which best describes the progression of policy during the cold war?

The progression of policy during the Cold War can best be described as a series of strategic moves aimed at containing the spread of communism, maintaining a balance of power, and eventually leading to the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Initially, the United States and its allies adopted a policy of containment, as articulated by George Kennan, to prevent the expansion of Soviet influence. This led to various strategies including the Truman Doctrine, which promised to support countries resisting communism; the Marshall Plan which provided economic aid to rebuild war-torn European nations and discourage them from adopting communist ideologies; and the establishment of NATO as a collective security arrangement against potential Soviet aggression.

Over time, policies shifted to accommodate the changing dynamics of the global power structure, with moments of intense confrontation, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, and periods of relaxation of tensions, known as détente. Policies such as Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) also emerged, underlining the nuclear stalemate between the superpowers and the need to avoid direct conflict that could lead to a nuclear war.

In the later years of the Cold War, established policies continued to evolve with leaders like Mikhail Gorbachev in the Soviet Union introducing reforms such as perestroika (economic restructuring) and glasnost (political openness), which contributed to the eventual collapse of the Soviet system and the end of the Cold War.