The Cold War was a prolonged period of political and military tensions between countries on the side of democracy and those on the side of communism, with the main actors being the UNITED STATES. belonging to the first and the Soviet Union belonging to the second (Westad). While the Cold War was known as such because there were no direct wars between the two great powers, large-scale fighting took place in Vietnam. The Vietnam War (1954–1975) is seen as a historical consequence of the Cold War and therefore a proxy war between the socialist and capitalist blocs, although many historians offer a second perspective, according to which the war was simply a nationalist struggle for the well-being of capitalism. national independence and reunification. Although the latter argument acknowledges that external factors played a role, it asserts that the decisive factor that pushed the Vietnamese people to fight for their independence was their nationalism and patriotism (Marr). However, it is clear that from the moment the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was recognized by the communist powers, China and the Soviet Union, and then by the direct intervention of the United States in the Vietnam War, the The Vietnam War was no longer a nationalist struggle against the French colonialists. -conquest, but had become part of the Cold War. The Vietnam War began as a nationalist struggle before turning into a class struggle when foreign powers became involved in the war. However, many Vietnamese scholars believe that the conflict is primarily a nationalist struggle for national independence and reunification (Marr). Although the role of exogenous factors is recognized, it was, in this view, the strength of Vietnamese nationalism and patriotism that motivated and encouraged the Vietnamese people and colonial ambitions. French people; it had become an ideological conflict between the two Cold War blocs. The Vietnam War became not only a part but also a focal point of the Cold War. A Cold War political mentality had already taken hold in Vietnamese politics. Works Cited Lawrence, Mark Atwood and Fredrik Logevall. The First Vietnam War: Colonial Conflict and Cold War Crisis. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2007. Print. Marr, David G. Vietnamese tradition put to the test: 1920-1945 / David G. Marr. Berkeley: University of California, 1981. Print. Olson, Gregory Allen. Significant speeches on the Vietnam War. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 2010. Print. Westad, Odd. The Global Cold War: Interventions in the Third World and the Making of Our Age. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Print.