Effects of the Cold War
The only thing that kept the Cold War cold was the mutual deterrence afforded
by nuclear weapons.
—Chung Mong-joon, South Korean politician and business leader, 2013
Learning Objectives
- C: Compare the ways in which the United States and the Soviet Union sought to maintain influence over the course of the Cold War.
With the start of the Cold War, new military alliances for mutual protection
formed in different parts of the world. The threat of nuclear war, as noted above by Chung Mong-joon, kept the United States and the Soviet Union from starting a war that could end in unprecedented global destruction. But proxy wars, such as the ones in Korea and Vietnam, resulted in millions of deaths. In a proxy war, a major power helps bring about a conflict between other nations but does not always fight directly. These conflicts underlined the political and philosophical divide between the superpowers.
The superpowers faced off in Cuba and several other Central American countries as well as in the African country of Angola. The combination of military, economic, and nuclear influence across the globe made the world a tense place for decades after World War II—the war the two superpowers had worked together to end.
Sections
Allied Occupation of Germany
NATO, the Warsaw Pact, and Other Alliances
Proxy Wars
Antinuclear Weapon Movement
Think As a Historian: THINK AS A HISTORIAN: EXPLAIN RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH COMPARISON
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Reflect
REFLECT ON THE TOPIC ESSENTIAL QUESTION
1. In one to three paragraphs, compare how the Soviet Union and the United States sought to maintain influence during the Cold War.
AP Exam Practice
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