The document discusses the Cold War and interventions by the US and Soviet Union in the Third World between 1945-1989. It explores how the ideologies of capitalism and communism drove the two superpowers to intervene in newly independent nations to spread their influence. Many Third World countries tried to remain non-aligned but were pulled into the conflict. The rise of nationalist movements in places like Vietnam and Cuba further exacerbated tensions as the two sides backed opposing forces in local proxy wars.