legitimate right to exercise a defensive position against their opponent who posed an expansionist threat (source: Kupchan, Charles A. and Clifford A. Kupchan, “The Promise of Collective Security.” International Security 20, no. 1 (1995): 397 – 406.). The absence of a central governmental authority to monitor state aggression sanctioned states to operate in a “self – help” world where protecting their sovereign integrity and maintaining their political status was the main priority (source: John T. Rourke, “Ch. 1: Thinking and Caring about World Politics” and “Ch. 2: The Evolution of World Politics,” International Politics on the World Stage, 12th ed. (Boston: McGraw – Hill Higher Education, 2008), p. 21 – 22, 36, 41; John J. Mearsheimer, “The False Promise of International Institutions,” International Security 19, no. 3 (1994/1995): 498.)

I will add more info. in next posts.

Reply 6

AliciaJ703

One of the "rules" of the bipolar system is that the superpowers avoid direct military confrontation. They compete for the support of "client" states which are usually small, underdeveloped countries. Wars are fought in and between these states that act as "surrogates" for direct superpower military competition. The USA and the USSR in the post WWII period, initiated high proportions of conflictive events in the international system (i.e. Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan etc.). These events do not give actual causation of why conflicts were started in such countries or if it was precipitated because of the nature of the bipolar system but it does give reason why such behavior was enacted during this period. From 1945 - 1991, the world population is increasing rapidly. The American economy during this time directed economic activity in the international system gleaned from the dominance of the dollar. Both the USA and the USSR were in stable economic posititions to influence other states given the post WWII rebuilding of states in Europe, Asia, and elsewhere. Official development assistance (foreign aid) was often used a tool of systemic politics during the cold war.

Reply 7

AliciaJ703

Also, discuss the competition between the USA and the USSR in relation to space exploration. Furthermore, address US policies:containment, the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and the formation of NATO.

I hope this information reaches you in time. Good luck :smile: