The term Cold War generally refers to the ideological, geopolitical, and economic international rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union that characterized the period from approximately 1945 to 1991. These two states, respectively the world’s leading capitalist democracy and its most prominent communist nation, were allies during the Second World War, but within a few years perceived and depicted themselves as locked in desperate competition, a conflict in which each antagonist sought not simply to prevail, but also to win the adherence of as many other countries as possible.
The Cold War began when the successive impact of the First and Second World Wars had destroyed the prevailing international order of t
First published 30 April 2010
Citation: Roberts, Priscilla. "Cold War". The Literary Encyclopedia. 30 April 2010
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=199, accessed 30 July 2010.]
199 Cold War 2 Short Notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.