RSS

Monthly Archives: March 2015

Our Competition With Russia

For half of the twentieth century, the United States and the Soviet Union were locked in conflict. While there wasn’t any actual combat between the two nations, they competed in just about every way imaginable. Through pseudo-wars, economic battles, and a general mindset that one nation is superior, the U.S. and the Soviets attempted to outdo each other in every aspect of life.

One aspect I will focus on in this post is the space race. I read an article written by Matthew Godwin, of the Department of Science and Technology Studies at University College London, that spoke about the space race and possible motivators for the two countries to push into space at such a rapid pace. Not much had been done before world war two to advance into the final frontier. All of that changed when the U.S. and the Soviet Union were put in the spotlight to see who would become the next dominant world power. The Soviets launched Sputnik in 1958, which was the catalyst for the race. The Soviets would continue to outdo the Americans in space technology until 1969, when Americans put the first man on the moon.

This part of the cold war is more than just a series of technological advancements. The space race almost perfectly symbolizes the conflict between the U.S. and the Soviets. The drive to become better than another nation is played out through the exploration of space between 1958 and 1969. The launch of the Sputnik was a hard hit to the Americans. It was a statement that the Soviets were more intelligent and certainly more powerful with the new ability to control the space outside of our atmosphere. When this is coupled with the fact that each country had a large number of nuclear weapons poised to be launched at the other side at any given moment, it’s easy to see why this was such an important race. That being said, the space race showed us exactly how important the drive to be the better country was.

The war in the Ukraine is one of the first major conflicts after the end of the cold war that tests both the U.S. and Russia. Russia is attempting to reclaim territory that they had when they were the mighty Soviet Union, and the U.S. must figure out how to handle the situation without starting an all out war. While the U.S. came out on top at the end of the cold war with the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia is still a world power that has the ability to make a major statement. That statement is that they will prove just how powerful they are.

The space race was the epitome of the cold war and all it meant. Because Russia didn’t come out on top, they certainly have something to prove, and the situation in the Ukraine is the perfect way to prove it. If America intervenes at all, Russia is prepared to start an all out war that the U.S. really can’t afford to be in. The U.S. is doing the right thing by not getting involved, but at what cost? Russia is practically invading and conquering an innocent nation for the betterment of itself, and to show its power to the rest of the world. The last time that happened, we ended up with world war two. When should the U.S. say “enough is enough”? Will Russia continue to prove its power with the taking over of other nations? Only time will tell.

Godwin, Matthew. “The Cold War and the Early Space Race.” Www.history.ac.uk. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2015. <http://www.history.ac.uk/ihr/Focus/cold/articles/godwin.html>.

Geopolitics Surrounding the War in the Ukraine

03 Mar

The war in the Ukraine is much more than just a physical conflict. This war is sort of a test to see how NATO and the U.S. will handle the “loser” of the cold war, Russia (and the rest of the old Soviet Union) when their ideologies do not fit each others. I read an interesting article on rbth.com that suggests that the post-cold war world is much less stable and reliable than the world during the cold war. This is because during the cold war, both sides (NATO and the Soviet Union) usually acted according to certain rules and standards that would not create conflict.

Now that the world is out of the cold war era, it is a whole new ball game with a new set of rules, or maybe even no rules. Since the start of the conflict, Russia has been under sanctions that are diminishing the power of their economy. In response, Russia has made it clear to the U.S. that any help given to the Ukraine will be seen as an act of war towards Russia. Russia has made a number of threats towards the united states, and has very recently threatened to release “smoking gun” satellite images that prove that the U.S. government was behind the 9/11 attacks. The point I am trying to get across is that the current conflict in the Ukraine could be a catalyst to much bigger conflicts, possibly even a second cold war.

While the U.S. and NATO are still standing together, Russia doesn’t have very many supporters of its actions in Crimea. Neighboring Kazakhstan and Belarus will not help their efforts. Even China has stated that they will not help Russia in succeeding, they only disapprove of a “U.S. victory”. While Russia doesn’t have much national support, they do seem to have the approval of small rebel groups around the globe. South American rebel groups do approve and have been “flirting” with Moscow. There are even “pro-soviet” groups in Islamic culture that are willing to help. While these small alliances won’t prove to be much help to Russia, they do make the statement that there are people willing to help Russia all around the world. What if there were secret pro-Russian organizations in the U.S., acting as some sort of “sleeper-cell”?

This conflict is much more than a territorial battle. We are in the middle of a test to see how the western world and the eastern world can cooperate after the apparent “end” of the cold war. The U.S. has done a good job of not getting involved in this conflict, but how long will it be before it is necessary that we intervene?