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The '''Cold War''' was political, economic and psychological conflict, together with regional hot wars, between the [[United States]],[[NATO]] and other allies, and the [[USSR]], [[China]] and their allies between 1947 and 1989.  After 1960, China split with the Soviet Union and set up its own alliances as part of its Cold War with the U.S.

The '''Cold War''' was political, economic and psychological conflict, together with regional hot wars, between the [[United States]],[[NATO]] and other allies, and the [[USSR]], [[China]] and their allies between 1947 and 1989.  After 1960, China split with the Soviet Union and set up its own alliances as part of its Cold War with the U.S.

Although there was no direct fighting between the superpowers, each country was involved in a number of [[proxy conflict]]s, most notably in [[Vietnam]], [[Korea]] and [[Afghanistan]]. The most tense moment between the two main powers came in 1962 during the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]], which ended without escalation into warfare.

Although there was no direct fighting between the superpowers, each country was involved in medium-scale proxy wars, most notably in [[Vietnam]], [[Korea]] and [[Afghanistan]]. The most tense moment between the two main powers came in 1962 during the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]], which ended without escalation into warfare.

The Cold War was marked by a nuclear [[arms race]] between the two super-powers, and the unchecked [[proliferation]] of [[nuclear weapons]] was a cause for concern in many quarters. The Cold War also was marked by high levels of [[espionage]].

The Cold War was marked by a nuclear [[arms race]] between the two super-powers, and the unchecked [[proliferation]] of [[nuclear weapons]] was a cause for concern in many quarters. The Cold War also was marked by high levels of [[espionage]].

The root of the Cold War lies in Soviet [[expansionism]] and [[subversion]] of so-called "[[bourgeois regime]]s".

The tension during the Cold War fluctuated, with the super powers going through periods of heightened conflict and also periods of improved relations.  It ended on November 11, 1989, with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet overseas empire. History closed the books on the Soviet Union itself on December 25, 1991. It was replaced by 15 smaller countries, especially [[Russia]], which all rejected Communism and the Cold War.

 

The tension during the war fluctuated, with the super powers going through periods of heightened conflict and also periods of improved relations.  It ended on November 11, 1989, with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet overseas empire. History closed the books on the Soviet Union itself on December 25, 1991. It was replaced by 15 smaller countries, especially [[Russia]], which all rejected Communism and the Cold War.

==Causes==

==Causes==

The success of the wartime alliance with Britain, China and the Soviet Union led Americans to reject the isolationism of the interwar years.  Victory in 1945 and the demobilization of the world’s armies and navies brought a general sense of confidence that the wartime alliance would continue and form the leadership of the new [[United Nations]], Hopefully the UN would provide the basis for international law and the solution of all serious problems, but it never lived up to expectations.  Instead in 1947 the wartime alliance collapsed.  The basic reason was an incompatibility of two systems that each sought to remold the world, either in American terms of democracy, liberal government, and capitalism, or else the Soviet goals of dictatorship of the Communist party as the mechanism to destroy capitalism.  In immediate terms the issue was the independence of Poland, Czechoslovakia and other central European countries that had been taken over first by the Nazis, and after 1945 by the Soviet army.   

The success of the wartime alliance with Britain, China and the Soviet Union led Americans to reject the isolationism of the interwar years.  Victory in 1945 and the demobilization of the world’s armies and navies brought a general sense of confidence that the wartime alliance would continue and form the leadership of the new [[United Nations]], Hopefully the UN would provide the basis for international law and the solution of all serious problems, but it never lived up to expectations.  Instead in 1947 the wartime alliance collapsed.  The basic reason was an incompatibility of two systems that each sought to remold the world, either in American terms of democracy, liberal government, and capitalism, or else the Soviet goals of dictatorship of the Communist party as the mechanism to destroy capitalism.  In immediate terms the issue was the independence of Poland, Czechoslovakia and other central European countries that had been taken over first by the Nazis, and after 1945 by the Soviet army.