The Soviet Expansion

eory is an idea that can be defined as how a system works towards stability and unification between states. There are five categories that I thought greatly contributed to the war was the focus on balance of power, a balance breakdown, survival threat triggering a war, and first and second deduction principles (Magagna, 2018). The balance of power is threatened when (1) there is a fault line of major power conflicts that has divided nations and (2) a hegemonic threat. In 1945, the problem was how to balance the blocking of the Soviet Expansion. The Soviet Expansion was a root of an issue that eventually stemmed into a greater problem, leading to an imbalance of power. From the Soviet’s point of view, the Soviet Expansion may have been a move …show more content…
From 1948-1970, the U.S.S.R was at a nuclear disadvantage in terms of land, sea, and air. This opens the possibility of massive retaliation against the Soviets, thus exhibiting the United States as a threat. The Soviet Deterrence is their own attempts to responding to this dilemma to deter the first strike from the United States. Their first course of action was credible commitment to their massive forces. The Soviet Union has a much bigger army than that of the United States and NATO combined, therefore, putting them at an advantage on military grounds. In the event that they are attacked, the Soviets would be able to invade and even take over a majority of Central and Western European nations. In addition, the Soviets like to bluff, claiming that they have nuclear superiority, putting them at an advantage and terrifying the western world. The Soviets invest a great amount of resources into programs to orbit satellites and send a human into space. This truly terrified and impressed because this was a new concept he survival of the Soviets was threatened so they decided to strengthen their walls by administering a stronger security against the western nations in case they were to invade. In addition, to expand their power, they supported third world revolutions like the one in Vietnam, putting the United States on a defensive mode. And lastly, agreed over …show more content…
Security dilemma is an important aspect of structural theory because it is what drives these nations to fight for deterrence and power. The security dilemma is measured by security spending and the size of armies based on consumption. The security dilemma can be very destabilizing unless it is I held in place; entire systems can break down, opening the window to preventing war. When there is a declining power that is being attacked, in this case the Soviet Union, instead of continuing to decline, they have proposed numerous ideas and tactics against the United States. Strategies they have used include the use of nuclear weapons and the utilization of their massive armies. By using their advanced resources, they are able to fight and attack if they are powerful enough to eliminate the threat. Likewise, the actions that the Soviet Union have taken are seen as a threat to the United States. In order to keep the balance of power intact, the United States must defend the balance and position. A survival threat to one or more major nations must be avoided in order to keep peace and solidarity, however for the Cold War, there were many nations that were at stake if one nation were to rise above all. Survival threat is also another critical point for structural theory because it requires that both parties must respond to an issue. This risks a systemic war by doing so,