The Cold War era saw intense global competition between the US and Soviet Union. They battled for influence through proxy wars and interventions across Latin America, Asia, and Africa, supporting opposing sides without direct confrontation.

Major crises like the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. Meanwhile, decolonization in Africa added complexity as newly independent nations navigated Cold War tensions while asserting their autonomy and identities.

Cold War Proxy Conflicts and Interventions

Latin America, Asia, Africa

• U.S. and Soviet Union engaged in ideological and geopolitical competition sought to expand their spheres of influence and contain the other's power through economic, military, and diplomatic means
• Proxy wars conflicts where superpowers provided support (weapons, training, financial aid) to opposing sides while avoiding direct confrontation to prevent escalation into a global war
• Latin America:
  • Cuban Revolution (1959) Fidel Castro's communist regime allied with Soviet Union, leading to U.S. attempts to overthrow the government (Bay of Pigs invasion)
  • U.S. supported anti-communist forces in Nicaragua (Contras), El Salvador (government against FMLN rebels), and Guatemala (military dictatorship against leftist guerrillas)
• Asia:
  • Vietnam War (1955-1975) U.S. supported South Vietnam against communist North Vietnam, which was backed by the Soviet Union and China, resulting in a prolonged and costly conflict
  • Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1979-1989) U.S. supported Afghan mujahideen (Islamic fighters) against Soviet forces, contributing to the Soviet Union's eventual withdrawal and collapse
• Africa:
  • Congo Crisis (1960-1965) U.S. and Soviet Union supported opposing factions after Congo's independence from Belgium, leading to the assassination of leftist leader Patrice Lumumba and the rise of Mobutu Sese Seko
  • Angolan Civil War (1975-2002) U.S. backed UNITA (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola), while the Soviet Union and Cuba supported the MPLA (People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola) government, resulting in a prolonged conflict

Major Cold War Crises and Conflicts

Cuban Missile Crisis, Soviet invasions, Sino-Soviet split

• Cuban Missile Crisis (1962):
  • Soviet Union placed nuclear missiles in Cuba, 90 miles from U.S. mainland, in response to U.S. missiles in Turkey and Italy
  • U.S. imposed a naval blockade and demanded removal of the missiles, bringing the world to the brink of nuclear war
  • Crisis resolved through diplomacy, with the Soviet Union agreeing to remove missiles in exchange for U.S. pledging not to invade Cuba and secretly removing missiles from Turkey
• Soviet invasions of Hungary (1956) and Czechoslovakia (1968):
  • Hungary uprising against Soviet-backed government suppressed by Soviet military intervention, resulting in thousands of casualties and refugees
  • Czechoslovakia Prague Spring reforms aimed at liberalization and democratization, crushed by Warsaw Pact invasion led by the Soviet Union, ending hopes for reform within the Eastern Bloc
  • Invasions demonstrated the Soviet Union's determination to maintain control over its Eastern European satellite states and the Brezhnev Doctrine (right to intervene in socialist countries)
• Sino-Soviet split:
  • Ideological and geopolitical tensions between the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union, two largest communist powers
  • Disagreements over leadership of the communist world and interpretation of Marxism-Leninism (Maoism vs. Khrushchev's revisionism)
  • Split weakened the unity of the communist bloc and led to border clashes between China and the Soviet Union (1969), as well as competing influences in the developing world

Decolonization and the Cold War

Africa, autonomy, superpower involvement

• Decolonization the process of former colonies gaining independence from European powers (Britain, France, Belgium, Portugal) after World War II
  • Influenced by the decline of European power after World War II and the rise of nationalist movements seeking self-determination and an end to colonial rule
• African countries sought to navigate Cold War tensions and assert their autonomy in the face of superpower competition
  • Some aligned with the U.S. or Soviet Union to secure economic and military support, while others attempted to remain non-aligned and avoid superpower influence
  • The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) emerged as an alternative to Cold War alliances, emphasizing neutrality and solidarity among developing nations
• Examples of decolonization and Cold War involvement in Africa:
  • Ghana first sub-Saharan African country to gain independence (1957), led by Kwame Nkrumah, who promoted Pan-Africanism (unity among African nations) and non-alignment
  • Congo Crisis U.S. and Soviet Union supported opposing factions, leading to the assassination of leftist leader Patrice Lumumba and the rise of Mobutu Sese Seko, who ruled as a dictator with U.S. support
  • Angola independence from Portugal (1975) followed by a civil war, with the U.S. supporting UNITA and the Soviet Union and Cuba backing the MPLA government, resulting in a prolonged conflict and foreign intervention
• Decolonization added complexity to the Cold War, as newly independent states became arenas for superpower competition and proxy conflicts, while also seeking to assert their own interests and identities