Having tons of nuclear missiles which can easily destroy the whole earth, the U.S. and U.S.S.R. had been facing-off up for about 45 years.　I still remember I felt fear when the tension got high between the two countries.  Although there were the Cuba Crisis and some conflicts, the war between the superpowers never happened, (except the Vietnam war and the invasion to Afghanistan as a proxy war of the two countries) and the Cold War, which brought us some kind of stable situation of the world for a half century, was ended in 1989.  As for Japan, we had been enjoying great economic success as ever in the history under the American nuclear umbrella.

I thought the world would become peaceful when I saw smiled Bush and Gorbachev were photographed during the commemoration ceremony in Malta just before 1990s started.  However, I feel that for the last 30 years, the world has been more unstable although the Cold War finished.

During the Cold War era, in other words, -the era of clash between democracy and socialism-, there's less serious conflicts between different tribes and religious groups which effect security of the world. (Of course conflicts between Jews and Palestinians in Israel have never ended, and it is serious, indeed, though. ) One of the reasons is that ethnic consciousness was strictly controlled in order to govern efficiently under the influence of the Soviet Union.

Shortly after the two leaders exchanged a handshake in Malta in 1989, battles began in Yugoslavia where different tribes lived widely scattered across the country.  Also, after the Gulf War ended, Islamic radical fundamentalists including Al Qaida who fought with Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan in 1970s, have committed many acts of terrorism all over the world.  In particular, the U.S., a central player of the Gulf War, was hated so much, and then was attacked in September 11, 2001.  It is ironic that the U.S. becomes a target of radical Islamism who were supported by the American government during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1980s.

Regarding economic scene of the world, most of the system of socialist economy vanished in early 90s (It is fine if the system in China presumes the capital economy), and we have seen global capitalism bringing cheap products and labors across borders.  As a result, the middle class cannot cope with those changes, then intolerance societies emerged.  This is the one of the reasons that people are divided into the right and left-side in the U.S, European and other countries.

If what I am saying so far is correct, I just think that, as far as the world is concerned, it is in a sense all right for the tensions between superpowers having great influence to other countries like the Cold War to exist.

Surely, I have to point out negative facts, one of them is that, for instance, people in Eastern European countries in which the Soviet intervened, were suffered and had very difficult time. However, as seeing the world filled with unstableness and intolerance, I am beginning to think that the era of the Cold War was being balanced, in a sense.

There was no guarantee that the nuclear button was never pressed, though.

I appreciate if you also read the Japanese version of this article「冷戦時代の安定とその後に訪れた不寛容な時代」in my Note.