Westad’s groundbreaking book shifts the lens of Cold War history away from the traditional East-West standoff in Europe and toward the profound impact of superpower interventions in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. He meticulously documents how the United States and the Soviet Union, driven by competing ideologies and their own historical trajectories, waged a global struggle for influence. Through detailed case studies—such as Angola, Ethiopia, Iran, Cuba, and Nicaragua—Westad demonstrates how these interventions fueled revolutions, civil wars, and long-lasting resentments that continue to shape international politics.

What sets Westad’s analysis apart is his argument that the true legacy of the Cold War lies in the deep political, social, and cultural transformations it triggered across the developing world. He contends that both superpowers, despite their anti-colonial rhetoric, often acted with a colonial mindset, and their actions had far-reaching consequences for domestic politics, international relations, and the emergence of new conflicts—including the roots of contemporary terrorism and the “war on terror”