History - Cold War Interpretations: The Traditional approach

Definition of "Traditional Approach"

Until the 1960s, the traditionalist vision was predominant. The traditionalists placed the responsibility for the Cold War on the expansionist policy of the Soviet Union under Stalin, shortly after the Second World War. After the defeat of Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union tried to dominate its neighbours and set up a sphere of influence in Eastern Europe. The aggressive intentions of the Soviet Union were, among other things, reflected by the Communist coup in Czechoslovakia, the Berlin Blockade and the attack by North Korea on South Korea in 1950. According to the traditionalists, it was this Soviet expansionist policy that forced the United States to intervene, which subsequently led to the Cold War.

• Relied heavily on public records as presented by Western leaders.
• Power politics/realist interpretation of events.
• Assumption that dealing with one totalitarian despot was much like dealing with another.
• Based thinking on "lessons" from the 1930s.

Sources:
https://historiana.eu/case-study/cold-war/traditionalist-vision
"The Cold War", Cambridge Perspectives in History, Mike Sewell, Cambridge University Press, 2002, pp1-7

Magazine and websites

• The Cold War, Modern History Review, Sept 2000, pp2-5, Mark Phythian

• Link to JSTOR articles on traditional approach