The POST Cold War - US became the only super power through military?

Question

What about the Soviet Union and their nuclear powers?

What were the main results from the POST Cold War?

Answer 1

After the Cold War, Russia lost much of its power (and some of its weapons) in the chaos that followed the break up of the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union.

This led the US into a hegemony, placing the burden of the world on its shoulders.

And when you're the biggest kid in the class, you get picked on and noticed.

Answer 2

No, the USA became the only remaining 'Super-Power' only indirectly due to their military. The real reason was economic, quite simply the US outspent the Soviets to such an extent that it eventually broke them, and their system, which was, strictly speaking, bankrupt in any case. It was only the enormous mineral wealth of that vast land buoyed up the system as long as it did.

The Soviet nuclear force was largely a 'paper tiger', to quote a favourite saying of Chairman Mao. The reality of the Soviet strategic arsenal was that most of it was wildly inaccurate, unserviceable most of the time, and greatly overestimated.

Why overestimated ? Because it was based on the over-estimates that the Pentagon was able to scare Congress, and the executive into giving them such grotesque budget allocations. had the truth been told the defence appropriations could easily have been one tenth of what they were during the period 1950 - 1990. Do the math, as they say.

What were the main results of post cold war world military and foreign policy dynamics ? Well, ahving watched the spectacle first hand the most outstanding feature was watching the Pentagon machine scrabbling to create a realistic 'Bogeyman' in the absence of the Sovs !

Finally it was clear that there wasn't going to be a contender of any credence, so they came up with something better, 'Terrorism'. An enemy that you couldn't clearly identify, would never need to bring to direct account, and against whom the 'War' would never need to end. Perfect.

And we are all falling for it, day by day, like a bunch of lemmings.

And the band played on...................

Answer 3

First off, in the post Cold War the Soviet Union doesnt exist. It is Russia and all the other former soviet State. The US is considered the only superpower, not only because of Military but because of its Economics. The US outspent the Soviet Union in Military build-up and the Russian economy still hasnt really recovered.
In the post cold war, it has left room for other countries, primarly China to begin to assert dominance, but no one has quiet yet matched the US in sheer war power. The other main result of US policies in the post cold war era has been the emergence of so call "failed states" ruled by dicators and are breeding grounds for terrorists, etc.