ational interest would be served by containing the expansion of Soviet power and communist ideology, provided this could be done without provoking a nuclear holocaust. According to Bert (1997), "the Cold War international system had two superpowers of roughly equal power, locked in a struggle for power and spheres of influence" (p. 3). The world was divided into two major power blocs, communist and non-communist, with many non-aligned nations in between. However, each bloc intervened in third countries as necessary to maintain a balance between the superpowers, sometimes with military force as in Korea, Vietnam and elsewhere, and by other means. Non-aligned nations could play off the superpowers against each other within limits, but Bert said "order and peace was often maintained at the expense of the smaller powers, which had their sovereignty abridged and their freedom of action limited" (p. 4). In return for their co-operation in this system, deals were struck between the superpowers and non-aligned nations, even those whose politi
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