Totalitarianism v. Democracy
One of the main struggles during the Cold War was the ideological debate whether a democratic government or a totalitarian government was better. This struggle was seen primarily through America's democracy and the Soviet Union's totalitarian government. The underlying conflict between the two ideological camps was over the issue of total equality versus economic success. While the Soviet totalitarian government was a form of egalitarianism ironically it proved to take away many human rights of its citizens such as the brutal Soviet gulag prison camps. The American democracy may have its holes, but overall it protects the peoples freedoms and grants the power to the people.
Communism v. Capitalism
Another ideological struggle of the Cold War featured the debate over Communism and Democracy. Communism gained momentum in the early twentieth century under leaders such as Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin. Lenin led the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917 which created the first communist state. This led to several countries adopting communism or at least developing communist movements such as China, North Korea, and Cuba. Meanwhile the American democratic experiment turned out to be a great success even surviving a Civil War. As a result many nations began transforming their government to a democracy such as England and France.
Struggle For Influence Over Third World Countries
During the Cold War, the USSR and the United States constantly fought for influence over nations that had not declared themselves on ether side of the conflict. Nations such as those in the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa were all fought over in order to spread the ideology of both the USSR and the United States. This led to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 in which the Soviets wanted a outpost in the Middle East in order to exert their control on the region. In retaliation, the United States aided many Jihad rebels in Afghanistan to fight back the Soviets such as the future terrorist Osama Bin Laden. The USSR and the United States constantly competed for influence over vital regions which in many cases led to unstable governments that created terrible tyrants. This not only happened in the aforementioned Afghanistan, but also in Cambodia under the dictator Pol Pot and in Iraq under the reign of Saddam Hussein. Even today this back and forth struggle occurs such as in Syria with the Russian supported dictator Bashar al-Assad killing many Syrian citizens in a brutal civil war which has led to the United States aiding the rebels fighting back against the regime.
Nuclear Weapons
After America dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima at the end of World War Two, the race was on for other countries to join the nuclear club. During the Cold War, the possibility of total nuclear fallout became a reality. Because of this the first nations to develop nuclear bombs desperately tried to prevent other nations from developing their own. As the USSR joined America as a nuclear power, the two rivals escalated their own stockpiles at an exponential rate. The two great powers also assisted their allies in developing their own nuclear weapons such as The United States aiding France and England. Currently there are nine nations with nuclear weapons and even today they are hoping to prevent Iran from developing their own.
The Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban dictator, Fidel Castro, and Khrushchev threatened the national security of the U.S. by establishing nuclear missile sites on the coast of Cuba. U.S. spy planes spotted these sites in October of 1962. The United States ordered the removal of these missiles but Castro did not cooperate, forcing the United States to set up a naval blockade. These missiles were very dangerous due to no part of America being safe from an attack. It also decreased the warning time of a nuclear attack from 30 minutes to 30 seconds. Finally, after many negotiations, Khrushchev would remove the missiles only if America agreed to never invade Cuba again and remove their own missiles from Turkey. The Cuban Missile Crisis would effectively set up a new communication line know as the "red phone". This emergency hotline would allow world leaders have immediate contact in case of an emergency.