The subject of this article is controversial and content may be in dispute. When updating the article, be bold, but not reckless. Feel free to try to improve the article, but don't take it personally if your changes are reversed; instead, come here to the talk page to discuss them. Please supply full citations when adding information, and consider tagging or removing unsourced information.
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Cold War, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of the Cold War on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Soviet Union, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.
This article is within the scope of WikiProject History, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of the subject of History on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.
This article is within the scope of WikiProject European history, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of the history of Europe on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.
This article is within the scope of WikiProject United States, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of topics relating to the United States of America on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the ongoing discussions.
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Politics, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of politics on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Socialism, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of socialism on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.
This article is within the scope of WikiProject International relations, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of International relations on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, you can edit the article attached to this page, or visit the project page, where you can join the project and see a list of open tasks.
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Tanks, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Tanks on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Conservatism, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of conservatism on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.
This talk page is automatically archived by Lowercase sigmabot III. Any threads with no replies in 6 months may be automatically moved. Sections without timestamps are not archived.
European Integration textual problem (Crisis and Escalation)[edit]
Under Crisis and Escalation, there is a mention of the beginnings of European Integration through the initiatives of U.S. foreign policy. There are two significant problems. First, the subject itself is only mentioned in passing and deserves more analysis, esp. in regards to its significance to ensuing diplomatic relations. Second, the link to the term forwards to the non-Cold War version, that is, European Integration in relation to the foundations and formation of the EU. Cold War version please!
Hey, click "Frozen Conflicts" in the timeline. Someone needs to fix this link.
Mr Gorbachev - He Said The Cold War Ended In 1989[edit]
I've been very excited at finding this 2009 interview in which Mr Gorbachev states his view on the year the Cold War ended - 1989. I have also posted details on the Cold War 1985-1991 page.This is fascinating - and the detail should certainly be included in the article. https://www.thenation.com/article/gorbachev-1989/
KVH/SFC: A closely related question: when did the cold war actually end? In the United States, there are several answers: in 1989, when the Berlin Wall came down; in 1990-91, after the reunification of Germany; and the most popular, even orthodox, answer, is that the cold war ended only when the Soviet Union ended, in December 1991.
MG: No. If President Ronald Reagan and I had not succeeded in signing disarmament agreements and normalizing our relations in 1985-88, the later developments would have been unimaginable. But what happened between Reagan and me would also have been unimaginable if earlier we had not begun perestroika in the Soviet Union. Without perestroika, the cold war simply would not have ended. But the world could not continue developing as it had, with the stark menace of nuclear war ever present. Sometimes people ask me why I began perestroika. Were the causes basically domestic or foreign? The domestic reasons were undoubtedly the main ones, but the danger of nuclear war was so serious that it was a no less significant factor. Something had to be done before we destroyed each other. Therefore the big changes that occurred with me and Reagan had tremendous importance. But also that George H.W. Bush, who succeeded Reagan, decided to continue the process. And in December 1989, at our meeting in Malta, Bush and I declared that we were no longer enemies or adversaries. KVH/SFC: So the cold war ended in December 1989? MG: I think so.
KVH/SFC: Many people disagree, including some American historians.
MG: Let historians think what they want. But without what I have described, nothing would have resulted. Let me tell you something. George Shultz, Reagan’s secretary of state, came to see me two or three years ago. We reminisced for a long time–like old soldiers recalling past battles. I have great respect for Shultz, and I asked him: "Tell me, George, if Reagan had not been president, who could have played his role?" Shultz thought for a while, then said: "At that time there was no one else. Reagan’s strength was that he had devoted his whole first term to building up America, to getting rid of all the vacillation that had been sown like seeds. America’s spirits had revived. But in order to take these steps toward normalizing relations with the Soviet Union and toward reducing nuclear armaments–there was no one else who could have done that then."
Hi. Yeah that is all very interesting, but why are you posting here? How does it relate to this article specifically? What changes do you think should be made? RhinoMind (talk) 16:43, 8 August 2018 (UTC)
I think the important point is that the article claims that the Cold War ended in 1991, which is a contested date. George HW Bush even claimed, at one point, that the Cold War ended in 1986 due to a summit between Gorbachev and Reagan (see "The Last Empire" by Serhii Plokhy). Should this contestation be mentioned in the article? It surely shouldn't be taken for granted that the Cold War "ended" in 1991. 209.6.136.140 (talk) 22:37, 26 October 2018 (UTC)
1. So I’ve browsed the archives and the history, and this article had (quite) firmly decided by 2010 that the start is 1947; because of issues such “as the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan and the Berlin Blockade” Cold War (1947–1953).
Perhaps you could squeeze that into the intro after The first phase of the Cold War began in the first two years after the end of the Second World War in 1945. Or, in the Beginnings of the Cold War (1947–1953) Section?
But can you add a sentence to say why it isn’t 1945? I imagine the back-room politics of 1945-1947 were just as “cold”.
2. Also; what is the French term from the 1930s, la guerre froide [9]. I couldn’t get the reference to tell me. Did the French mean roughly the same thing? Was there a concept of “Cold War” (in politics) before 1945?