Реферат: The Rise Of The Super Power Essay

for peace, as long as that commitment did not mean that the Soviet Union would in turn

face a potential Nazi attack. Examples of this can be seen in the Soviet Union?s attempts

to achieve a mutual assistance treaty with Britain and France. These treaties, however,

were designed more to create security for the West, as opposed to keeping all three

signatories from harm. At the same time, Stalin was attempting to polarize both the

Anglo-French, and the Axis powers against each other. The important result of this was

the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact, which petitioned Poland and allowed Hitler to start

the war (Divine 31). Another side-effect of Stalin?s policy of playing both sides was that

it caused incredible distrust towards the Soviets from the Western powers after 1940.

Author Robert A. Divine adds, ?this was due in part to the fact that Stalin made several

demands for both influence in the Dardanelles, and for Bulgaria to be recognized as a

Soviet independent? (31).

The seeds of superpowerdom lies here, R.J. Overy wrote ?stability in Europe

might have been achieved through the existence of powers so strong that they could

impose their will on the whole of the international system, as has been the case since

1945? (215). At the time, there was no power in the world that could achieve such a feat.

Britain and France were in sovereign decline, and more concerned about colonial

economics than the stability of Europe. Both imperial powers assumed that

?empire-building? would necessarily be an inevitable feature of the world system.

German aggression could have been stifled early, had the imperial powers acted

simultaneously. The memories of World War One, however, were too powerful and the

general public would not condone a military solution at that point (Morrison 35).

After the economic crisis of the 1930?s, Britain and France lost much of their

former international standing. As the world markets plummeted, so did their relative

power. The two nations were determined to maintain their status as great powers, without

relying on the U.S. or Russia for support of any kind. They went to war only because

further appeasement would have only served to remove from them their little remaining

world standing and prestige (LeFerber 127).

The creation of a non-aggression pact between the Soviet Union and Germany can