The Cold War in retrospect: too early to tell?

Abstract

Rather than looking mainly at how the Cold War started or how it ended, this essay considers what happened in between. Taking into account divergences within the ‘Third World’ of developing nations, the retrospective view leads to the conclusion that the Cold War left most favourable long-term effects in those parts of the world where it had made the greatest impact.

Notes

Vojtech Mastny is a senior research fellow at the National Security Archive. He has taught history and international relations at Columbia University, the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and the Naval War College, among other institutions. Email: [email protected]

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