Who Won the Cold War?

Who won the Cold War?

From the nuclear crisis in the Korean peninsula to the war on terror, the echoes of the Cold War prevail in the conflicts of the 21st Century (Bisley2007: 233). Great relevance exists in the need to understand thisarmed yet never-directly-confrontational conflict between the United States of America (USA) and the then Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).The Cold War, given its distinction from conventional warfare, can be described as a ‘managed rivalry’ as both protagonists aimed to contain opposing ambitions, rather than destroy the other(Cox 2010: 68). By briefly addressingthe concept of “winning” and examining key ideological features,this paper argues that the USSRdid not win the Cold War, nor did the USA.This paper begins by addressing what it means for a country to win a war. Afterwards, opposing ideologies which are considered to have ‘caused’ the war will be examinedthrough the analysis of major events and policies. A final point of argument is analyzed from a constructivist perspectivecontendingthat the Cold War ended without a clear victor.

‘The phrases “X wins” or “X loses” are used only as easy verbal connotations for two states [opposing conditions] of the world’ (Wittman 1979: 745). This statement, madeduring the progression of the Cold War, emphasizes that a country is thought to have wona war when a certain outcome is achieved in the international system. However, Wittman (1979: 745) added that sincethere can be a wide range of outcomes which can validate a country’s victory,there is no distinct scenario for the conclusion of a war.Retrospectively, Wittman’s explanation of how a war is won can now be used in support of the current argument that neither of the two superpowers brought about their intended ‘state of the world’.

The main ideologies championed by the two superpowersfrom the incursion of the conflict are capitalism and communism; both systems of governance that could not abide the existence of the other...