1. The bipolar system

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1.1. The creation of the two blocs

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At the end of the Second World War, the struggle against Nazism, fascism and Japanese militarism ended. The two superpowers took a series of actions that were aimed at asserting their global influence, particularly in Europe.

• The United States: after the war, the United States consolidated its international military and economic hegemony. It adopted various measures in Western Europe that were designed to strengthen democracy and capitalism, thereby halting the advance of the USSR and communism.
• The Truman Doctrine (1947): President Harry S. Truman declared his intention to assist any country that was threatened by communism.
• The Marshall Plan (1947): the United States set up a programme of economic assistance to help European countries to rebuild their economies.
• The creation of NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization): in 1949 a defensive military alliance was established between the Western-Bloc countries. NATO's objective was to defend its members in the case of a military attack.
• The USSR: once the war was over, the USSR maintained its military presence and control over the Eastern European countries that it had liberated from the Nazis. In order to reinforce its international position, impose communist regimes in these countries and prevent the spread of American influence, the Soviets introduced a series of measures.
      

  

   

• Stalin wanted the Eastern European countries to be ruled by their Communist parties, which were in turn controlled by the Soviet Communist party. Communist regimes were established in these countries with the help of the Red Army.
• The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) was set up in 1949 in response to the Marshall Plan. This organisation aimed to coordinate the economies of the USSR and communist-controlled Eastern Europe.
• The Warsaw Pact was a military alliance set up in 1955 in response to the establishment of NATO. Its aim was to provide military cooperation and mutual assistance, and it included all the European Eastern-Bloc countries except Yugoslavia.

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The two Blocs The various measures adopted by the superpowers led to the creation of two blocs. They were politically, ideologically, economically and militarily opposed to one another. The Western Bloc was led by the United States. It included the democratic states of Western Europe, America, Oceania and some parts of Asia, such as Japan. The Eastern Bloc was led by the USSR and initially included only the Eastern European communist regimes. Later on, Latin American countries, such as Cuba and Nicaragua, African countries, such as Angola and Ethiopia, and Asian countries, such as North Korea and Vietnam, also joined. The border between the Eastern and Western-Bloc countries in Europe became known as the ‘'Iron Curtain' after Winston Churchill used the term in a 1946 speech.

1.2.Two opposing political systems

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Did you know? 

The witch hunt

The anti-communist witch hunt in the United States was led by Senator McCarthy, and so it is often referred to as McCarthyism. McCarthy targeted not only people working for the government, but also actors and directors working in the Hollywood film industry.

The Western Bloc

Between 1945 and 1974 domestic politics in the United States continued to be characterised by the two-party system: the Democrats (Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson) and the Republicans (Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon). In the immediate post-war years, domestic anti-communism was an important force and there were ‘witch-hunts' aimed at identifying communist spies. Subsequently domestic anti-communism subsided. In addition, immigration was limited in order to prevent the entry of communists to the United States.

In Western Europe, the democratic system was strengthened (except for in Spain and Portugal), with some of these countries remaining monarchies and others becoming republics. These countries had constitutions that guaranteed pluralism (the existence of political parties reflecting different ideologies), as well as citizens' rights and freedoms (such as freedom of association, of the press and of conscience).

The Eastern Bloc

The USSR maintained its totalitarian communist regime, which had been introduced by Stalin. After Stalin's death, his successor Nikita Khrushchev (1953–1964) introduced reforms to end Stalinism, such as the abolition of the tribunals, or troikas, which had dealt with dissidents, and changing the members of the Central Committee. However, Khrushchev was removed and replaced by a new leader, the more conservative Leonid Brezhnev (1964–1982).

In Eastern Europe Stalin imposed non-democratic communist regimes, although these called themselves people's democracies. They were one-party states, with the Communist party representing the people. After Stalin's death, the Eastern-Bloc countries introduced some reforms, such as relaxing state control over the press and releasing political prisoners. However, these reforms were insufficient for the opposition, leading to uprisings in Hungary (1956) and Czechoslovakia (1968) that were suppressed by the Red Army.

In Yugoslavia, Tito (Josip Broz) established a Communist one-party state but remained outside the Eastern Bloc.

Important

Revolts in the Eastern Bloc

In 1956, Hungary attempted to leave the Warsaw Pact and introduce free elections. The USSR responded to this threat by sending the Red Army to occupy the country and the uprising was suppressed.

In 1968, the communist regime in Czechoslovakia introduced reforms known as the Prague Spring, including allowing multiple political parties. In response the Warsaw Pact countries invaded Czechoslovakia and halted the transition to democratic socialism.

1.3. The economies of the two blocs

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The Western Bloc

The United States continued to be the world's leading economic power. Between 1945 and 1973, the Western European economy experienced significant and continuous economic growth.

• The process of economic reconstruction took place in the years after 1945. Between 1947 and 1961, the United States offered Europe (including the countries of the Eastern Bloc) $12 billion of economic assistance to recover from the war via the Marshall Plan. The aim was to stimulate the revival of international trade.
• Industrial production increased. In particular the application of new technologies, such as the microchip (invented in 1958), stimulated the growth of the electronics, motor and aeronautics industries.
• The European Economic Community (EEC) was established by the 1957 Treaty of Rome. Its aim was to facilitate European economic integration by removing customs barriers between member states. Initially the EEC included West Germany, Italy, France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands. In 1973 Great Britain, Ireland and Denmark became members.

The Eastern Bloc

The USSR became the world's second economic power. Its leaders maintained the centrally planned economy in order to promote industrial growth. They continued to use Five-Year Plans, but the results were disappointing. Agricultural growth, which was necessary to finance industry, was limited and productivity continued to be low. On the other hand, heavy industry (such as steel), armaments and aerospace increased their production at the expense of reducing investment in consumer goods industries.

The Eastern European communist regimes introduced measures to transform their market economies into centrally planned economies controlled by the state.

• The USSR forced them to reject the Marshall Plan. In 1949, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) was formed in order to promote economic cooperation between the Eastern-Bloc countries.
• Agriculture was collectivised: land was expropriated and redistributed to state farms (sovkhoz) and to cooperatives (kolkhoz).
• Industry was nationalised and Five-Year Plans were introduced to promote growth in heavy industry.

1.4. The societies of the two blocs

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The Western Bloc

Although there continued to be economic inequality in the Western Bloc, after 1950, economic growth led to an improvement in living standards. This could be seen in:

• the creation of the welfare state, in which governments guaranteed education, healthcare, unemployment benefits and pensions for the entire population.
• the growth of the middle class, which reduced the number of people belonging to the working class.
• the triumph of consumerism among the middle class, who had more disposable income to spend on consumer goods. Television advertisements promoted a lifestyle that the majority of the population identified with. As a result, sales of consumer products such as cars and household appliances increased.

The Eastern Bloc

Society was supposed to be equal because under communism classes no longer existed. It had the following characteristics:

• the state guaranteed work for everyone in state-owned factories. As a result, there was full employment. Basic services, such as education, healthcare, housing and electricity, were provided free to all citizens. The expansion of educational provision was one of the Eastern Bloc's major successes, and it ensured that large numbers of people had a high level of technical education.
• although society was supposed to be equal, there were differences between the ruling elite (members of the government and the Communist party) and the rest of the population. Members of the ruling elite had higher salaries and better housing.
• there was no consumerism because the economy was planned, so the state decided what would be produced. Heavy industry, armaments and aerospace were the priority, so there was very little variety of consumer goods such as clothes, shoes and household appliances.
• citizens did not have rights and liberties (such as freedom of association, freedom of the press and freedom of expression) because they lived in authoritarian regimes. Opponents of the regime were persecuted by the state.

   

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THE WELFARE STATE AND ITS LIMITATIONS THE WELFARE STATE The welfare state was based on principles of equality of opportunity and the redistribution of wealth. Its objective was to reduce economic and social inequality among citizens. The state intervened in the economy and used income from taxes paid by citizens and businesses to finance public services such as hospitals, schools, public transport and sports facilities. These services were open to all members of society. Education became one of the most important tools used to achieve equal opportunities. Free education from nursery school to university improved human capital and led to the creation of a well-educated society, as well as to a reduction in social inequality. PROTEST MOVEMENTS IN THE WESTERN BLOC Many protest movements emerged in the Western Bloc during the 1960s, which provided evidence of Western society's limitations. In the United States, the civil-rights leader Martin Luther King protested about and fought against the racial segregation of the African-American population in public places (public transport, schools and restaurants). In 1964 the government passed the Civil Rights Act, which made segregation illegal. The hippy movement also emerged in the United States. Hippies rejected consumerism and were opposed to war. They advocated respect for the environment and global peace. Hippies created their own aesthetic (long hair and informal dress) and their own lifestyle (they rejected marriage and private property). In France, a student movement began in May 1968 which protested against the consumer society. The students were subsequently joined by the trade unions, and together these two groups held numerous protests, as well as the largest general strike the Western world had ever seen, involving more than 9 million people. The French government suppressed the protests, but in the end it was forced to call early elections.