At Yalta, even before the end of World War II, the United States, Russia, and Britain harbored very different visions of the coming world order. World War II destroyed Europe’s dominance, leading to a three-world system. Locked in the cold war struggle were the First World—the United States and allies—and the Second World—the Soviet Union. The Third World included virtually everyone else.

Competing Blocs

Confident in the universal applicability of their respective ideologies, the United States and the Soviet Union moved to expand their spheres of influence and defend against each other with great stockpiles of nuclear weapons. It was in the Third World, however, that most hostility broke out as anti-colonial nationalists sought independence. Freedom, however, did not automatically bring economic strength as new states sought to build new political orders for themselves. Democracy and material goods gave Americans confidence but could not overshadow racism and unpopular wars. The Soviet reliance on crushing repression undermined its social welfare policies. By the early 1970s, rising Asian might challenged the dominant First and Second Worlds.

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