Intro. The Cold War was a period of geopolitical tension after World War II (1945–1991) that did not involve direct conflict between superpowers. Rather, it was an ideological competition between the United States (capitalism) and the Soviet Union. (Communism) which uses propaganda, intervention and the accumulation of nuclear weapons. Essence of the Cold War Causes and Conflicts: Distrust between the United States and the Soviet Union, which rose to become a superpower after World War II with completely different ideological conflicts: democratic capitalism and communist socialism. Competition and Proxy War: Although there is no direct battle, But there were proxy wars such as the Korean War and the Vietnam War. and the space race Military Alliance: The world is divided into two factions, led by NATO (Western) and the Warsaw Pact (Soviet). End: The Cold War ended approximately 1989-1991 after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union.