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The history of international relations teaches us that at different historical periods international systems – each with their own unique defining characteristics – emerge, flourish and eventually decline. The Cold War system is one such system. This module examines the rise and demise of the Cold War international system focussing on the key roles played by the United States and the Soviet Union in causing the system to emerge in the first place, and subsequently on their respective ‘managerial’ roles in maintaining that system.
The collapse of the Cold War system was unanticipated by many contemporary experts, as for better or worse the system appeared to be inherently stable. The latter part of this module looks at the demise of the Cold War system and the respective roles played by the US and the Soviet Union in bringing the system to its demise.
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THE RISE AND DEMISE OF AN INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM: US-SOVIET RELATIONS, 1945-1990
