They're like siblings....but countries. YAY RIVALRIES!!

The rivalry of the Cold War resemble the pre- World War I rivalries between the major European powers. During the Cold War, America, China, and the Soviet Union were all up at arms about the nuclear crisis and each country had a different view on the matter. Though America was primarily against the use of nuclear weapons, it still made the point very clear that they would not be afraid to fight back if nuclear war ensued. The Soviet Union, on the other hand, saw almost no problem with using the weapons to start war if they had to (though in the end it was them that backed down). The worst of all was China, who saw no problem in the use of weapons and went as far as to criticize the USSR for backing down. And while this missile crisis was going on, each country, the USSR and the US in particular, were building up their armies so that they could be on top at all times. This resembles the German mindset during World War I. Germany was so set on being the best country that they fortified they spent all of their money fortifying their army. Even further, after World War I Hitler still tried to keep their army strong so that he could win.

Though the conflict inside of the Soviet Union between the communists and the rebels was not an international conflict per se, it still resembles the conflict between colonial countries in Africa and their European counterparts. During Cold War times in Russia, small bands of rebels in Hungary and Czechoslovakia were crushed quickly by the communist leaders of the USSR because they were scared of what could happen. This is very similar to the rebel movements in the African colonies that were quickly squashed because the Europeans were scared of losing control.