What extent can we speak of a uniform impact of the cold war on Essay

What extent can we speak of a uniform impact of the cold war on western europe in the period from 1950 to 1980 - Essay Example The discussion here will focus on Western Europe, more specifically Britain, Spain, and Italy. After WWII, Europe was divided by Western Europe, allies of the United States, and Eastern Europe, which was controlled by puppet Russian communist regimes. The United States wanted an independent Western Europe. However, the United States only wanted an independent Europe, if the countries were capitalist. Whereas the Western Europe countries did not like having Russia control half of Europe, with America influencing the other half, they accepted it to the alternative. Brogi (2001, 76) quotes John Gaddis following statement: the hard reality was that Britain, France, and their smaller neighbors preferred the known risks of influence to the imponderables of a unified third force that could conceivably fall under German or even Russian control. Thus for the avoidance of a third world war, Western Europe tolerated the United States influence. â€Å"Indeed the Europeans proved incapable of overcoming their ancient rivalries, but were able to adapt and even promote dependence on the United States† (Borgi, 2001, 76). By depending on the United States, Britain, Spain, and Italy could transfer the responsibility of protecting their nations from Russia to the United States. The United States became the protector of Britain, Spain, and Italy during the Cold War. When before the Cold War, these countries were more dependent on European and self preservation against Russia and Germany. Great Britain and the United States have been allies before and since both world wars. However, the United States, during the Cold War, proved to Great Britain where the true power lay. For example, when the Suez Canal crisis arose, Great Britain and France wanted to resolve the issue militarily (Fraser, 2002, 74). The United States did not want to provoke the Russian backed Egyptian president, Nassar for fear of another world war. To stop France and