The Impact of the Cold War on Third World Countries: The Case of Algeria

Abstract

The Cold War was a conflict that lasted for decades between the communist countries of the world, led by the Soviet Union, and the non-communist countries of the world, led by the United States. It was a conflict in which both sides tried to dominate the world with their ideology. It is called “cold” because it was not an actual “shooting war” between the US and the USSR. The world was devided into three categories the first world belonged to United States and the western bloc, the second world belonged to Soviet Union and eastern bloc and the rest of weak countries belonged to the third world. In addition, the cold war spawned many different third world rebellions and affected many small countries during its course. Third world countries became the perfect battleground for cold war proxy battles. United States wanted to flex its political muscle and try to curtail the spread of Soviet Communism in the developing nations. Most of the nations in developed world had already made their political and socio-economic stand regarding the form of governance and leadership pursued. Underdeveloped nations in Asia, Latin America and Africa were still vulnerable and easily influenced in terms of ideologies and political direction. Most nations in Africa like Algeria were recovering from colonialism and thus logistic, economic and political aid from powerful nations to propel their economies which made it easy for Americans and Russians to act as their “saviors’”. The quest for global dominance had intensified between United States and USSR and the shift was focused to developing nations like Algeria.