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International relations during the Cold War
Political tension among nations during the Cold War
Political tension among nations during the Cold War
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Cuban Missile Crisis-Individual, Realism
What does this nation’s people remember most about the Cold War? Is it the fear, terror, and the absolute uncertainty of not knowing if tomorrow you might not wake up or worse, wake up to all out nuclear hell? “The most terrifying moment in my life was October 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis. I did not know all the facts - we have learned only recently how close we were to war - but I knew enough to make me tremble”-Joseph Rotblat. During those October days of 1962, John F. Kennedy and the United States braced for a nuclear attack that nobody was sure was coming. On the other side Nikita Khrushchev was hungry for power after being dominated by the U.S. for years during the long years of the Cold War. Khrushchev wanted to have the nuclear upper hand in the western hemisphere. With the help of Fidel Castro, Khrushchev could put nuclear weapons in Cuba.
To view this crisis I chose the individual level of analysis because it is very easy to take that approach when you have three major key players as I mentioned above. Each and every one of those men held an excruciating amount of power which could have changed the total outcome of the Cuban Missile Crisis if not used correctly. They all had the highest influences on how the crisis would end. The relationship between countries can be compared to a puzzle. One leaders relative power depicts one single piece to the dynamic puzzle made up by all respective countries and leaders. I drew to the conclusion that the individual level of analysis and international relations theory of realism combined together and allowed me to describe the situations of the Cuban Missile Crisis in the best way possible. The powerful leaders such as Preside...
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... power they put everyone in society at risk.
Work Cited
1. Brugioni, Dino A. Eyeball to Eyeball. New York: Random House, 1990.
2. “Cuban Missile Crisis.” History.com. N.p., 2010. Web. 17 March. 2014. .
3. Dobbs, Micheal. One Minute to Midnight. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2008.
4. Historical Newsreel Footage of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Smithsonian.com. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. .
5. "Short Films." The Armageddon Letters. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2014.
6. "The Cuban Missile Crisis, October 1962." U.S. Dept. of State Office of the Historian. Office of the Historian, 31 Oct. 2013. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. .
The Cold War was a period of dark and melancholic times when the entire world lived in fear that the boiling pot may spill. The protectionist measures taken by Eisenhower kept the communists in check to suspend the progression of USSR’s radical ambitions and programs. From the suspenseful delirium from the Cold War, the United States often engaged in a dangerous policy of brinksmanship through the mid-1950s. Fortunately, these actions did not lead to a global nuclear disaster as both the US and USSR fully understood what the weapons of mass destruction were capable of.
On October 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy reached out to America and the Cubans with his Cuban Missile Crisis Address to the Nation. During this time, the Cold War had occupied several countries of world. This war resulted from tensions, military and political, between Russia and its allies and America, its allies, and the Western Hemisphere. When President Kennedy gave his speech, Russia had occupied Cuba and began building military bases that contained nuclear warheads and other deadly missiles. People of America saw this as a threat to the freedom of the U.S. and the Western Hemisphere. In a time of great tension and fear, President Kennedy delivered his spectacular and reassuring speech that appealed to the citizens of American in several ways.
"Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)." - The New York Times. N.p., 19 Apr. 2014. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.
May, Ernest R. "John F Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis." BBC News. BBC, 18 Nov. 2013.
May, Ernest R. “John F Kennedy and the Cuban MIssile Crisis.” BBC News. BBC., 18 Nov. 2013.
The docudrama ‘13 Days’ depicts the conflicts between the United States and the Soviet Union which nearly ended in a cataclysmic crisis widely known as the Cuban Missile crisis. The course of events and the escalation of the crisis during the intense 13-day period in October 1962 are conveyed to the audience through the perspective of US political leaders. The crisis begins as U-2 spy planes evidence that Soviet leader, Khrushchev, had intermediate-range missiles deployed to Cuba in secrecy and is in the process of activating them. The movie surfaces the conundrums faced by President Kennedy in deciding appropriate actions to be undertaken, such that the missiles in Cuba are removed without resorting to war. Audiences are acquainted with the various complexities involved in the decision making processes, as President Kennedy not only had to deal with the antagonistic Soviet Union, but also disagreements within his own administration.
Robert F. Kennedy's chilling account of his experiences with his brother, President John F. Kennedy over thirteen days in October of 1962 give an idea to the reader of just how alarmingly close our country came to nuclear war. Kennedy sums up the Cuban Missile Crisis as "a confrontation between two atomic nations...which brought the world to the abyss of nuclear destruction and the end of mankind."1 The author's purpose for writing this memoir seems to be to give readers an idea of the danger confronted during the Cuban Missile Crisis and to reflect on the lessons we should learn from it as a country, and for future members of government.
" We were eyeball to eyeball, and I think the other fellow just blinked" (Shmoop). This
Perhaps the most critical moment that had occurred to the United States and the world of the last century is the Cuban Missile Crisis. The significance of this event was that it had brought the world to the closest it could ever be to a nuclear war. Millions of lives, cultures and infrastructure would have been lost if it was not splendidly dealt with. Yet, a man was able to prevent this devastation, and he was none other than President John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK) of the United States. How was he significant to the event? This research paper will discuss it with the points that are based on JFK’s characteristics. Hence, to provide an overview of this paper; the outbreak of nuclear warfare was prevented in the Cuban Missile Crisis specifically by John F. Kennedy’s many distinguished characteristics.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a major event in U.S History that almost led to nuclear destruction. It was over a period of thirteen days in which diplomats from the U.S and the Soviet Union were trying to reach a peaceful resolution so that they wouldn’t have to engage in physical warfare. The crisis was the hallmark of the Cold War era which lasted from the 1950’s to the late 1980’s. The Cold War was a power struggle between the U.S and Soviet Union in which the two nations had a massive arms race to become the strongest military force. The U.S considered Communism to be an opposing political entity, and therefore branded them as enemies. Khrushchev’s antagonistic view of Americans also played a big role in the conflict. The Cold War tensions, coupled with a political shift in Cuba eventually lead to the military struggle known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cuban Missile Crisis was the point of most tension and near collapse causing the Cold War to almost shift from a passive and underground struggle to a violent and catastrophic one.
On October 22nd, 1962, President John F. Kennedy delivered the famous "Cuban Missile Crisis Address to the Nation" speech in response to Nikita Khrushchev’s act of placing nuclear and flying missiles on the island directly south of the United States: Cuba. The purpose of the speech was to alert the nation of the situation and inform them on how it would be handled. This speech successfully won the attention and respect of the American and Russian people through the use of multiple rhetorical devices.
"Cuban Missile Crisis." - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum, n.d. Web. 14 May 2014.
The Cuban Missile Crisis exhibits the struggle for power between the two dominant powers of the time. The realist theory believes that world politics is a repetitive struggle for power and or influence. Power, in politics is largely perceived as influence and military capability. Power in mass amounts are located in objects such as nuclear missiles that have an immense influence on others. (Schmidt, 2007; Sterling-Folker & Shinko, 2007). This is clearly depicted through the actions taken by both leaders, as the simple placement of a missile had such a tremendous effect.
Chang, Laurence and Peter Kornbluh. The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962. New York: The New Press, 1992.
Stern, Sheldon M. The Cuban Missile Crisis in American Memory: Myths versus Reality. Stanford, CA: Stanford Univ., 2012. Print.