cold war vocab

cold war

the struggle for power that took place between the United States and the Soviet Union in the decades after World War II

united nations

an international organization founded in 1945 to promote peace, security, and cooperation among the world’s nations

iron curtain

the ideological barrier that divided Eastern and Western Europe during the Cold War

marshall plan

a U.S. aid plan designed to promote economic recovery in Europe after World War II

NATO

a mutual defense pact formed by Western nations in 1949

Warshaw pact

 a 1955 defense pact between the USSR and Eastern European nations

cultural revolution

a period of revolutionary upheaval and political persecution in China from 1966 to 1976

korean war

a war from 1950 to 1953 between communist North Korea and non-communist South Korea that involved Soviet and Chinese support for the North and U.S. and UN support for the South

convert action

a secret political, economic, or military operation sponsored by a government and designed to support a foreign policy objective

detente

the easing of Cold War tensions and hostility between East and West during the 1970s

deterrence

the policy of building a weapons arsenal so deadly that no other nation will dare attack

nonaligned nations

independent Third World countries that tried to remain neutral in the Cold War struggle between East and West

protectorate

a nation protected and controlled by a stronger nation

khmer rouge

the communist movement in Cambodia that took power in 1975