Furthermore super power rivalry was played out in parts of the world for example, in sub Saharan Africa particularly Angola which became a battle ground for the super powers. On the one hand the USSR and Cuba were supporting and arming Angolan government while on the other hand the USA and South Africa supported the UNITA rebels. In many other cases the super powers’s support economically and militarily to various government and rebels in Africa exacerbated the civil war that engulfed the continent (Wayne et al., 2005)
Due to the super power rivalry played out in the third world, millions of people died as result of the Cold War because of civil war and other conflict that affected many parts of Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Indeed as Painter ( 2001) pointed out most of the millions who perished during the cold war died in the third world thus, the cold war had a profoundly effect on those parts of the world.
The Cold War increased tensions within international community because of the actions of the two super powers; they pursued political and ideological goals some of which were ever more opposing with the objectives of the other for example, the Soviet believed that America is an imperialist power and therefore committed in spreading capitalist ideology with the intention of dominating the rest of world, on the other hand the USA saw the Soviet as an ideologically motivated and “antagonistically” expansionist evil empire that is committed to the spread of communism (Painter, 2001). Thus as Bell (2001) pointed out both superpowers advocated that their system of belief was the only way forward for a better world.
However, another bad effect of the Cold War was the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 that internationally created fears of an imminent nuclear war between the US and the USSR this clearly further increased tension between the two super powers and their allies and as Baylis et al. (2008) suggested this was the “most dangerous moment” the world have ever seen since the end of the second world war (Baylis et al 2008, p.62). furthermore, in November 1983, NATO carried out operation “Able Archer” exercise which “simulated a coordinated” Nuclear attack against the Soviet this further led the Soviets to believe that America is preparing to attack them and they in turn took steps to prepare their Nuclear forces this further exacerbated tension in the region as the tension developed a possible war between them meant that the entire world might be destroyed in an all out nuclear war (Murphy, 2003).
Indeed the Cold War divided the world into three camps; some of those camps were armed with conventional and nuclear missiles that can reach each other’s cities both super powers were ready to protect their sphere of interests using whatever means necessary thus, their actions caused tensions within the international community. Although the Cold War caused and exacerbated conflict in some parts of the world, it also maintained order and peace that existed (Mearsheimer, 1990) and made possible the reconstruction and assimilation of defeated powers of Germany, Italyand the “transformation” of Japan from a war-torn country to the second most powerful economy in the world (McWilliams & Piotrowski, 2005). But this positive aspect cannot be compared with the negative impact it had on the Third Word specially that of Africa where the Cold War fuelled the civil war and caused many deaths and destructions through proxy wars and civil wars. Decolonisation and the emergence of new nations-states attracted the attention of the super powers, arms and other support poured into continent and the result was disastrous (Mcmahon, 2003).
The Cold War led to major impact to International order; because the post Cold War order of bipolarity and the balance of power has ended making the US the only super power in the world and therefore can take whatever actions she desires with impunity this change ended an era of peace in the world this view is held by Mearsheimer (1994) as cited by (Baylis et al., 2008) Mearsheimer held the idea that, the Cold War era was a period of peace and stability.
Furthermore, towards the end of the Cold War in the 1990s, the Soviet Union suffered considerable economic decline as a direct result of the Cold War because of huge military spending. (Young & Kent, 2004) thus the effects of the Cold War are far-reaching and they added to the ultimate fall down of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the end of bipolarity, which left the United States as the only hegemony power in the world.
In conclusion, the cold war divided the world into two nuclear armed camps and one neutral one, it maintained the status quo that existed in Germany, and it also paved the way the emergence of new nation states, the rise of those newly born states attracted the intention of the two powers, and super rivalry was played out in order to keep and maintain sphere of interest. With end of bipolarity a period of peace and stability and balance of power has ended, and left the US the only hegemony power in the world.
The question is, will United States respect the fragile peace that the world has now; or because of the absence of another super power will it keep invading other countries?
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