Espionage during the Cold War - Essay Example

s had a secret service that was quite developed and the ancient Chinese treatise on the art of war throws light on deception and intelligence gathering and says that all war is based on deception. Political espionage gained importance during the Middle Ages. Joan of Arc was betrayed by Bishop Pierre Cauchon, a spy employed by the English, and Sir Francis Walsingham is credited with developing an efficient political spy system for Queen Elizabeth I. In the modern age systematized espionage became an essential part of government in most countries.

Joseph Fouché developed the first modern political espionage system, and Frederick II of Prussia is considered the founder of modern military espionage. Nathan Hale and Benedict Arnold became famous spies during the American Revolution. During the U.S. Civil War there was considerable use of spies and by World War I, all big powers except the United States had elaborate espionage systems. After World War II, espionage activity increased considerably especially during the cold war between the United States and the former USSR.

It has not stopped with that As Stephen Dalziel (2000) says “Anyone who thought that the end of the Cold War a decade or so ago would mean the end of espionage has received plenty of examples to show them that, Cold War or not, the worlds states want to know more about each other.” Though the Soviet Union was a temporary ally of the United States during World War II, things changed after the dropping of atomic bombs and by the late 1940s the Soviet Union and the United States became ideological opponents both striving to gain political, economic, social, and cultural dominance in the world.

This non military rivalry came to be known as the “Cold War.” The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union was unlike traditional wars where armies are used and shots are fired. It was a rivalry that was both tense and competitive. The war was a long war, lasting from 1945 to 1989.