An evaluation of the reasons for the emergence of the Cold War, up to 1955

Ideological Differences

The antagonism between the United States and the Soviet Union began with a fundamental ideological difference: the capitalism of the West against the communism of the east.
The U.S. feared the spread of communism into Western democracies, leading to the Domino Theory, which suggested one country’s switch to communism could topple others.
The Soviets were wary of the capitalist West, particularly the U.S., and its intentions to encroach upon Soviet territory and influence.

After World War II, Germany was divided into four zones controlled by the U.S., Britain, France, and the Soviet Union, fuels tension and disagreements.
Berlin, likewise divided, became emblematic of this post-war division and the rising antagonism between the superpowers.
Stalin’s refusal to allow free elections in Eastern Europe bred mistrust among the allies.

The atomic bomb use by the U.S. on Japan (1945) alarmed the Soviet Union, which began developing its own atomic weapons, beginning the nuclear arms race.
Competition for nuclear superiority became a defining feature of the Cold War; each side aimed to underscore its dominance and deter the other from war.

The United States’ Marshall Plan (economic aid to rebuild Europe) was seen by the Soviets as an attempt to spread capitalism beneficial to the U.S.
The Truman Doctrine, declaring U.S. support for ‘free peoples’ resisting subjugation by ‘outside pressures’, confirmed the U.S. rejection of the Soviet Union’s influence over Eastern Europe.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) set up by Western powers in 1949 as a collective defense system against Soviet threat, intensified the East-West divide.
The USSR responded by setting up the Warsaw Pact in 1955, formalising the military alliance of communist states in Eastern Europe and further escalating the Cold War.

The Berlin Blockade (1948-9) was an early crisis. The Soviets blocked all routes into West Berlin aiming to control the whole city.
In response to the Soviet-led blockade, the U.S. organised the Berlin Airlift supplying food and other necessities to West Berlin, escalating tension.
Korean War (1950-53) represented the Cold War becoming ‘hot’. The war between communist North Korea, supported by China and the USSR, and South Korea, backed by the U.S., ensued due to ideological conflicts.
The death of Stalin in 1953 raised uncertainties about the future trajectory of the Cold War.