The Cold War 47and inspired to great self- sacrifice by the ideals of nationalism. Victorious powers were
forced—by local resistance, their own decline, or by pressure from the United States,
to grant in de pen dence to their former colonies, starting with Britain, which granted
India in de pen dence in 1947. It took the military defeat of France in Indochina in the
early 1950s to bring decolonization to that part of the world. African states, too,
became in de pen dent between 1957 and 1963.
The fourth outcome was the realization that the differences between the two
emergent superpowers would be played out indirectly, on third- party stages, rather
than through direct confrontation. Both rivals came to believe the risks of a direct
military confrontation were too great. The “loss” of any potential ally, no matter how
poor or distant, might begin a cumulative pro cess leading to a significant shift in the
balance of power. Thus, the Cold War resulted in the globalization of conflict to all
continents. International relations became truly global.
Other parts of the world did not merely react to U.S. and Soviet Cold War imper-
atives: they developed new ideologies or recast the dominant discourse of Eu rope inNATO countries
(plus U.S., Canada)
Warsaw Pact countries
Nonaligned Western countries
Nonaligned communist
countriesSPAINUNITED
KINGDOMIRELAND
POLANDGERMANYNORWAYFINLANDSWEDENUNION OF
SOVIET
SOCIALIST
REPUBLICSFRANCE SWITZ.
ITALYGREECE TURKEYICELANDBELGIUM
LUXEMBOURGCZECHOSLOVAKIA
AUSTRIA HUNGARY
ROMANIABULGARIA
ALBANIADENMARKNETHER-
LANDSPORTUGALAtlantic
OceanEASTGER.
WESTBerlinYUGOSLAVIAEu rope during the Cold WarESSIR7_CH02_020_069_11P.indd 47 6/14/16 10:02 AM