The two main alliances during the Cold War were the American-led alliance of capitalist countries and the Russian-led alliance of communist countries.
The American alliance
- The United States
- NATO nations (Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Turkey, and the United Kingdom)
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Japan
- South Korea
The Russian alliance
- Russia
- Soviet republics (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldavia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan)
- Warsaw pact nations (Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania)
- Yugoslavia (broke from Soviet Unions leadership but remained communist)
- China (broke from Soviet leadership but remained communist China-soviet split)
- Cuba
- North Korea
- North Vietnam
Main ideological difference between the alliances
Differing beliefs about the role of government in economic decision-making were the main differences between the Americans and the Soviets. The Americans supported a limited role for the government in financial decision-making. The Russians believed the opposite, arguing that the government should have near-total control over economic planning and decision-making. Politically, the American alliance preferred to support democratic governments. Unfortunately, this support for democracy often did not extend to poorer nations, where Americans commonly supported murderous dictators as long as they were non-communists.
American alliance | Russian alliance |
|---|---|
Mostly private ownership—government ownership over some infrastructure like power generation, water systems, or public transport | Mostly private ownership—government ownership over some infrastructure like power generation, water systems, or public transport |
Believed in less government power in economic decisionmaking | Believed in a significant government role in economic decision making |
Preferred democratic governments in theory but often supported “capitalist” authoritarian governments in many poorer countries | Supported authoritarian governments under the control of communist parties |