The document discusses different perspectives on who or what was responsible for causing the Cold War. The traditionalist view, which was dominant until the 1960s, argues that the Soviet Union and its expansionist policies under Stalin were primarily to blame. It asserts that the Soviets violated postwar agreements and imposed control over Eastern Europe, forcing the US to respond defensively through policies like containment. Other excerpted sources cited also predominantly or wholly attribute causation of the Cold War to Soviet actions and intentions.

1. CAMBRIDGEIGCSE
HISTORYREVISION6
WHOWASTOBLAME
FORTHECOLDWAR?
TRADITIONALISTSVIEWS

2. TRADITIONALISM
Traditionalism is heavily rooted in the realist school of thought. It is
simply just an extension of the realist interpretation of the early events
of the Cold War. The argument changes slightly under the traditionalist
approach.

3. THEORTHODOXVIEW
The historical position known as the "Orthodox" or "Traditional" view
generally holds that the Soviet Union was responsible for the Cold War.
It states that the Soviets were inevitably expansionist due to their
suspicion of the West and their Marxist theory which advocated the
need to spread revolution throughout the world.
Thus, Stalin violated the Yalta and Potsdam agreements, occupied and
imposed Soviet control in Eastern Europe, and 'plotted' to spread
Communism throughout the world with Moscow at its centre. The
United States, therefore, had to act defensively, from the Truman
Doctrine and the Marshall Plan to the establishment of NATO.

4. HEROVSVILLAINSCENARIO
Traditionalists still maintained that the Soviet Union was a ruthless
aggressor, but they painted the United States in an even more
positive light. Interpretations suggested that the United States pursued
a peaceful post-Second World War, but it had to establish itself as a
global force to serve as a bulwark against the Soviet Union. Returning
to the hero/villain scenario, the Soviet Union was still painted as the
villain, but now the United States, as the hero, was expected to protect
the interests of the world from the alleged dangers of communism.

5. ITWASTRADITIONALTOBLAMETHERUSSIANS
Until the 1960s, most historians followed the official government line –
that the Cold War was the direct result of Stalin's aggressive Soviet
expansionism.
Allocation of blame was simple – the Soviets were to blame! This view
of the Cold War has never really gone away, and there have always
been people who have seen the Soviet Union as the cause of the
confrontation.
It is, by far, the most common opinion of people coming from America
or Britain.

6. THEPOLICYOFCONTAINMENT
A very important concept was developed out of the traditionalist
school of thought: the policy of containment, which called for the
United States to prevent the spread of communism. Individuals, such as
George Kennan and Herbert Feis, argued that the United States must
adopt a containment strategy as a means of harnessing the expansion
of communism. As you can see, both schools of thought supported the
United States' battle against the Soviet Union.

7. THEDOMINANTVISION
Until the 1960s, the traditionalist vision was predominant. The
traditionalists placed the responsibility for the Cold War on the
expansionist policy of the Soviet Union under Stalin, shortly after the
Second World War. After the defeat of Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union
tried to dominate its neighbours and set up a sphere of influence in
Eastern Europe. The aggressive intentions of the Soviet Union were,
among other things, reflected by the Communist coup in
Czechoslovakia, the Berlin Blockade and the attack by North Korea on
South Korea in 1950. According to the traditionalists, it was this Soviet
expansionist policy that forced the United States to intervene, which
subsequently led to the Cold War.

8. Political historian Arthur M. Schlesinger gave a clear analysis from the
Orthodox perspective (Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr, Origins of the Cold War,
Foreign Affairs, October 1967, pp. 49−50)
“Marxism-Leninism gave the Russian leaders a view of the world
according to which all societies were inexorably destined to proceed along
appointed roads by appointed stages until they achieved the classless
nirvana. Moreover, given the resistance of the Capitalists to this
development, the existence of any non-Communist state was by definition
a threat to the Soviet Union. An Analysis of the origins of the Cold War
which leaves out these factors − the intransigence of Leninist ideology, the
sinister dynamics of a totalitarian society and the madness of Stalin − is
obviously incomplete.”
THEANALYSISOFARTHURSCHLESINGER

9. This is a summary of Michael Hart’s argument justifying placing Mikhail
Gorbachev in his top 100 most influential persons in history. Michael Hart
worked for NASA and is currently a professor of astronomy and physics in
USA. He holds degrees in physics, astronomy, and law and is author of
The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History (1986).
“The Cold War was caused by the military expansionism of Stalin and his
successors. The American response was basically a defensive reaction. As
long as Soviet leaders clung to their dream of imposing Communism on
the world, the West had no way (other than surrender) of ending the
conflict. When a Soviet leader appeared, who was willing to abandon that
goal, the seemingly interminable Cold War soon melted away.”
THEARGUMENTOFMICHAELHART

10. THEADDRESSOFPAULWOLFOWITZ
An address by Paul Wolfowitz, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense, at the
Ninety-fifth Annual Meeting of the American Jewish Committee, 2001.
“International conflicts are often caused by the character of national
regimes, not by any kind of international misunderstanding. The cold war
was caused by the evil regime in the Soviet Union, not by a failure of
diplomacy. In a similar way, Slobodan Milosevic and his evil cronies were
responsible for the tragedies and suffering in the Balkans. The American
Jewish Committee worked for years against Milosevic, speaking out
forcefully on behalf of his victims, especially the Bosnian Muslims.”

11. THEREPORTOFCHRISTOPHERANDREW
Report of a Q&A session with Christopher Andrew (a Cambridge University
don and expert on Cold War espionage) at the first Raleigh International
Spy Conference, August 2003.
The truth of the matter, Andrew insisted, responding to the statement of
Dr James Leutze that US intellectual thought places blame for the Cold War
equally between the US and the Soviet Union, is that the whole cost and
length of the Cold War rests almost completely with the men who led the
Soviet Union to its ultimate implosion. “The Cold War was caused by the
Soviet Union , was sustained by the Soviet Union, and was ended by the
Soviet Union when it collapsed,” he said emphatically. It was—and is—as
simple as that.

12. THEREVIEWOFEUGENEROSTOW
US Naval War College Review of Eugene V. Rostow, Violent peace and the
management of power: dilemmas and choices in US policy (1988).
The cold war was caused by the USSR's 'imperial appetite'.

13. THEVIEWOFJRNYQUIST
J.R. Nyquist styles himself a World Net Daily contributing editor and a
renowned expert in geopolitics and international relations. He is the
author of Origins of the Fourth World War.
Stalin's bad behaviour was the primary cause of the Cold War.