The Cold War Era

1 mark
1.Name the major countries, which were a part of Allied and Axis powers.
Allied Powers
consisted of U.S.A., USSR, Britain & France.
Axispowers
consisted of Germany, Japan and Italy.
2.Name the military alliance formed by the two Super powers.
U.S.A.
NATOCENTOSEATO
USSR WARSAW PACT
3.Name some of the places where the super powers were facing confrontation frome
ach other.
Korea (1950-53)
Berlin (1958

62)

Congo (Early 1960s)

Vietnam
Afghanistan
Cuba
4.When and where was the First Summit of NAM held? How many membersattended it?
The first summit of NAM was held at Belgrade in 1961. 25 members attended it.
5.Where and when was the last meeting of NAM held? How many membersattended it?
The last summit was held at Havana in Cuba in 2006. It was attended by 116 membe
r states and 15 observers.
2 marks
1.By remaining non-aligned India was also serving its interests. Comment
Due to non alignment, India could take international stand and decision, whichsuit
ed its interests and not the interest of the Super Powers.
India could well balance one Super Power against the other. If India felt neglec
tedor pressurized by one power, it could get closer to the other one. Thus, no c
ountrycould take India for granted.
2.On what grounds is India s policy of non alignment criticized?
India s policy of non alignment criticized on grounds:
Of being unprincipled.
ernational issues.

i.e. India often refused to take a firm stand on crucialint

Of taking contradictory India signed the Treaty of Friendship in 1971 with USSR.
This action was viewed as virtually joining the Soviet alliance system.
3.What were the reasons for the establishment of NAM?

Cooperation among the five nations i.e. India, Yugoslavia, Egypt, Indonesia, and
Ghana.
Growing cold war tensions.
Entry of many newly decolonized countries into the international arena who didno
t want to join any power bloc.
4.As a leader of NAM, what was India s stand to the cold war?
India s stand to the cold war was two-fold:
It remained away from the two power blocs.
It raised its voice against the newly decolonized countries, which were joining
anyof these alliances.
5.Give an example of isolationism with reference to USA.
The American foreign policy between the period of World War I and World War IIca
n be said to be that of isolationism. When Germany went about with its aggressiv
emeasures, U.S.A. did not interfere at all to this was one reason which paved th
e wayfor World War II.
6.What was the primary challenge for the non-aligned countries? Why?
The challenge before most of the non-aligned countries or least developed countr
ies(LDCs) was to be more developed economically and to lift their people out of
poverty.Economic development was important not only for their own uplifment but
also to be politically independent of the richer colonial powers from whom they
had achievedfreedom.
7.Why superpowers needed allies during the Cold War?
The superpowers needed allies due to the following reason stated below:
The smaller states were helpful in providing vital resources such as oil andmine
rals.
Territory from where the superpowers could launch their weapons and troops.
Location from where the super powers could spy on each other.
Economic support that small sates could get from the superpowers
8.State the causes for the Emergence of two power blocs.
The two super powers were keen on expanding their spheres of influence in differ
ent parts of the world; this divided the whole world into two power blocs and tw
o-alliancesystem. Causes behind it were political ideology of superpower states
and to getmaximum benefit from the newly independent states.
9.What do you understand by the Cuban Missile Crisis?
In 1962 when Soviet Union placed nuclear missiles in Cuba, a nation off the coas
t of the U.S.A, it made U.S.A for the first time a direct threat from U.S.S.R.U.
S warships were ordered to intercept the Soviet ships heading toward Cuba. Thisc
lash between the U.S.S.R and U.S.A is known as Cuban missile crisis.
10.What reforms were proposed by UNCTAD in 1972, in favour of least developedcou
ntries (LDC)?
The United Nations conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) brought outsome
reforms in 1972, in favour of least Developed countries (LDC) over the globaltra
ding system, are as follows:

Give the LDC's control over their natural resources exploited by the developedco
untries.
Reduce the cost of technology from the developed countries.
Provide the LDC's with a greater role in international economic institutions.
Obtain access to developed markets so that the LDC's could sell their product, a
ndmake trade more beneficial for the poorer countries.
11.Why was the tension between U.S.A and USSR after Second World War
Cold war?
After the Second World War U.S.A and USSR emerged as two superpowers
th had nuclear power. In spite of that both were aloof from any type
teadthey kept on fighting verbally on international platform to show
macy asthey kept themselves in the mode of cold war and not enter in
with eachother. Thus, it was known as the Cold War.

knownas the
and they bo
of war, ins
there supre
any hot war

12.Why did United State drop bombs on Japanese cities; as Japan was about tosurr
ender?
As critics suggest that the main motive behind dropping of bombs on Japanese Cit
ieswas to stop the U.S.S.R for gaining military and political strength in Asia.
This wasalso to show that United States of America is more powerful than U.S.S.R
. U.S.Asupporters argued that dropping of bomb was necessary to end the war quic
kly.
13.Why did USSR make a nuclear base in Cuba?
In April 1961, the USSR became worried that the United States Of America wouldin
vade communist ruled Cuba and would take control of Cuba as it was anally of the
Soviet Union; as Cuba received diplomatic and financial aid from USSR. It was fo
r this reason that the leaders of USSR decided to make Cuba as a nuclear base fo
r its protection from USA.
14.How can you say that the W.W. II was a landmark in the contemporary worldpoli
tics?
In 1945, the Allied powers led by U.S.A, U.S.S.R, Britain and France defeated th
eAxis powers led by Germany, Japan & Italy. Although U.S.A. and U.S.S.R hadfough
t together against the Axis powers, they split after the war. Thus, the end of W
.W. II was the beginning of the Cold War.
15.What was the justification given by USA supporters after the use of atom bomb
,how did Soviet Union take it?
The US supporters argued that in order to stop the war immediately and spare the
world from further destruction, it was necessary to drop the bombs on Japan to m
akeit surrender.The USSR supporters argued that it had been done to show that U.
S. was supreme andleave her behind from making any military and political gains
in Asia and other places.
16.What made the two Super Powers realize that no political gains would justify
thedestruction of their societies?
Both the Super Powers had such dangerous stockpiles of weapons, that any use of
them would inflict immense death and destruction. Thus, both of them know that n
o political gains were sufficient enough to risk a war in which none of them cou
ld bedeclared as a winner.
17.What do you mean by the logic of deterrence ?
It means that both the powers deterred from initiating a war because they knew t
hatthey had a terrible capacity to retaliate, in which there could be unacceptab

ledestruction and yet nobody world be in a position to be declared as a winner.

18.What was the positive aspect of the cold war?
Knowing well the military capability of each other, both the Super Powers someho
wwere expected to behave as rational and responsible in the sense that they knew
therisks in fighting wars, which could be massively destructive.In this sense,
cold war by not turning into a hot war, managed to ensure humansurvival.
19.What were some of the disarmament measures undertaken by the two SuperPowers?
The Super Powers decided to bring a balance of weapons, which could be done by arm
s control Limited Test Ban Treaty was signed on 5thAug. 1963 between US, U.K. and USSR.It
banned nuclear tests in the atmosphere, outer space and underwater.
NPT in 1968 prohibited the spread of nuclear weapons from nuclear nations to non
-nuclear nations.
Anti-Ballistic Missiles Treaty reduced the deployment of missiles from two to on
e.
4 marks
1.What role did India play during the Cold War?
India as one of decolonised countries during this period followed a policy of no
n-alignment. India sided neither with the US nor the USSR. Like India some other
countries such as Africa and Latin America followed this policy. India joined h
andswith other countries such as Yugoslavia, Egypt, Indonesia and Ghana and foun
ded NAM (Non Alignment Movement).India was very careful in not siding with any p
ower bloc and at the same time itstrongly opposed newly decolonised countries be
coming part of these power blocs.But India did try to reduce differences between
the alliances; there by it preventeddifferences from escalating into a full sca
le war. Indian diplomats and leaders wereoften used to communicate and mediate b
etween Cold war rivals such as in the Koreawar in early 1950s.During the cold wa
r, India repeatedly tried to activate those regional and internationalorganisati
ons , which were not apart of the alliances led by the US and the USSR to bring
peace in the International arena.
2.Who were the founder members of NAM? What was the motive behind itsformation?
The founder members of NAM are- Yugoslavia s Josip Broz Tito, India s Jawaharlal Neh
ru, and Egypt's leader Gamal Abdel Nasser. Indonesia s Sukarno and Ghana sKwame Nkru
mah supported them.
Motive behind formation of NAM:
To establish peace, not through alignment with any major power or group of powe
rs but through an independent approach to each controversial or disputed issue.
Maintain the freedom of newly independent states.
Elimination of racial discrimination.
3.What is the Cold War?
The end of the Second World War is a landmark in contemporary world politics. In
1945, the allied Forces , led by the US, Soviet Union, Britain and France defeat
ed theAxis Powers led by Germany, Italy and Japan, ending the Second World War (
1939-1945). The war had involved all major powers of the world and spread out to
regionsoutside Europe including Southeast Asia, China, Burma.The end of the Sec
ond World War can be said as the beginning of the Cold War. Theintention behind
dropping bombs on the Japanese cities by the US despite the truththat Japan was
ready to surrender was to show Moscow that the United States wassupreme and to g
ive warning that Moscow should not go ahead with its military building task with
Asia and elsewhere.The Cold War was an outcome of the emergence of the US and U
SSR as twosuperpowers. The two superpowers were keen on expanding their spheres

of influence. Most countries of the west sided with the US and those of Eastern
Europe joined the soviet camp. That is why they were called the 'western' and th
e 'eastern'alliances.The western alliance was formalised into an organisation, t
he North Atlantic TreatyOrganisation (NATO), which came into existence in April
1949.
4.State the reasons that led to the emergency of Power blocs.
There are three reasons why there was emergence of the Power blocs:
The two Super Powers wanted to expand their spheres of influence in the worlddue
to which they wanted to bring as many countries as they could under their allia
nce.
The smaller states that joined the alliance knew their own interests in doing so
.They would get protection, weapons and economic aid against their local rivals.
Therefore, the world got divided into two camps-Eastern Camp having its influenc
eover most of the East European countries led by USSR and the Western Camp led b
yU.S.A.
5.How idea of New International Economic Order (NIEO) came intobeing?
The third world or non-aligned countries are facing different threats from diffe
rentfronts since their independence. First one is under-development and then fol
lowed by poverty, malnutrition, starvation, famine, wars and militancy. In 1972
these problemwere recognized and New International Economic Order (NIEO) origina
ted with thisrealization. The United Nation Conference on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD) proposed reforms in report named Towards a New Trade policy for Develop
ment for all least developed countries (LDCs) regarding their control over own n
aturalresources, access to western market, availability cheap technology and rol
e ininternational economic institutions.
6 marks
1.What do you think were the reasons why the Super powers needed any alliancesat
all?
Although the Super Powers had their nuclear weapons & regular armies and wereext
remely powerful, yet the smaller states were helpful for them in gaining access
to:
Resources such as oil and minerals.
Territory from where the Super Powers could launch their weapons on the rivalsid
e.
Locations from where they could spy on each other.
Smaller states together could pay for the military expenses.
Ideological reason
: By bringing as many countries as possible under their alliance, the Super Powe
rs would prove that their ideology was better than that of the
other one. USA could prove that their liberal democracy and capitalism was bette
r than USSR s socialism and communism and vice versa.
2.The confrontation of Cuban Missile crisis is regarded as a situation when thecol
d war came nearest to turning into a nuclear war. Explain.
Soviet Union had fears to its security from U.S.A and it also feared that USA mi
ghtattack Cuba. Due to this, it decided to secretly station its missile in Cuba
from wherethe major cities of USA could be targeted.USA came to know of these mi
ssiles where its spy plane U-2 took photographs of missile bases being built in

Cuba. The origin of this conflict goes to 1961 where CIAtrained Cuban exiles opp
osed to Fidel Castro invaded Bay of Pigs.Although, this invasion was terminated
by Cuba, Castro was sure that he shouldmodernize his military with the help of U
SSR.However, Kennedy declared naval blockade of Cuba and stated that if any miss
ilewould be launched by Cuba, it would be regarded as an attack by USSR. The wor
ldwas on the verge of W.W. III. Then Khrushchev proposed that Soviet Union would
dismantle its missiles if USA promised not to invade Cuba. With the intervention
of U.N. Secretary General U. Thant, this agreement was signed and so the war wa
savoided.