World history concepts · AP World History: Modern
Cold War
Cold War: The rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union and their allies from about 1945 to 1991, fought through ideology, arms races and proxy wars, with no direct war between the two superpowers.
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What it means
The Cold War divided much of the world into blocs, produced the nuclear arms race and space race, and shaped conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and elsewhere. Many newly independent nations joined the Non-Aligned Movement to avoid choosing sides.
The Cold War ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Example
The Korean War (1950 to 1953) was a proxy conflict in which U.S.-led United Nations forces and Chinese forces fought on opposite sides.
On the exam
The Cold War is central to Unit 8, often paired with decolonization.