Cold War Policies

Cold War policies were strategies used by the US and Soviet Union to influence global affairs without direct warfare. They included arms buildup (like nuclear weapons), alliances (such as NATO and the Warsaw Pact), espionage, propaganda, and economic aid to win allies and counter the rival's influence. The goal was to protect national interests and spread their political ideologies—democracy and capitalism for the US, communism for the USSR—while avoiding full-scale conflict, which could be devastating. These policies shaped international relations for decades, emphasizing competition and deterrence rather than direct military confrontation.