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International Space Station – Image by NASA from

10 Effects of the Cold War we can still see today

Although the cold war officially ended 30 years ago, its effects, positive or negative, are still very much alive today. It continues to affect every aspect of our daily lives, from political alignments and security arrangements to foreign and domestic policies.

The Cold war, which lasted from 1945 to 1991, largely shaped the world we live in today. It left a deep-rooted sense of belonging, identity, and common values that continue to influence different kinds of social behaviors among communities around the globe.

Despite the absence of political tension that gripped the world during the cold war, the legacy of the Cold War is not easily erased, as many of the economic and social tensions that were exploited to fuel competition in various parts of the world still remain unresolved. 

 Let’s look at the 10 Effects of the Cold War we can still see today.

1. The Space Exploration

The advanced space exploration we see today came as a result of competition between the two world superpowers during the cold war. In the mid of 20th century the two adversaries, the Soviet Union and the United States embarked on a Space exploration race, each in an effort to gain more spaceflight superiority than the other.

The race culminated in sending the first human to the moon and laid the ground for the advanced space exploration capabilities the world enjoys today. It also laid the foundation for the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) capable of sending a nuclear warhead to any part of the earth today.

2. Nuclear Weapons

Topol-M nuclear missile launchers – Photo by Vyacheslav Argenberg from

On 6 and 9 August 1945, the United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively. The bombing did not only mark the end of the Second World War but also marked the beginning of the nuclear arms race between the two cold war antagonists, the Soviet Union and the United States.

The race reached its peak in 1962 when the two world superpowers came closest to nuclear war during the infamous Cuban Missile Crisis. By the end of the cold war in 1991, the world’s nuclear stockpile was estimated to have been as high as 70,000 warheads, enough to destroy the world many times over.

Today, even after the end of the cold war over three decades ago, a number of countries still continue to develop and stockpile nuclear warheads, which is a threat to the very existence of the world itself.

3. Divided of Korea

Following the Japanese surrender to the allies in 1945, the Soviet Union and the United States agreed to split the Korean peninsula into two occupation zones. The United States controlled the south, while the Soviet Union controlled the north in an arrangement that was supposed to be temporary to give Koreans time to organize their national government.

However, in 1948, amid the growing Cold War tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States, two separate governments were established, communist North Korea and non-communist South Korea.

Today, Korea remains divided into two separate states and technically in a state of war, with both claiming to be the legitimate government of the whole country. Since the end of the cold war in 1991, all the efforts made to finally re-unify the country have been unsuccessful.

4. Rise of Terrorism

11 September 2001 terror attack on World Trade Center New York – Photo  Source:

During the cold war, the United States and the Soviet Union, two main adversaries of the cold war played a key role in fuelling various conflicts in the Middle East. They included the Islamic revolution in Iran, Iran – Iraq war, the Yom Kippur war, and Afghanistan civil war.

These wars gave rise to various Islamic radical groups and organizations in the whole of the Middle East. Some of these groups, such as Al-Qaeda, have since metamorphosed into dangerous terrorist groups that continue to threaten the world’s peace to date.

5. Obsession with Security

CCTV cameras – Photo Source:

The cold war gave rise to the art of espionage where each side of the bloc developed ingenious ways to spy on the other. To counter this, both sides developed firewalls and passwords to protect their sensitive and confidential information from rival spies.

They also installed systems to harvest and store people’s personal profiles for easy identification of any perceived spy agent or informant. Today, over three decades after the end of the cold war the world is still obsessed with security, our phones, personal computers and every electronic gadget we own has one or more security features.

Furthermore, we are constantly 24/7 being watched and recorded by invisible cameras wherever we are. This is the world that the cold war created for us and which we have accepted as a way of our daily life.

6. Rise of China

During the cold war, the United States and its allies concentrated most of their efforts and resources on trying to weaken and break their main rival, the Soviet Union. This enabled mainland China to silently implement its communist agenda which spurred rapid economic and military growth.

In the wake of the Soviet Union’s breakup in 1991, which subsequently marked the end of the cold war, China stepped in to replace the Soviet Union as the world’s second-largest power.

Today, with an estimated GDP of 17.73 trillion USD and a military budget of US$229.4 billion as of 2022, China has emerged as the biggest rival of the United States and its allies.

7. Military Alliances

Photo Source:

At the height of the cold war, a group of European countries came together with the United and Canada to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The formation was proposed by a number of European countries who felt threatened and hence the need to form a collective defense alliance against any attack from the Soviet Union.

In response, the Soviet Union together with several other east-bloc countries also established their own collective military alliance, Warsaw Pact, in 1955. These alliances played a key role in determining the world’s military arrangements between 1949 and 1991.

Today, although the Warsaw pact treaty no longer exists, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is still the largest single military alliance in the world and continues to be very much involved in the world security order.

8.  The Emergence of new Countries

In the wake of the Soviet Union’s break up and the end of the cold war, the World saw a major shift to global geopolitics. USSR disintegrated into 15 newly independent states which significantly changed the look of the World map.

Additionally, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia who formed part of the cold war’s east- bloc also broke up to form 8 new republics in Europe. Today, Europe consists of 44 independent states up from 34 that were there during the cold war.

9. Civil Wars

Within the past three decades since the end of the cold war, the world has witnessed the breakdown of state control in a number of countries formerly ruled by communist governments supported by the Soviet Union.

This has caused a breakdown of the rule of the law and consequently led to civil and ethnic conflicts, particularly in the former Yugoslavia, and Afghanistan.

10. Free Market  Economy

During the cold war, stiff competition in every area brought about two distinct types of economic models, a free-market economy in the West and a state-controlled economy in the east.

With the end of communism after the Soviet Union collapsed from its economic weaknesses, a free market economy emerged as the best form of economy, and most economies around the world have embraced it today.

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