The title of Norwegian-born historian Odd Arne Westadâs 2005 workâThe Global Cold War: Third World Interventions and the Making of Our Timesâoffers a window into his thesis. Between the end of World War II and the early 1990s, both the Soviet Union and the United States âintervenedâ (or âoffered aid and support toâ) developing nations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In Westadâs view, these interventions were more important than events in Europe, where most studies of the Cold War focus. They destabilized the Third World and laid the foundations for contemporary problems and conflicts in the Global South.
Using new archival sources that became available after the fall of communism, The Global Cold War is the first example of the âNewâ Cold War History school of thought, which links all the international arenas where the struggle took place. An important addition to studies of the Cold War and international history in the twentieth century, The Global Cold War helps make sense of conflicts still raging today.