Compare and Contrast the roles of Korea and Cuba in the Cold War
The action that took place within both Korea, from 1950 – 1953, and Cuba, from 1959 – 1962, were important factors that contributed to the escalation of the Cold War. This can be clearly showcased through the impacts that The Korean War, The Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban missile crisis had on the US, the USSR and China as well as the wider Cold War. This is most significantly reflected in the change in international prestige of the US and USSR and the tension the events in Korea and Cuba caused.The undercurrent of the Cold War is often argued to be war of propaganda, and therefore the role of Korea and Cuba was changing the international prestige of the two superpowers, the US and USSR, fighting in the Cold War. On one hand, Both the Korean War and the events that took place in Cuba had similar roles in establishing prestige, as both gave the concepts of communism and capitalism successes and failures in the struggle for WHAM; winning hearts and minds. One of the clear similarities seen when establishing a loss of prestige for a nation throughout the Cold War is the labelling of the ‘aggressor’ by the UN. This was very significant to a nations prestige because it portrays how the country is perceived on the international stage. In Korea, a major victory for capitalism was the declaration of China as the aggressor, leading to them being banned from Nato. Similarly, in the Bay of Pigs Invasion of 1961 a huge loss for capitalism was when the US was named the aggressor for their actions and unlike in the Korean War, did not have a UN army for this instance of containment. The action in both Korea and Cuba, specifically relating to the UN’s approval of the different invasions, played a huge role in establishing the prestige of a nation.Both Korea and Cuba served to increase the tension of the Cold War rather than decrease it. This is present in the Korean War, which solidified US fears of China’s military progress, as well as representing a shift US foreign policy from containment to rollback when US forces crossed the 38thparallel. The combination of these two factors portrayed a huge increase in tension, as both sides seemed more able and willing to fight for their cause. This increase in tension also took place in Cuba. Fidel Castro choosing to take economic aid from Khrushchev in February 1960 represented a strengthening of the relationship between Cuba and the USSR. This was very problematic for the US, who was no longer able to control the flow of soviet advisors and weapons into Cuba. This creation of a direct threat to the US was the source of increased tension, which climaxed into the Cuban missile crisis. In a similar fashion to the Korean War, both sides were ready for conflict. To conclude, both Korea and Cuba played very significant roles in The Cold War, as the conflicts that took place in these countries represented the ideological war that was taking place on a wider scale between the opposing viewpoints of communism and capitalism.
