EFFECT OF THE COLD WAR

Cold war has had a huge impact on the whole world, especially to the countries
involved. But this effect is more about internal or political affiliation in a party. Among the
effects of cold war is the world divided to two blocs, NATO formation, SEATO established
and the arms race (Savira, 2011).
According to John Lewis (2005), the first effect is the world divided to two bloc, the
eastern bloc and western bloc. The Eastern bloc is a bloc that led by the Soviet Union. The
Eastern Bloc is the countries that follow the communist system. Among the countries in
favour of the eastern bloc are Ukraine, Poland and East Germany. This bloc uses a dictatorial
system of government which is a system of government in which a leader of an absolute state.
The dictatorship system is better known as hard government and brutal oppression as the
leader seized the throne of a brutal leadership (Kuhelj, 2014). The main goal of eastern bloc
is control the country behind the iron curtain.
Melvynn (2005) in his research states that the other bloc is the Western Bloc. This
bloc was led by the United States and the other countries involved with this bloc is France,
Great Britain, Italy, Canada, Netherland and West Germany where these countries are
practicing capitalist systems in their countries. Western bloc is a bloc that uses a democratic
system of governance where leaders are elected by the people and the people are free to speak
but using the right channels. The main goal or main goal of the western bloc is to reorganize
Germany which is divided into two West Germany and East Germany (History.com, 2018).
The Berlin Wall is the wall that separates the two parts of Germany which is West
Germany and East Germany (David, 2011). It was built on August 13, 1961. The purpose of
this Berlin Wall was to keep Western “fascists” from entering East Germany and
undermining the socialist state. The fall of the wall was on November 9, 1989. This is
because the world economic downturn sank badly in 1987. The fall of the wall is the cause of
re-integration of Germany (Boris, 2009).
According to Savira (2011), the next effect of the cold war is the formation of NATO.
NATO intends the Northeast Atlantic Treaty Organization to be the military federation
among the western bloc countries. This organization was established on April 4, 1949. This
alliance is a military alliance involving several European countries and United States which
all agree to cooperate in the military aspect if one or any of the parties attacked in other
words, obtain support or help. The four NATO goals are set up to establish a common
defence system that involves all member states, defending the sovereignty and safety of
member states, containment of Soviet-led communist influence and preventing the resurgence
of German military power in Europe (Ahmad, 2015).
The other effect of the cold war is SEATO established (Syajarah, 2010). SEATO
refers to South-East Asia Treaty which is an international organization for collective defence.
This organization was signed on September 8, 1954 in Manila. The purpose of this
organization was established or established was to prevent Southeast Asia from being trapped
by communist influence. Allowing the US to place troops in Thailand and the Philippines to
fight communists in Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia is one of the ways in which the

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US opposes or restricts communist influence in Southeast Asia. The main centre or
headquarters of SEATO is located in Bangkok, Thailand (John, 2005).
With reference to article by History.com (2018), the last effect of the cold war is the
advent of a weapon race. An arm racing is a preparation or competition in providing
sophisticated weapons in preparation for the war. The arms race took place most significantly
in the United States and Soviet Union where the conflict between these two powers in the
international arena led to their respective strengths, capabilities and abilities. At the same
time, however, both parties are trying to avoid the war and bloodshed. Thus, the rise of
psychological warfare involving armaments and military. This has given little to the world's
progress on weapons and military science. The creation of atomic bombs and the hydrogen
bombs by these two superpowers is a huge impact and can make the enemy furious and
scared. After the war between the United States, Britain and Japan resulted in the first ever
arms mining agreement at the Washington Conference But in the late nineteenth century,
France and Russia challenged Britain's naval superiority. After the breakup of the Soviet
Union, many weapons and military equipment can be found on the market.

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 REFERENCES

1. Cold War, Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_War)

2. Kesan Perang Dingin, Eyla Ibrahim (2011)

3. Sejarah NATO, Savira Rahmadian (2011)

4. NATO, Ahmad bin Yaakob (2015)

5. Pertubuhan SOUTH-EAST ASIA TREATY (SEATO) selepas Perang Dunia Kedua, Syajarah Dunya
(2010)

6. Persatuan Negara Asia Tenggara, Iema Aurie (2015)

7. Arms Race, History.com Editors (2018) https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/arms-race

8. Cold War History, History.com Editors (2018) https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/cold-

war-history
9. The Cold War as a historical period: an interpretive essay, Prasenjit Duara (2011)

10. History in the Cold War and the Cold War in the Present, Pauli Kettunen (2008)

11. Book “United States History”(1989)

12. Origins of the Cold War- An Internation History, Melvynn P.Lieffer (2005)

13. The Cold War (1945–1989), Mc Mahon (2003)

14. Birth of the Cold War, Kuhelj Bugaric (2014, UCLA)

15. The End of History?, Francis Fukuyama (1989, The National Interest)

16. The Cold War, RAND and the Generation of Knowledge, David Hounshell (2011)

17. The Cold War New History, John Lewis Gaddies (2005)

18. THE STRUGGLE FOR GERMANY AND THE ORIGINS OF THE COLD WAR, Melvynn P. Leffer (2002)

19. Rockets and People Volume III:Hot Days of the Cold War, Boris Chertok (2009)

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