United States and the Soviet Union suspicious of each other after World War II

 

Why were the United States and the Soviet Union suspicious of each other after World War II, and what events that took place between 1945 and 1949 heightened the tensions between the two nations?

 

Sample Solution

United States and the Soviet Union suspicious of each other after World War II

After the World War II, the USA and the USSR became suspicious of each other because they had different beliefs. The Soviet Union was a Communist country, ruled by a dictator, who cared little about human rights. America was a capitalist democracy which valued freedom. They had different aims. Stalin wanted huge reparations from Germany, and a `buffer` of friendly states around Russia. He took east Germany`s industrial machinery. America wanted to help Germany recover. Resentment about history caused suspicion. In 1918 America had tried to destroy the Russian Revolution. Finally, because neither side trusted each other, events made them hate each other more. The Yalta Conference (February 1945) caused problems because, although on the surface, the conference seemed successful, behind the scenes, tension was growing. At Potsdam (July 1945) Russia and America openly disagreed about how to divide Germany, the size of reparations, and Poland. Russia`s salami tactics in eastern Europe (1945-48) caused great suspicion, it seemed as if Stalin was building a Russian empire.

Africapitalism “is a deceptively simple notion, but a powerful one that has the potential to remake a continent, and put Africa on an equal economic footing with the rest of the world,” The African continent is often referred to as the capitalist hub meaning that there are a lot of economic opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors to build successful businesses which helps solve most social challenges such as poverty. Therefore, an appropriate definition of the philosophy would be, “long-term investments that create economic prosperity, as well as social wealth.” With prosperity and wealth also comes improved standard of living, better health care and less social ills.

The progression of Africapitalism

With the implementation of Africapitalism, Nigeria has been able to put their hardship of exploitation by their colonial master in the past. Africapitalism has played a role in alleviating problems such as poverty and poor infrastructure. Present day Nigeria’s economic growth is noticeable. For instance oil companies are able to create petroleum from natural oil, which in the same time has created jobs and a new group of consumers. Influential people such as Mr. Aliko Dangote have put much effort into making sure private investment is changed into social wealth. Mr Dangote is Africa’s largest cement producer and is best known for being the richest African with a net worth of about 12.3 billion USD. He and many other Nigerian entrepreneurs have ensured that the money they amass is injected back into the well being of their communities.

Figure 2: Shows Breakdown of Nigeria’s GDP Pre and Post Africapitalism

Pre Africapitalism (2009)

Source:http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/nigeria/structure-of-economy.html

Post Africapitalism

Source:https://www.proshareng.com/news/Nigeria-Economy/Nigeria%E2%80%99s-Real-GDP-Records-6.21Percent-Growth-in-Q1-%E2%80%9914–Higher-Than-4.45Percent-in-Q1%E2%80%9813/23719

The above graphs show that the service industry has significantly overtaken the agricultural and industrial sectors over the years. For example, many Nigerian firms such as Heirs Holdings which is owned by Mr Elumelu himself, invest long term in the most promising sectors such as oil, real estate and hospitality with the hope that this will create economic growth. Heirs Holdings also prioritises creating competition between businesses. The Heirs Holdings company is proving the world that Nigeria is leading example in long term investment and promoting entrepreneurship. Nigeria has created many economic partnerships with other nations. The creation of these partnerships have seen Nigerian exports skyrocket. Nigeria also has a young and growing population which is ready for the industrialisation of the West African nation

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