Cold Rivalries

The Cold War was a not a war of bombs and guns, but a war of politics between rivaling countries. The USSR and the USA were two of the main players in the Cold War. The USSR established it's position of power in a very similar way to Germany at the start of WWII. It gained power over it's neighboring countries with treaties and kept them in check and subservient with force. This rise to power caught the USA's attention and raised tensions between the two countries. It also raised tensions with the Chinese, who also had joined the race for nuclear power. All three countries were jockeying for political and technological power.

A moment in history that the cold war brings us back to is the huge leaps in technology that came out of WWI. Both instances show how conflict is what really motivates countries to improve upon their technology. There is always a constant sizzle of innovation in the background of history, but it only really boils over when major powers go to war. In WWI we saw huge innovations in airplanes, bombs (including chlorine and mustard gas bombs), and weaponry in general. Again, in the cold war we see huge improvements in nuclear technology, all in effort to get ahead of rivaling countries.