After the surrender of Germany and Japan, the two world powers maneuvered for decades to increase their spheres of influence around the globe, spurred on by competing ambitions and ideologies of capitalism and communism which lead to the Cold War. The Cold War was an ongoing political rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies that developed after World War II. Three key features defined the Cold War: 1) the threat of nuclear war, 2) competition over the allegiance (loyalty) of newly independent nations, and 3) the military and economic support of each other's enemies around the world.
