The Cold war and realism in International Relations Essay

The Cold war and realism in International Relations - Essay Example Even after the fall of Soviet Union the subject continues to attract much attention of the scholars. The desire to understand the rise and fall of a great power has combined with the urge of better understanding the future course of history. Various scholars have attempted to understand the volatile nature of modern international relations. International Relation theories help a great deal in understanding the historical events and when we talk about Cold War, the theory of realism dominates the other theories towards a better understanding of the facts. The theory has its pros and cons but it hold itself true in many cases while trying to understand the cold war phenomenon. The end of World War II marked the start of the cold war. The cold war was essentially a struggle of power between the west led by United States of America (USA) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Although both were partners during the World War II but their differences arose soon after the war on the future shape of the world. The USA led the western block whereas USSR created the eastern block comprising over eastern European countries and countries annexed by USSR. The cold war was multifaceted. It signified a bi-polar world where both US and USSR were striving for hegemony on political, military and economic fronts. Both had their ambitions but had the fears of other’s dominance resulting in efforts of balance of power as well. The cold war reached it culminating point when USSR invaded Afghanistan and tried to reach the warm waters whereas US used its diplomacy and resources to stop USSR. It ended in 1991 when the later collapsed due to economic, military and political turmoil. The cold war is named as such because through out this era no actual war took place between the two sides but the threat of such war kept looming the political world throughout. Such was the tension between the two sides that the world at large feared a World War