The cold war was in several stages. It started in 1948 between the US and the Soviet Union to later move to another situation where peace prevailed. This peaceful period was called détente. But the continuation of the peace between the two superpowers that held contradictory ideas was impossible.
A lot of factors lead to the Cold War again. The revolution in Iran had an impact on the relations between the US and the USSR. The overthrown Shah was supported by the US, but the new government was strongly anti-American, but also anti-communist. The Iranian government was based on Islamic values, which disrupted the balance between the superpowers.
The USSR supported Cuba and all kinds of communist rebels in some countries in Africa and South America. The US was funding the other side, which was the government. A civil war broke out in Angola; the US and the USSR helped to fund a long-running civil war.
The Soviet-Afghan war was considered “the most serious threat to peace since World War 2” as President Carter said. The US supported Afghanistan secretly with money, arms, and equipment. The Soviets knew that Afghanistan was a nightmare and it repeated what happened to the US in Vietnam. It was an unwinnable war for the Soviets, although they remained in Afghanistan until the early 1990’s.
Ronald Reagan was a former actor elected President in the US in 1981. The new president never liked the policy of appeasing the communists. He carried aggressive ideologies against the communists and the USSR especially. Fortunately, Ronald Reagan shared ideas with some contemporary political leaders, such as the British prime minister Margaret Thatcher.
