Summary: The Cuban Missile Crisis

For thirteen days in October of 1962, a truly perilous flirtation with nuclear war developed between the United States and the Soviet Union, as both superpowers argued over the installation of Soviet nuclear weapons in Cuba (George, 2013, p. 1). The Cuban missile crisis of 1962 is considered to be one of the pivotal moments in the history of the Cold War, this brought the world closer than ever to the brink of nuclear war. During the crisis, both the U.S. and the Soviet Union recognised the concept known as mutual assured destruction (MAD), if one country made a nuclear attack, chances are the other would simply strike back, and the destruction of both nations would likely be the only outcome (Miller, Agnes & McBrester, 2009, p. 9). The events of the Cuban missile crisis raised the following questions: was war averted due to the concept of Mutual Assured Destruction? Was war averted due to the awareness of the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons?

Hypothesis:
War was averted due to the awareness of the consequences of the use of …show more content…
The approach adopted is Realism. Realism emphasises the constraints on politics imposed by human nature and the absence of international government (Donnell, 2000, p. 9). The realist perspective, dominated all alternative theories in explaining the power struggle between the U.S and Soviet Union. Realism amongst other things, involves the pursuit of power and, more importantly, a balance of power. Wendt (1992) believes states answer to no higher authority and so must look to themselves to protect their interests and to ensure survival. Waltz (2010, p. 103) argues that the structural condition of bipolarity forced the Soviet Union and US to act out roles assigned to them in the security order. Waltz also argues the relative equality of the power of the US and Soviet deterred the use of nuclear