Superpower Rivalry Analysis

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The second reason for why the superpower rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States can explain the absence of major wars is that ideological competition between them do not lead to direct confrontation between the two countries. Another way that the two superpowers compete after the second world war is by spreading their ideology to third world countries so as to increase their influence over the world. Before world war two, the Soviet Union and the United States are once allies to fight against government of Nazi Germany. However, after the collapse of Germany, the two superpowers have different opinions on how the Europe should be reconstructed. The United States is in favour of democracy while the Soviet Union is in support …show more content…

The world’s financial system is severely dampened after the destruction brought about by world war two. On one hand, the gold standard was considered too rigid but on the other hand some economists were worried that countries would devalue their currency to boost exports. To resolve this critical issue, delegates from 44 countries attended a conference held in Bretton Woods New Hampshire in 1944. At that time, US was undoubtedly the most influential state to global economy as she held two-thirds of the world’s gold reserves and ultimately all currencies are linked to the dollar and the dollar was linked to gold. (Johnston, 2015). However, countries that suffered a lot were concerned that if they do not devalue their currency it is impossible to get out of economic crisis. To address this issue, two institutions were established which were international monetary fund and the international bank for reconstruction and development. They were responsible for lending money to countries that face difficulties in reviving their economy and attracting financing g from other sources as well as supporting the growth of less developed and impoverished countries for recovering respectively. At last, the Bretton woods system did not survive because there is overvalue of the US dollar but it created a global …show more content…

The devastation and trauma of world war two had been some terrible experiences for people living at that time. UNICEF had carried out a survey of more than 1500 children in the summer of 1993 and found out that an overwhelming 97% of children had experienced shelling and more than 60% had experienced times that they nearly died. (UNICEF, 1933). European countries’ gold reserves were desperately depleted because they had spent too much of their resources in fighting the war. For instance, Britain was once the world’s largest debtor after the second world war. The people of these countries certainly were calling for their governments to be responsible for the burden they were bearing. The selectorate model can be applied here because if government wants to maintain their status and power they have to take action to respond to demands from their

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