Introduction
The Cold War was the most important feature of the international system in the second half of the twentieth century. The rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States shaped the contours of conflict and cooperation among states and peoples between 1945 and 1991. Although the conflict did not drive all aspects of international relations, its impact could be felt in every corner of the globe. Whether in Helsinki or Hanoi, Santiago or Sydney, the influence of geopolitical and ideological conflict was unmistakable. More importantly, the Cold War created rivalries and political faultlines that continue to shape international relations more than twenty-five years after the conflict ended.
The Cold War was a conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States (see Box 10.1). The two powers that emerged from World War II as pre-eminent in world politics became engaged in a protracted global contest that, although actual combat between them never eventuated, involved the largest and most destructive military arsenals in history. The two camps could potentially destroy the entire planet thousands of times over with their nuclear weapons, and each side's military was on a hair-trigger for the conflict's duration. It was a dispute that was driven both by traditional concerns about security – each felt the other threatening to its survival and its interests – as well as by ideological antagonism. Both embodied universal ideologies that asserted the superiority of their social system over all others. In this respect, the Cold War was as much a contest about how to organise society as it was a competition for strategic influence and nuclear superiority.
BOX 10.1: TERMINOLOGY
Cold War: Meanings and temperature
The term ‘Cold War’ is generally used in two ways. First, it refers to the global contest for influence and power between the United States and Soviet Union and their respective allies, normally dated to between 1948 and 1991. Second, it is also used to label a broader period of international history in which the conflict was the pre-eminent feature of international politics. In spite of the many wars that were caused directly or indirectly by Soviet–American rivalry, such as in Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan, the conflict is referred to as ‘cold’ because, although there were near-misses, such as Cuba in 1962, direct military action between the two protagonists never eventuated.