---
id: kb-2026-00323
title: Cold War
schema_type: TechArticle
category: history
language: en
confidence: high
last_verified: "2026-05-28"
created_date: "2026-05-22"
generation_method: ai_structured
ai_models:
  - claude-opus
derived_from_human_seed: true
conflict_of_interest: none_declared
is_live_document: false
data_period: static
atomic_facts:
  - id: fact-cold-war-1
    statement: >-
      The Cold War was a geopolitical rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union that developed
      after World War II and lasted until the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991.
    source_title: Cold War
    source_url: https://www.britannica.com/event/Cold-War
    confidence: high
  - id: fact-cold-war-2
    statement: >-
      John Lewis Gaddis presents the Cold War as a conflict shaped by ideology, state power, nuclear weapons,
      and the choices of leaders on both sides.
    source_title: "The Cold War: A New History"
    source_url: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/256540/the-cold-war-by-john-lewis-gaddis/
    confidence: high
  - id: fact-cold-war-3
    statement: >-
      Odd Arne Westad's The Global Cold War emphasizes that superpower interventions in Asia, Africa, and
      Latin America were central to the conflict.
    source_title: "The Global Cold War: Third World Interventions and the Making of Our Times"
    source_url: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511817991
    source_doi: 10.1017/CBO9780511817991
    confidence: high
completeness: 0.85
known_gaps:
  - This compact entry emphasizes verifiable overview claims rather than detailed regional chronology.
disputed_statements: []
primary_sources:
  - title: Cold War
    type: reference
    year: 2026
    url: https://www.britannica.com/event/Cold-War
    institution: Encyclopaedia Britannica
  - title: "The Cold War: A New History"
    type: book
    year: 2005
    url: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/256540/the-cold-war-by-john-lewis-gaddis/
    institution: Penguin Press
    authors:
      - John Lewis Gaddis
  - title: "The Global Cold War: Third World Interventions and the Making of Our Times"
    type: book
    year: 2005
    url: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511817991
    doi: 10.1017/CBO9780511817991
    institution: Cambridge University Press
    authors:
      - Odd Arne Westad
secondary_sources: []
updated: "2026-05-28"
---

## TL;DR

The Cold War was a long geopolitical rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II. This repaired entry keeps the public claims tied to Britannica, Gaddis, and Westad rather than unsupported future-edition metadata.

## Core Explanation

The conflict combined ideological competition, nuclear deterrence, alliance systems, proxy wars, and political crises. Westad's work is used here for the global dimension because many Cold War conflicts unfolded outside Europe and North America.

## Further Reading

- [Britannica: Cold War](https://www.britannica.com/event/Cold-War)
- [John Lewis Gaddis: The Cold War](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/256540/the-cold-war-by-john-lewis-gaddis/)
- [The Global Cold War](https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511817991)

## Related Articles

- [World War II Overview](../world-war-ii-overview.md)
- [Space Race](../space-race.md)