How far did competing ideologies contribute to the outbreak of the Cold War? Explain your answer. [12]

Introduction:
The breakdown of the wartime alliance started after the Second World War ended in 1945. Therefore, it can be assumed that when we examine the factors related to this breakdown, we should focus on events before and just after the end of the Second World War.

Main body:
Firstly, the different ideologies between the two sides made long-term cooperation difficult. The West stood for democracy and capitalism while the USSR practised communism. Both sides saw the other ideology as a threat and would often find ways to undermine the other side. This was already the case even before the outbreak of the Second World War. The West tried to prevent the successful establishment of communism in Russia when they got involved in the Russian Civil War in 1918-1921. On the other hand, the establishment of the Comintern in 1923 to spread communism was a threat to the West. Even when Nazism seemed to be threatening the peace in Europe, the West and the USSR did not cooperate to deal with it, until both sides were attacked by Germany. Thus, the roots of conflicts were already there.

Secondly, the wartime alliance was not one without tensions. Both sides created a sense of distrust through their actions. The West caused distrust when their delay in launching the second front allowed Germany to focus its offensive on the USSR from 1941-43. The loss of 20 million Russians caused the USSR to suspect Western intentions in using German offensives to weaken Soviet troops. On the other hand, the USSR caused distrust when they refused to provide assistance to their Polish allies during the Warsaw Uprising. All these events naturally created distrust, which made the wartime alliance unlikely to last for a long time.

Thirdly, the common objective of the wartime alliance was to defeat Germany in the Second World War. Once Germany had been defeated, the common objective that bound the USSR and the West had been fulfilled. When this happened, both sides would start to fulfill their other objectives that served their own national interests. Unfortunately, this was where their national interests clashed. For the USSR, Germany had attacked them twice in 30 years, with tremendous damages. Therefore, they needed to secure those areas that could form a buffer between Germany and the USSR. At the same time, USSR would not want Germany to be strong again. That led to the establishment of pro-Soviet governments in Eastern Europe. For the West, the post-war priority would be the recovery of Europe so that peace and stability would return. The establishment of pro-Soviet governments in Eastern Europe was certainly not seen by the West as a move towards peace and stability but simply a form of aggression. The recovery of Europe would require the return of German prosperity, given Germany's central position in Europe. Thus, the treatment over Germany also became a source of tension. With these conflicting postwar objectives, the wartime alliance could not be transformed into a peacetime alliance.