Question

Can someone explain the evolution of the Cold War?

Answer 1

This is a tough one. The story of the Cold War is pretty long, but there are a few links to help you out:

Cold War timeline
http://faculty.washington.edu/qtaylor/a_us_history/cold_war_timeline.htm

Lots of Cold War information
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/coldwar.htm

And here's a brief overview with more links to help:
http://www.enotes.com/topics/cold-war

If you want to know how the Cold War started, in short, it began because of growing distrust between the Soviet Union and the West in the years following the end of WW2 in Europe. The West, such as the United States and Great Britain, were upset with the Soviets because they had promised to allow the nations under their influence to vote their own governments but that never really happened. They also gobbled up nations during WW2 by occupying the nations they had "liberated".

But no one wanted a war because that could lead to nuclear annihilation since the Soviets also demonstrated that they also had the atomic bomb. So both nations quietly built up their military strength, grew their atomic arsenals, and tried to one-up each other in things like the space race. They also fought each other in the shadows using spies, influence over other governments, and making alliances to tip the balance of power in one another's favor.

That's why it was called the "Cold War" because it was a war, but not the kind that called for massive armies battling it out.

Answer 2

Cold War means undirect conflicts between USA and USSR, either between a giant and a small country from the other side (USA-Cuba, USA-Vietnam, USSR-Afghanisatn...) or between the two parts of Germany. Don't forget the Propaganda war too, Cold War was also a "Big Mouths War".

Answer 3

Thanks for the links :)