Write a short note on: Cold War

Answer:

• After the Second World War the USA (capitalist, democratic bloc) and the USSR (communist bloc) became rival superpowers.
• Their rivalry, without a direct war between them, is called the Cold War (about 1945–1991).
• It was carried on through an arms and nuclear race, military alliances (NATO 1949, Warsaw Pact 1955, SEATO, CENTO), propaganda, and proxy wars such as the Korean and Vietnam wars.
• Newly independent nations like India chose non-alignment. The Cold War ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall (1989) and the break-up of the USSR (1991).