Introduction to the development of the Cold War, 1953-1968 era. Contains key terms for the era, containment theory, domino theory and alliances/pacts for the early 1950s.

1. The policy of containment, domino
theory and the emergence of
peaceful co-existence

2.  Containment: Stop the spread of communism
around the world.
 Domino theory: The idea that if one nation
were to fall to communism then its
neighbour/s would fall as well, eventually
leading to communism dominating an entire
region and leading to US capitalist funded
areas being threatened.
 Collective security: Using an alliance system
to prevent aggression (e.g., NATO, Warsaw
Pact)

3.  Massive retaliation: Using the threat of real war
as a deterrent to attack in order to keep the
peace (policy under President Eisenhower). This
helped spark the arms due to Eisenhower
threatening USSR during a crisis.
 Brinkmanship: Existing at a constant state of
near war so that each side would take great care
not to upset the balance of peace (or power).
 Arms race: The rapid build-up of weapons and
military to deter any attack (brought in during
the late 1950s/early 1960s).

4.  What was the policy of containment?
 The Truman Policy of 1947 – instead of fighting
communism, contain it to where it has already
spread to, especially in Europe
 Who was it instigated by?
 The US were the ones who brought it into place
 Why?
 They were scared of the threat of communist
ideology taking over Europe, especially after the
end of WWII
 The Long Telegram from Kennan in Europe to America

5.  When was it formed?
 April, 1949
 What was it?
 The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, an
intergovernmental military alliance
 Who founded it?
 United States, Canada, France, United Kingdom,
Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Italy, Netherlands,
Iceland, Portugal and Luxembourg
 West Germany would have been part of it, as well

7.  How did the USSR respond to NATO forming
in April, 1949?
 The Warsaw Pact
 May, 1955
 Was a ‘Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual
Assistance’
 A collective defence treaty between the Soviet Union
and seven of their soviet satellite states in Central and
Eastern Europe
 It also meant that these nations could trade between
each other without interference from capitalist
nations

10.  What was the idea of the domino theory?
 Capitalist supported states were fearful of
communism taking over countries next to already
communist nations
 This was due to communist risings in China and
North Korea in the early stages of the Cold War
 It was mainly associated with developing nations,
such as those in Africa, South America and South-
East Asia
 The term was particularly used in Australian
politics when Vietnam crises started in the mid-
1960s, but had been around since the 1950s.

14.  What do you think will happen next?
 Any ideas?
 What policies would be beneficial to either
superpower at this point?
 What policies are in place?
 Are these helpful or hindering to peace?