General Cold War Knowledge (Easy)
What 1947 doctrine framed communism as a global threat to be resisted?
What is the Truman Doctrine?
Who led India’s anti-colonial movement using civil disobedience? (Give example of a process)
Who is Mohandas Gandhi, leader of the Indian National Congress, who used nonviolent resistance, such as the Salt March, to pressure British decolonization.
Explain the purpose of the Berlin Airlift in the context of Cold War strategy.
What is the U.S. response to Soviet blockade without direct conflict?
How did the Cambodian Civil War (1970-1975) become a proxy conflict during the Cold War?
Answer:
The U.S. supported the Cambodian government forces against the Khmer Rouge, who were communist and backed by North Vietnam. The Khmer Rouge’s victory and the subsequent genocide were major consequences of Cold War interventions in Southeast Asia.
Name one major country that was a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement.
What is India, Egypt, or Yugoslavia?
What physical symbol of division fell in 1989?
What is the Berlin Wall, which separated East and West Berlin, and whose fall symbolized the collapse of communist regimes in Eastern Europe and the end of Soviet influence.
What were the two major opposing ideologies in the Cold War?
Capitalism (United States) vs. Communism (Soviet Union)
What 1949 event led to the rise of a Marxist state in East Asia?
What is the Chinese Communist Revolution, when Mao Zedong and the Communist Party of China (CCP) defeated the Kuomintang (KMT) and established the People’s Republic of China?
Compare the Vietnam and Korean Wars as Cold War proxy conflicts.
Both were superpower-driven conflicts rooted in containment vs. expansion of communism; Vietnam ended in communist victory, while Korea remains divided; both featured massive civilian casualties and raised fears of global escalation.
How did Algeria achieve independence in 1962?
What is the Algerian War of Independence, led by the FLN (National Liberation Front) against French colonial rule, involving guerrilla warfare, torture, and widespread civilian casualties.
What 1961 invasion reflected U.S. attempts to overthrow communist regimes?
What is the Bay of Pigs Invasion?
Explain the significance of the Cuban Missile Crisis in Cold War tensions.
What is the closest point to nuclear war between the U.S. and USSR?
What was Mao’s radical campaign to purge enemies and renew revolutionary zeal in the late 1960s?
What is the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), where Red Guards attacked the "Four Olds," targeting intellectuals and party officials in an effort to reassert Maoist ideology?
What early 1950s conflict was the first major Cold War proxy war?
What is the Korean War (1950–1953), fought between U.S.-backed South Korea and Soviet/Chinese-backed North Korea, resulting in a stalemate at the 38th parallel?
Compare the decolonization experiences of India and Vietnam, focusing on the role of foreign powers.
India’s independence in 1947 was largely peaceful, involving negotiations with the British, while Vietnam’s independence came after a prolonged struggle against French colonialism and later U.S. intervention, culminating in the 1954 Geneva Accords.
What organization led peaceful opposition to apartheid?
What is the African National Congress (ANC), led by Nelson Mandela, which used nonviolent protest, civil disobedience, and later armed resistance (Umkhonto we Sizwe) against apartheid policies.
Compare the roles of NATO and the Warsaw Pact during the Cold War.
NATO, led by the U.S., was a military alliance aimed at countering Soviet expansion in Europe, while the Warsaw Pact, led by the Soviet Union, was a counter-alliance to maintain control over Eastern Europe and prevent NATO influence in the region.
Explain the significance of Mao’s Great Leap Forward.
What is an attempt to rapidly industrialize China through collectivized agriculture and backyard furnaces, resulting in the Great Chinese Famine and over 30 million deaths, weakening faith in Mao’s leadership?
How does the Vietnam War reflect Cold War ideological conflict?
The Vietnam War (1955–1975) reflected U.S. containment policy and fear of the domino theory, as North Vietnam (led by Ho Chi Minh) sought to unify the country under communism, while the U.S. supported the South to prevent its spread.
Compare the decolonization strategies of India and Algeria.
India achieved independence through nonviolent civil disobedience, while Algeria relied on armed insurgency; both emerged from European imperial control, but India’s partition led to religious conflict, while Algeria faced settler resistance.
What was the significance of the policy of détente in the Cold War and how did it impact U.S.-Soviet relations?
Détente was a period of easing tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union during the 1970s, marked by arms control agreements like SALT I and the Helsinki Accords. It led to less direct confrontation but didn’t end the Cold War.
Compare the motivations behind the Arms Race and the Space Race during the Cold War.
The Arms Race was driven by the desire for military superiority through nuclear weapons, while the Space Race was about proving technological and ideological dominance between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
Compare the Chinese Communist and Cuban Revolutions.
Both were anti-imperialist revolutions led by charismatic Marxist leaders (Mao Zedong and Fidel Castro), but China’s revolution had rural peasant support, while Cuba’s was led by urban guerrillas; both created single-party authoritarian states aligned with the Soviet Union.
What 1979 conflict was a major Cold War battleground in Central Asia?
What is the Soviet Afghan War, where the USSR invaded Afghanistan to support its communist government, while the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan funded Mujahideen fighters, contributing to eventual Soviet withdrawal and internal decline?
What was the Mau Mau Uprising and what did it reveal?
What is a violent anti-colonial movement (1952–1960) by the Kikuyu people in Kenya against British rule, revealing the brutality of settler colonialism and the role of ethnic grievances in resistance movements?