Title: The post-Cold War world
Headings: The post-Cold War world
The post-Cold War world
Contents
Cold War legacies
Nuclear weapons
The Soviet nuclear arsenal
Geopolitical changes
The Paris Charter
Islamic terrorism
Afghanistan
The rise of China
Chinese authoritarianism
North Korea
Castro’s Cuba

Content: The post-Cold War world
The post-Cold War world
US president George Bush visits American troops in the Middle East, 1990
Though it ended three decades ago, the Cold War continues to influence our governments, societies and our lives. The world we live in today has been shaped and defined by the events of 1945-1991. The post-Cold War world is confronted with a number of problems and challenges, many of which were either created or left unresolved by 20th-century superpower tensions. Contents
1 Cold War legacies
2 Nuclear weapons
3 The Soviet nuclear arsenal
4 Geopolitical changes
5 The Paris Charter
6 Islamic terrorism
7 Afghanistan
8 The rise of China
9 Chinese authoritarianism
10 North Korea
11 Castro’s Cuba
Cold War legacies
The nation-building and internationalism of the Cold War, along with many of the political and military alliances forged during the period, continue to endure. Many Cold War ideas and attitudes still colour our political ideology and language. Proxy wars and meddling have profoundly affected the developing world and contributed to ongoing trouble in some areas. Cold War interventions in the Middle East and countries like Afghanistan have created destabilisation and contributed to the rise of separatist movements, Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism. Many of the Cold War’s tensions and divisions – such as the Sino-Soviet split and the United States-Cuba freeze – have faded into history, while some still remain. As major powers, the United States and Russia have charted their own foreign policy in recent times, leading to new tensions and difficulties. Meanwhile, China has emerged as a post-Cold War superpower while nations like Germany, Japan and India have grown and prospered.