• Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • About
  • Contact

Cold War

Before, During, and After the Cold War

  • Podcast
  • Red Scare
  • Cuba
  • Iran
  • Urbanization
  • Spy
  • Afghanistan
  • Taiwan
  • Vietnam
  • Timelines
The Soviet Challenge

The Soviet Challenge

September 19, 2017 by Lisa Reynolds Wolfe

With the death of Stalin in March 1953, the Soviets renewed their long dormant interest in the revolutionary potential of the less developed world.

Khruschev resolutely determined to mobilize the newly emerging and decolonializing nations against the West, intending to exploit the end of colonial empires to promote his own interests.

The issue took on increased significance when the growing militarism of American policy led the Soviets to believe that the Cold War was about to be won or lost in the Third World.

Krushchev re-evaluated the Soviet approach to neutrality and devised a zone-of-peace strategy to pull the neutral nations into the Soviet orbit.

Soviet policy was redesigned to extend military and economic aid programs to selected non communist countries.

Under Stalin, direct military aid had been supplied only in areas contiguous to the boundaries of the USSR. Now the Kremlin was reaching out, hoping to “communize” the developing nations which were neither socialist nor capitalist.

Additionally, the Soviets hoped to disrupt Western markets and block the flow of raw materials to the United States and its allies.

The Soviets also wanted to build a market for their own goods, thereby improving their adverse balance-of-trade position.

Meanwhile, the American Congress passed the Mutual Security Act (1951), legislation which fused US economic, military, and technical assistance programs, allowing the injection of a stronger military emphasis.

As the Soviets moved toward a more active role in world affairs, they abandoned the extreme notions of Zhdanov’s two camp theory which, after all, had been formulated to provide an ideological justification for Soviet isolationism.

Peaceful coexistence, a policy used sporadically by the Soviets from October 1917 on, was re-introduced, supplying the necessary theoretical backing for a program of dynamic engagement in world affairs.

Although this strategy focused on living in peace with states of differing social systems in order to prevent war, it also involved economic competition between the capitalist and socialist systems.

More explicitly, according to Peter Rodman, while the Americans aimed to “guide the underdeveloped regions of the world through a transition to full-fledged participation in the international system,” the Soviets adopted a “doctrine of mortal struggle, of irreconcilable class conflicts.” They saw a military assistance program as an “integral part of contemporary Soviet policy,” a way of breaking through the Western containment arrangement.

By the mid-1950s each superpower believed that the future vitality of its ideological, economic, and strategic systems depended upon ‘winning’ the Third World.

Both the US and the USSR now perceived that the Cold War conflict would be played out in large part among the decolonizing and developing nations who would be forced to choose between Marxist and capitalist theories of economic progress, between totalitarian and democratic models of political organization, and between class struggle and collective security as principles of international order.

Many Third World nations were dismayed at the prospect of serving as pawns in a revised version of The Great Game. This term refers to the intense British-Russian rivalry for influence, concessions, and territorial control which played out in Central Asia and Iran in the 19th century.

According to Rodman (again), the Bandung Conference, a meeting of Aftican and Asian states in April 1955 marked the moment when the Third World tried to come of political age, and to define some room for independent manoeuvre between the two blocks …. Bandung was the moment when this implicit economic rivalry between West and East took on a strategic dimension, as the countries of the developing world ceased to be pawns and spectators in the global rivalry, but began to become players in their own right.

Soon it became apparent to all that many Third World leaders held their own agenda as they expertly played the two superpowers against each other.

Despite a move by some nations toward nonalignment, the Soviets were able to take advantage of the fact that a number of developing countries were anxious to reduce or eliminate Western influence in their regions.

As a result, American military assistance now became part of a strategy designed to pre-empt and offset any arms which the Soviets might supply.

The 1957 Eisenhower Doctrine concretized the new approach by proposing an increase in military and economic assistance, and authorizing the use of US troops to protect nations against aggression for any nation “controlled by international communism.”

To some in the Third World, it seemed that the US was now willing to pay with cash and arms for them to abandon their neutral position.

Filed Under: Soviet Union

About Lisa Reynolds Wolfe

Widely published, Lisa holds a Ph.D. in Politics from New York University and a Master of Science in Policy Analysis and Public Management from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Areas of particular interest and expertise include Cold War Studies, sustainable development, heritage, and the environment.

Follow Us On Twitter

Cold War Studies Follow

A Cold War historian, Lisa holds a Ph.D. in Politics from New York University and a MS in Policy Analysis and Public Management from SUNY Stony Brook.

Avatar
Avatar Cold War Studies @coldwarstudies ·
2 Feb

https://hyperallergic.com/794974/soheila-sokhanvari-honors-iran-feminist-rebels/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=D020223&utm_content=D020223+CID_1268eb65e911b86d63e38651e133b202&utm_source=hn&utm_term=Soheila+Sokhanvari+Honors+Irans+Feminist+Rebels

Reply on Twitter 1621120886408617984 Retweet on Twitter 1621120886408617984 Like on Twitter 1621120886408617984 Twitter 1621120886408617984
Avatar Cold War Studies @coldwarstudies ·
29 Jan

11 Places to Explore Spycraft @atlasobscura https://www.atlasobscura.com/lists/history-of-spies

Reply on Twitter 1619760825916604417 Retweet on Twitter 1619760825916604417 Like on Twitter 1619760825916604417 Twitter 1619760825916604417
Avatar Cold War Studies @coldwarstudies ·
29 Jan

Inside Cold War spy Kim Philby's life - sex, deception and double-dealing https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/inside-cold-war-spy-kim-29074870?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebar

Reply on Twitter 1619760444658565120 Retweet on Twitter 1619760444658565120 Like on Twitter 1619760444658565120 Twitter 1619760444658565120
Avatar Cold War Studies @coldwarstudies ·
28 Jan

Check out this article from @nytimes. Because I'm a subscriber, you can read it through this gift link without a subscription. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/27/opinion/sunday/knitting-fabric-michelle-obama.html?unlocked_article_code=1ew_IOkoQKL6pwCvaRQwqw7kaWYxQwBmX4RM8ZwtFdZYqpOghTnXUxbK7NmSwILpgVkTsehpl3Au4GhqUs1-dQP4onemJRdEVXYlONemCl8eqaGxUhfyGFeV0mwhRgrGJBllB6l7bc09s40JuyYDCn-Pzj_QRnzJRPcBVqRfaOwmRVceyoxIxg3hjSG4aJC0jFK7rVqZ3d-HPGkCAInMKNtJNaRye6_h-msXKJWjY1ipfpuF4gvQQjACg6r618EQKLx4kY3mXwdfk4DYZAbtqtAoHTE9btePy6OljFN7QC_ZDdcEA_0JCp2Cqwlnrht_EQUuLBsVhjEs-doVEvBw0WJ9hFHqwu9kVp9GTguk1Q&smid=tw-share

Reply on Twitter 1619318960922714113 Retweet on Twitter 1619318960922714113 Like on Twitter 1619318960922714113 Twitter 1619318960922714113
Load More

Affiliate Disclosure

Cold War Studies is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn a small commission by advertising and linking to amazon.com. You never pay more if you puchase your Amazon product from one of our links. Thanks for supporting Cold War Studies!

 

How Much Do You Know About the Cold War?

Want to find out how much you really know about the Cold War. Click here to take our quiz. 

 

Most Popular Posts

Cold War Fashion: The Early Years (1950s-1960s)

History of Colonization in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA): Precursor to Cold War Conflict

Cold War Chile

The Rise of Fast Fashion: Globalization and Waste

The Red Scare

10 Little Known Facts About the Peace Sign

Immigration to the US During the Cold War

The First Red Scare: A Timeline

Korean War Music

Cold War Argentina: The Dirty War

The Cold War: Decolonization and Conflict in the Third World

Check Out Our Red Scare White Paper

Read all about the Red Scare. Just click on the cover below.

Copyright © 2023 · Metro Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in