ABSTRACT
The UN is often hamstrung when dealing with states' internal issues, citing sovereignty within borders. The numerous civil wars during the greater Cold War were marked by political oppression, insurgency and counter-insurgency, and brutal means to maintain power by sitting governments. In several cases the superpowers got involved militarily or financially in order to sway the outcome in favor of their political ideology. But frequently even the superpowers were reluctant to become involved in civil wars during the Cold War. Civil wars raged throughout the world during the entire Cold War. This chapter chronicles some of the Cold War civil wars to demonstrate the brutal methods and tenuous outcomes associated with civil wars. These examples focus on the civil wars where superpowers were more reluctant to get involved, but where war occurred anyway. The chapter aims to convey the notion that wars raged in every corner of the globe, not just fighting where the US or USSR decided to participate.
