The Cold War was a political, economic, social, military, and ideological confrontation between Western capitalist countries led by the United States and Eastern communist countries led by the Soviet Union from 1947 to 1991. While these tensions did not lead to a third world war, the severity of the economic, political, and ideological conflicts significantly impacted the history of the second half of the 20th century. Both superpowers wanted to spread their model of government around the world.