What were the effects of the Cold War?
1 Answer
They were many
Explanation:
Geopolitically, it meant the submission of countries to either the USA or the USSR, many third world nation had to align but many as well tried to remain neutral. The world was polarized in two poles-roughly East and West. It led to indirect conflicts such as the War in Korea(1950-1953) and the War in Vietnam(1964-1974). Also the Soviet Afghan War (1979-1989) and to some extent the Arab Israeli Wars. Local problems could be made worse by the willingness to supply arms.
No direct confrontation was possible because of the Atomic Bomb but confrontation in areas like in the Far East was possible. After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Soviet Union the USA became the only superpower on the planet.
Politically speaking it meant the opposition between liberal democracy and dictactorship of the proletariat.
Economically it created an opposition between socialism and capitalism. The military-industrial complex grew in power in the USA and dominated political decisions over public interests.
Socially speaking countries were divided over the support of either the USA or the USSR. In the Soviet Union political opponents were imprisoned or sent to mental hospitals and in the USA virtually none supported the Soviet Union nevetheless in Western Europe there was not really a consensus. For instance countries like France or Italy had a very strong communist minority after WWII.
