A new cold war or continuation of the old one

Abstract

After the end of World War II a new era started in international relations. With the defeat of Nazism, fascism and Japanese militarism a decisive role in the creation of this new era played he members of the winning coalition - the United States, Great Britain and the Soviet Union. However, the character of international political relations of the second half of the 20th century was essentially determined by the nature of the relationship between the two super-powers: the USA and the USSR. The deterioration of relations between these two forces started after the Soviet government had taken certain steps in Poland, Iran, Greece and Turkey. These moves were interpreted by the Americans as an attempt to extend the hitherto mutually recognized sphere of influence of the Soviet Union. Russia today believes that the red line has been crossed in Syria, although some dissatisfaction was also shown by Russia on account of the events taking place in Iraq and Libya. Due to conflicting conceptions of foreign policy of the USA and the USSR (the former USSR) and contemporary Russia and the measures taken in order to materialize these policies, strictly in accordance with their own interests, there has been a permanent tension on the international political scene. One gets the impression that the current events represent a sort of closing of the circle and return to the starting positions characteristic of the period before the Second World War.