Chapter 11 — History & Culture
What was the Cold War?
A 45-year standoff (1947–1991) between the US-led West and USSR-led East. No direct war between the superpowers, but proxy conflicts (Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan), nuclear arms build-up, and an ideological contest between capitalism and communism.
Follow-up questions
How did it end?
Economic collapse of the Soviet bloc, reform under Gorbachev (glasnost, perestroika), and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. USSR dissolved in 1991.
What was the Cuban Missile Crisis?
A 13-day 1962 standoff over Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba — the closest the world has come to nuclear war.
What was the Iron Curtain?
Churchill's 1946 phrase for the political and military divide between Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe and the democratic West.
Are we in a new Cold War?
Analysts debate whether US–China rivalry qualifies. Economic entanglement is far deeper than in 1950, so the analogy is imperfect.
How close did the Cold War come to nuclear war?
The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 and the 1983 Able Archer exercise are the two most-cited near misses.
When did the Cold War end?
Conventionally with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991.
Why 'cold'?
No direct hot war between the superpowers — mutually assured destruction made that unthinkable.
Are we in a new one?
US–China tensions have parallels but the economic entanglement is deeper than the US–USSR ever were.
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