The Cold War

Introduction

After the devastation of World War II, the world did not find lasting peace. Instead, it entered a new and profoundly dangerous period of global tension known as the Cold War. Lasting from the late 1940s to the early 1990s, this was an ideological, political, and military standoff between the two new global superpowers: the United States and the Soviet Union. It was called a "cold" war because the two superpowers never engaged in direct, "hot" military conflict with each other. However, their rivalry dominated international affairs for over four decades, fuelling a terrifying nuclear arms race and a series of brutal proxy wars across the globe.

Learning objectives

After reading this article, you should be able to:

• Define the Cold War and identify its two main protagonists and their competing ideologies.
• Explain the concept of the "Iron Curtain" and the policy of containment.
• Describe the significance of the nuclear arms race and the doctrine of "mutually assured destruction."
• Identify key events of the Cold War, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War.
• Understand the main reasons for the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.

A World Divided: Capitalism vs. Communism

The Cold War was, at its heart, a conflict between two fundamentally opposed ideologies. …