Since the end of the Second World War the conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union has been the single most important factor influencing the nature of the international political system. Within a relatively short period of time after the conclusion of hostilities in Europe and Asia the two countries were engaged in a struggle for influence that focused, initially at least, on Europe. Within only a few years the Soviets managed to create a zone of satellite states in Europe which they dominated; moreover, in Asia, communist parties allied to the Soviet Union came to power in China, North Korea and North Vietnam.

Despite the significant increase in Soviet influence in the regions bordering Soviet territory and the growth of Soviet military power during the decade after the Second World War, when Stalin died in 1953 the Soviets were still in a position of substantial inferiority in comparison with the United States. The USSR was still a regional power whose major international competitor, the United States, commanded far superior resources and dominated the international system politically, militarily, and economically. Postwar Soviet expansion had played a crucial role in stimulating the creation of an American-centered system of alliances in Europe and Asia, all of which were oriented toward preventing the further extension of Soviet power and influence. As a result of the creation of this alliance system US military forces were stationed around virtually the entire periphery of the communist world, from Germany in the west, through the Middle East, and as far east as Korea and Japan.