Diplomacy was transformed because of a need to deemphasize direct
warfare as a tool for achieving political goals. Once both the Soviet
Union and the United States possessed atomic weapons, means other than
large-scale warfare were needed because of the threat of "mutually
assured destruction." Acquiring allies, economic development, spying,
and even cultural exchanges played an important role in Cold War
diplomacy.
In order to counter one another, both the Soviet Union and the United
States sought to acquire as many allies as possible. The United
States formed to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization with Western
European nations, while the Soviets countered with the establishment
of the Warsaw Pact. While these alliances did not lead to direct
conflict, relationships with other nations did. For example, war
broke out on the Korean peninsula between Soviet-sponsored North
Korean troops and United Nations soldiers primarily comprised of
Americans. China's involvement resulted in a stalemate, resulting in
a peace settlement after two years of military and diplomatic
deadlock. The fear of the outbreak of a third world war resulted in
the partition of Korea into North Korea and South Korea.
Economic development played an important role as the United States
sought to strengthen Western Europe to make it less vulnerable to
communism. The Marshall and Truman plans provided considerable
economic and military aid while simultaneously stating the United
States' objective of preventing countries from succumbing to communist
takeovers. Stalin also engaged in considerable effort to strengthen
the Soviet economy, first by holding on to Eastern European countries
to bolster Russia's industrial base, and then devoting most production
capacity to heavy equipment and armaments.
Intelligence agencies and spying played an important role for both
countries as they sought to determine each other's intentions.
Photographs of Soviet missile bases on Cuba precipitated the Cuban
missile crisis, for example. Both countries maintained substantial
intelligence operations in the other. Early in the Cold War, Russia
acquired American nuclear secrets through the Los Alamos spy Klaus
Fuchs.
Cultural diplomacy expanded enormously with the establishment of the
Voice of America and the U. S. Information Agency. The goal of these
operations was to provide citizens of communist nations with news and
positive information about the United States. These eventually
expanded to include student exchanges, performing artists, and
traveling art exhibitions.
Far more independent countries arose as colonies struggled to gain
independence. Diplomacy played an important role in managing the
great powers' reaction to decolonization to avoid direct conflict,
although hot wars by proxy broke out in Africa and Southeast Asia.
Another aspect of diplomacy also changed: avoiding nuclear war became
an imperative. Because the outbreak of nuclear war would be so
devastating, diplomacy took on greater importance. The establishment
of the hot line between the United States and the Soviet Union as a
result of a near catastrophe during the Cuban missile crisis is one
tangible example of this. Nonproliferation and disarmament issues
became increasingly important, particularly once the relationship
between the Soviet Union and the United States became less tense. The
United States, in particular, has long been concerned with preventing
other nations from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Finally, the establishment of the United Nations provided countries
with a new forum for discourse. Although considerable disagreement
prevailed, the opportunity for engagement helped to ease tensions.
Negotiations to obtain United Nations approval for international
actions, such as the Korean War, gave diplomacy added importance.
Sincerely,
Wonko
Sources:
"Cold War Strategy Aiming for the Break down of Kim Jong Il Regime" by
Hwang Jang Yop, Zeroboard (2005)
http://nkgulag.org/bbs/view.php?id=declaration&no=24
"Cold War" Lexico Publishing Group, LLC (2005)
http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Cold_War
"Truman Doctrine" Answers.com http://www.answers.com/topic/truman-doctrine-2
"Cold War" OnPower.org http://www.onpower.org/history_cold.html
"The United States and the Cold War 1941-53" by Richard Crockatt,
British Association for American Studies (1989)
http://www.baas.ac.uk/resources/pamphlets/pamphdets.asp?id=18
"Public Diplomacy during the Cold War: The Record and Its
Implications" by J. Critchlow, Journal of Cold War Studies (January 1,
2004) http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/mitpress/cws/2004/00000006/00000001/art00004
"Public Diplomacy" Council on Foreign Relations (2004)
http://cfrterrorism.org/responses/diplomacy.html
"The birth of the hot line" by Bruce Kennedy, CNN.com
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/episodes/10/spotlight/
"COLD WAR: DIPLOMACY AND DRAMA AT THE UNITED NATIONS" United Nations
http://www.un.org/events/UNART/itartassgallery/5.pdf
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