Why It Is Impossible to Win an Ideological Conflict like the Cold War

Why It Is Impossible to Win an Ideological Conflict like The Cold War

An ideological conflict occurs between two parties with opposing views on particular subjects. The cold war that took place between 1985 and 1991 is an example of an ideological conflict between America and the Soviet Union. Many ideological wars involve many parties, including the affected public, and are inclusive of some very intricate matters such as religion, culture, politics, and economics. They are very difficult to solve because there is no particular side that cannot win. In any case, opposing views portray each side as a threat to the other’s existence and any remaining common ground is overridden because of this pervasion (Maiese).

            When ideological wars ensue, differences in ideology become embedded within the larger picture of beliefs, customs, identities, values, and culture. These differences are usually symbolic and indicate a certain amount of value that might render any means of conflict resolution impossible.

The Cold War shows some significant revelations that ideological conflicts run deep than most people see. For example, the cold war's actual struggle was mainly of global power, control, and prestige, fuelled by suspicions, propaganda and political and economic instability. The major policies that were in contention were communism and capitalism. The Soviet Union was oppressed by the communist system that was also totalitarian, and most people were oppressed by their leaders. The USA, on the other hand, have a democratic system.

Work Cited

Maiese, Michelle. “Causes of Disputes and Conflicts.” Beyond Intractability. October 2003. Web. 20 Nov 2015. < http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/underlying-causes>