The Effects of Nuclear Weapons on Cold War Politics and Security

Tema rada je utjecaj nuklearnog naoružanja na hladnoratovsku politiku i sigurnost. U središnjem dijelu rada objašnjeni su određeni pojmovi poput sigurnosne dileme, MAD doktrine, politike detanta, ravnoteže snaga i ravnoteže straha. Definicijom navedenih pojmova i događaja polako se ulazi u samu bit problematike ovog rada. Glavni dio se odnosi na posljednje godine Hladnog rata, odnosno na tzv. “Drugi hladni rat” osamdesetih godina dvadesetog stoljeća. Razdoblje u kojem je kroz određeni broj sastanaka između blokovskih vođa cilj bilo nalaženje zajedničkog jezika i kompromisa. Zahvaljujući doktrinama, nikada nije došlo do izravnog sukoba između Istoka i Zapada što ne znači da oni nisu bili u sukobu. Ratovi vođeni u zemljama Trećeg svijeta financijski su oslabili obje strane. Spletom različitih okolnosti i događaja kroz nekoliko desetljeća, polako se nazire kraj Hladnog rata. Sovjeti više ne mogu biti u korak sa Zapadom te polako gube rat. Kroz sam kraj središnjeg dijela te zaključak, prolazi se kroz posljedice koje su nastale krajem Hladnog rata, a to je raspad socijalističkih sustava diljem Zemlje te nastajanje nove političke karte svijeta. Također dan je osvrt na pretpostavku da je najveći strah i prijetnja u ratu bila uporaba nuklearnog oružja. Najveća ludost u svoj toj situaciji je da upravo taj strah od oružja koje su obje strane posjedovale, nije doveo do izravnog sukoba i uporabe istog. Paradoks i ludost koje je trajalo desetljećima ovisio je o oružju koje je u isto vrijeme bilo štit i mač.The theme of the paper is the impact of nuclear weapons on the Cold War politics and security. In the main part of the paper certain concepts are explained, for example security dilemmas, MAD doctrines, detachment policies, balance of power, and balance of fear. After all the important terms and events are defined, the paper comes to its main focus. The centre part of the paper is related to the last years of the Cold War and the Second Cold War. It was a period of time in which the most influential leaders had various meetings to find a common language. Thanks to the doctrines, there had never been a direct conflict between the East and the West, which does not mean that they were not in a conflict. The wars in the Third world countries had financially strained both sides in the Cold War. In the adverted circumstances and events for several decades, the end of the war was slowly emerging. Soviets could no longer follow up with the West and they slowly lost the war. Lastly, the paper covers the consequences of the Cold War, the collapse of socialist systems and the emersion of a new political map of the world. Also there is an overview of the tremendous fear of the Cold war, which was the potential use of the nuclear weapons. The irony of the situation was that the fear of the weapons owned by other side stopped any potential conflict between the East and the West. The paradox and madness that had lasted for decades depended on a weapon which was used by the both sides as a defence and attack mechanism