UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND SOVIET UNION RELATIONS: THE INFLUENCE OF THE COLD WAR OVER BERLIN 1958 - 1961

Abstract

This work focused on United State of America and Soviet Union relations how the relationship lead to ideological war popularly known as the Cold War and how this war affected Berlin. The era heralded the advent of the most destructive instruments in the annals of humans development – the Atomic Bomb and the Ballistic Missiles. The presence of these instruments in the midst of humanity, gave rational beings something to warry about. During this period, international peace was exposed to the danger of being violated. More warrisome but engaging is this notion has continued to survive in many accounts of the era. Obviously, the role of Cold War in perpetuating conflict or enhancing peace in the international political system nead to be re-examind. This paper, therefore, re-examines, the impact of the Cold War on international peace, with place like Berlin as area of concentration. Measure taken by the lead actors – the United States and the Soviet Union respectively, and how the two super powers explore the era in order to protect their national and vital interest. The zeal of nations in quest of acquiring and maintaining supetr identity in the International politics. The paper finds out that the influence of the Cold War over Berlin violated international peace and polarised the international system. The paper thus argues that the entire world populace must have a sense of commitment to the international system. This is attainable only when the international political apparatus is organised and managed in such a way that it will reflect the people’s yearnings. To realise this, we need a compitent and dynamic world body which will be capable of interpreting what constitutes the overall human interests into common interest. The paper is historical: hence, it adopts a qualitative method of analysis. Useful pieces of information were obtained from important relevant documents, and array of secondary sources.