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原題目題號：DSE-2018-Essay-05
根據1945-91年間的歷史，討論冷戰有「多」冷。
冷戰指第二次世界大戰後以美國為首的資本主義國家和以蘇聯為首的共產主義國家互相敵視及對抗。由於兩大陣營互相敵視、抗衡，形成對戰的局勢，故稱之為「戰」。但同時，美、蘇雙方並未有直接發生全面性的戰爭，故冠以「冷戰」之名。冷戰儘管存有「熱」的成份，但確實很冷，被稱為是「冷戰」實為不過。其中，「冷」即指關係冷淡，存在對抗性的關係，在政治、經濟、軍事、社會等層面尤其可見，至於「熱」即指關係緊張，甚至有戰爭爆發，可見於外交及軍事層面。
冷戰之中不乏「熱」的成份。外交方面，兩大陣營衝突連連，偶有火花，是「熱」的表現。兩大陣營之間互相猜疑、競爭，終致一連串外交衝突的出現，促使雙方關係白熱化，例如1948年蘇聯恐懼英﹑法﹑美三國合併西德及於西德進行政治及貨幣改革，因而對西柏林進行封鎖，終令美國為首的西方國家強烈不滿，導致「柏林危機」的出現，成為戰後列強間的首次正面衝突。此外，美、蘇的鬥爭於1962年再進一步惡化，因蘇聯試圖於古巴建立導彈基地，令美國認為其國土受到嚴重的威脅，雙方更因「古巴導彈危機」而進入備戰狀態，戰事幾乎一觸即發。可見，兩大陣營間存有多次衡突，構成了戰爭陰霾，成為冷戰中的「熱」元素。
軍事方面，地區性戰爭的爆發成為了冷戰的花火，形成了冷戰中的「熱」特質。共產主義革命試圖顛覆各國的政權，建立共產主義政府，導致了與原有政權產生了無可避免的衝突，甚至乎是戰爭的爆發。例如希臘、中國、朝鮮、越南等均相繼爆發地區性戰爭，令世界各地浮現此起彼落的戰火。其中，韓戰期間(1950-53年)，美國透過聯合國大量派軍支援南韓；中國派人民志願軍援助北韓，更使戰火進一步擴大，戰火燃燒熾熱。及後，美國於越戰中也大量派軍支持南越對抗共產主義的北越，使越戰的局勢再度升溫，國際關係十分緊張。可見，地區性的「熱戰」成為了冷戰中的熱點，令冷戰並不完全「冷」，同時具有「熱」的溫度。
然而，冷戰中更多的是「冷」特質。
政治方面，兩大陣營均針鋒相對，關係交惡，塑造起冷戰的「冷」關係。冷戰期間，資本主義陣營和共產主義陣營均會利用政治宣傳以宣傳己方的政治思想，以及醜化敵方。當時，公開的演說、電台、電影、書籍和海報等均是常見作為政治宣傳的工具，例如英國首相邱吉爾曾發表「鐵幕演說」，批評蘇聯封鎖東歐與西歐之間的接觸；美國總統杜魯門發表「杜魯門主義」，直指美國需要擔任國際警察的角色以阻止共產主義的傳播；蘇聯領導人史太林也於1946年發表演說批評第二次世界大戰是資本主義壟斷下的必然結果。此外，美國於1947年利用「美國之音」向蘇聯進行廣播；蘇聯也利用「莫斯科電台」向全球多達160個國家進行廣播，互相抹黑、批評對方。可見，以美、蘇為首的兩大集團互相批評、抹黑對方，關係交惡，但卻又未有直接開戰，使對抗僅局限於非戰爭層面，形成了「冷」的局面。
經濟方面，兩大陣營的互不干涉的對抗關係充分體現了「冷」特徵。第二次世界大戰後，美國恐怕差劣的經濟環境會有利共產主義的滋長，故於1947年提出「馬歇爾計劃」，協助西歐國家重建經濟。與此同時，蘇聯恐懼「馬歇爾計劃」會導致東歐國家對蘇聯出現離心力，故也推出了「莫洛托夫計劃」，協助東歐國家。往後，東歐與西歐的經濟分道揚鑣，西歐國家建立了歐洲經濟共同體(1958年)及歐洲自由貿易聯盟(1960年)持續進行合作，東歐則以蘇聯領導的經濟互助委員會(1949年)而延續合作。此外，由於共產主義國家恐怕資本主義的自由、民主思想會隨貿易而蔓延到己國，因此減少甚至封鎖與資本主義國家的貿易往來，例如中國在1978年改革開放前實行封閉式經濟，不與資本主義國家發展貿易關係。可見，兩大陣營在經濟上各走各路，同時互相抗衡，形成了強烈的「冷」關係。
社會方面，有限度的交流及接觸構成了冷戰中「冷」關係的一大要素。由於資本主義陣營與共產主義陣營處於敵對的狀況，因此雙方基本上停止了官方的接觸，並且限制己國人民與敵國的接觸，例如蘇聯於戰後中斷了東歐與西歐之間的所有交通、通訊和貿易，並沿著衛星國邊界裝上一道有刺的鐵絲網，使自由思想不會擴散至東歐，建立起所謂的「鐵幕」，形成互不接觸的「冷」關係。而且，東德政府興建柏林圍牆(1961年)就是為了阻隔東德人民逃到西柏林，將東、西德人民分隔開來。此外，雙方也會互相杯葛由敵方舉行的活動，例如1980年美國率領西方國家杯葛由蘇聯舉辦的莫斯科奧運會，及後，蘇聯也於1984年聯同東歐國家杯葛美國的洛杉磯奧運會，互不理睬。可見，兩大陣營之間關係冷淡，減少接觸，塑造起冷戰的「冷」局面。
軍事方面，對抗及競賽的局面也構成冷戰中的「冷」關係。兩大陣營在軍事上未有爆發直接的大戰，但就分別成立了北約(1949年)及華沙公約組織(1955年)分庭抗禮，在美國和蘇聯的分別領導下並駕齊驅，互相敵視，營造起對抗但又未有交戰的「冷」關係。此外，雙方擔心自己於戰爭中處於劣處，於是積極研製武器，導致激烈的軍備競賽，如美國於1945年投入兩枚原子彈迫使日本投降後，蘇聯也積極研究，並於1949年成功試爆原子彈。及後，美國也再進一步研製出氫氣彈(1952年)，使兩國的核軍備競賽十分熾熱。此外，兩國的軍備競賽更由地球發展至太空，如1957年蘇聯成功發射首個人造衛星上太空後，美國隨即於1958年也發射了人造衛星到太空。至冷戰後期，美國更提出「星戰計劃」(1983年)，希望利用太空攔截技術摧毀敵方的導彈，使太空軍備競賽步入高峰期。可見，兩大陣營存在的敵對及競賽性關係，但同時又未有直接開戰的狀況形成了冷戰的「冷」狀況，關係持續冷峻。
總括而言，冷戰雖然同時存在「冷」及「熱」的成份，但以美、蘇為首的兩大集團並未有爆發大規模的戰爭，僅存在衝突或地區性戰爭的層面，形成針鋒相對卻又未開啟全面性「熱」戰的狀態。相反，兩大陣營經過兩次大戰的教訓後，深恐戰爭禍害，從而形成了害怕大戰的恐懼心理，使雙方僅互相對抗，卻又未直接交戰，保持了長達半個世紀的「冷」關係。因此，冷戰實在很「冷」，冠以冷戰之名亦最為合適。
Discuss how ‘cold’ the Cold War was with reference to the period 1945-91.
The Cold War refers to the state of mutual hostility and confrontation between the capitalist bloc led by the US and the communist bloc led by the USSR after the Second World War. It has been called a ‘war’ because of the belligerence between the two blocs caused by mutual hostility and confrontation, but the adjective ‘cold’ is added since there was no direct and total war between the US and the USSR. The Cold War demonstrated some ‘hotness’ but it was surely cold enough to be called a ‘cold war’. ‘Coldness’ here refers to estrangement and confrontation, which could be observed in political, economic, military and social aspects, and ‘hotness’ refers to extreme tension and even wars, which could be found in diplomatic and military aspects.
The Cold War demonstrated certain ‘hotness’. Diplomatically speaking, there were often conflicts and disagreements between the two blocs that showed ‘hotness’ of the Cold War. Mutual suspicion and competitions between the two blocs led to a series of diplomatic disputes and intensified their hostility. For example, in 1948, the USSR imposed a blockade on West Berlin out of fear after Britain, France and the US merged their occupation zones in West Germany and started political and monetary reforms, greatly upsetting Western countries with the US as the leader. The blockade led to the Berlin Crisis柏林危機, which was the first direct conflict between the powers after the Second World War. Worse still, the US-USSR confrontation aggravated in 1962 due to the Soviet attempt to set up a missile base in Cuba, which was considered by the US a major threat to its national security. The Cuban Missile Crisis古巴導彈危機 put the two countries on a war footing, and a war between them could happen at any moment. It was clear that various conflicts between the two major blocs made the prospect of war more likely and constituted ‘hotness’ in the Cold War.
Militarily speaking, regional proxy wars also constituted ‘hotness’ in the Cold War. Communist revolutions occurred around the world with the goal of overthrowing the existing regimes and forming communist governments, leading to conflicts with the established regimes and even wars. As a result, regional wars broke out around the world in countries such as Greece, China, Korea and Vietnam. During the Korean War韓戰(1950-53), the US sent troops through the United Nations to support South Korea while China deployed the People’s Volunteer Army人民志願軍 to back North Korea. With their support, the war escalated quickly into a furious battle. Later in the Vietnam War越戰, the US also sent numerous troops to fight for South Vietnam against communist North Vietnam, adding tension between the two belligerent parties and also among the international community. Clearly, with regional ‘hot wars’, the Cold War showed some ‘hotness’ instead of being completely ‘cold’.
Nevertheless, the Cold War was more about its ‘coldness’.
Politically speaking, the confrontation and hostility between the two major blocs constituted ‘coldness’ in the Cold War. During the Cold War, both the capitalist and communist blocs used propaganda to promote their own ideologies and vilify each other’s. At that time, public speeches, radio programs, movies, books and posters were all common propaganda tools. For example, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill made the Iron Curtail speech鐵幕演說 to criticize the USSR for blocking contact between Eastern and Western Europe; US President Truman put forward the Truman Doctrine杜魯門主義 to point out that the US needed to take up the role as global policeman to halt the spread of communism; Soviet head of state Stalin also made a speech in 1946 and claimed that the Second World War was the inevitable consequence of the dominance of capitalism. In addition, the US Voice of America美國之音 began its radio broadcasts to the USSR in 1947 while the Soviet Radio Moscow莫斯科電台 broadcasted in more than 160 countries. Through these two radio networks, the two countries smeared and criticized each other. Such smears and criticism showed the hostility between the two blocs led by the US and the USSR respectively, which, instead of causing direct armed conflicts, led to non-war competitions and ‘coldness’ of the Cold War.
Economically speaking, the non-interference and confrontation between the two blocs fully demonstrated the ‘coldness’ of the Cold War. After the Second World War, the US proposed the Marshall Plan馬歇爾計劃 in 1947 to assist the economic recovery of Western European countries for fear of the spread of communism under poor economic circumstances. Meanwhile, threatened by the possible detachment of Eastern European states induced by the Marshall Plan, the USSR also introduced the Molotov Plan莫洛托夫計劃 to help Eastern European countries. This marked the beginning of the economic divide between Eastern and Western Europe. Western European countries continued their cooperation with the establishment of the European Economic Community歐洲經濟共同體(1958) and the European Free Trade Association歐洲自由貿易聯盟(1960), while their Eastern European counterparts cooperated under the COMECON經濟互助委員會(1949) with the USSR as the leader. In addition, for fear of the inflow of liberal and democratic ideas through trading, communist countries loosened or even cut trade ties with their capitalist counterparts. For example, China was a closed economy封閉式經濟 that refused to build trade relations with capitalist countries before introducing the Reform and Opening Up in 1978. Apparently, the two blocs went their own ways and competed with each other in economic aspect, having an extremely ‘cold’ relationship.
Socially speaking, limited communication and interactions were an important factor that made the Cold War ‘cold’. Due to the hostility between the capitalist and communist blocs, they stopped virtually all official contacts with each other and prevented their peoples from getting into contact with their enemies. For example, the Soviet Union blocked all means of transport, communication and trade between Eastern and Western Europe and erected a barrier of barbed wire along the borders of its satellite states to prevent the spread of liberal ideas. The ‘Iron Curtain鐵幕’ shaped their ‘cold’ relationship with no interactions. Also, the East German government erected the Berlin Wall柏林圍牆 in 1961 to prevent East Germans from escaping to West Berlin and this physically separated East and West Germans. In addition, the two blocs boycotted events organized by each other, as exemplified by the US-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow莫斯科奧運會 followed by Western European countries and the USSR-led boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles洛杉磯奧運會 involving Eastern European countries. This showed the distant relationship and lack of interactions between the two blocs that shaped the ‘coldness’ of the Cold War.
Militarily speaking, various competitions and confrontations shaped the ‘cold’ relationship between the two blocs in the Cold War. Although there was no direct and total war between the capitalist and communist blocs, they established the NATO北約(1949) and the Warsaw Pact華沙公約組織(1955) respectively that were pitted against each other. The two hostile organizations functioned in parallel with each other under American and Soviet leadership, giving rise to their ‘cold’ relationship with confrontation but not war. In addition, for fear of being at a disadvantage at war, both sides put active effort into inventing new weapons and got involved in a fierce arms race. For instance, after the US dropped two atomic bombs原子彈 to force Japan into surrender in 1945, the USSR also made active effort in this area and had its first successful test of atomic bomb in 1949. After that, the US went further by inventing hydrogen bomb氫氣彈 in 1952 and added fuel to their nuclear arms race. Moreover, their arms race even escalated into a space race. For example, after the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite人造衛星 to the space in 1957, the US followed suit and sent its own artificial satellite to the space in 1958. Towards the end of the Cold War, the US proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative星戰計劃(1983) to develop a space-based missile defense system against the opposite bloc, bringing the space arms race to a climax. It was clear that the hostile and competitive relationship between the two blocs, together with the absence of direct armed conflict, contributed to the ‘coldness’ of the Cold War and the strained relationship between the two sides.
In conclusion, there were both ‘coldness’ and ‘hotness’ in the Cold War. However, the hostility did not lead to a total ‘hot’ war as there were only conflicts and regional proxy wars instead of a war directly involving the two blocs led by the US and the USSR respectively. Learning a lesson from the two World Wars, both sides feared the destruction of war and the advent of another world war. As a result, they acted against each other without having direct armed conflict, maintaining a ‘cold’ relationship for more than half a century. Therefore, the Cold War was truly ‘cold’ and it is appropriate to name it ‘the Cold War’.
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