Political Science

It is said by some that a more stable world existed when the United States was balanced by the Soviet Union. Those who support this view argued that the bipolar system prevented both superpowers from formalizing their interests in war-torn regions. The United States blocked Soviet attempts to increase political control over Finland and Greece after the Second World War and over Afghanistan and Iran during the Soviet Afghan War. The Soviet Union also disrupted American neo-colonialism in South East Asia during the critical period of 1963 to 1969. Indeed, both powers were driven by fears of nuclear holocaust rather than the melodrama of political trickery.

A more prominent effect of the West-Soviet Divide is the partial empowerment of Third World Countries. During the 1960s, non-belligerent countries signed a treaty formalizing the prohibition of nuclear arms in their respective territories. An agreement was reached to allow member countries to engage in diplomatichumanitarian missions to countries affected by civil wars and political instability.

The general aim was to lessen the effects of the Cold War or in general to neutralize Soviet-American military influence. This action stabilized the global political arena  a move which protected the interests of countries not included in the Warsaw Agreement or the NATO Pact. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, this set-up was not possible. American influence increased rapidly  in Latin America, in Central Africa, South East Asia, and the Middle East. If the Soviet Union did not deteriorate after 1991, it would have, in theory, prevented the United States from launching military assaults against Iraq and Afghanistan (this is not a moral issue). As a power player in global politics, it would be irrational for the Soviet Union to allow the United States to increase its grip in the Middle East.

One is then forced to argue that indeed a more stable world was more prominent during the Cold War than today.