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What were the superpowers?

The term "superpowers" came into use in the post-World War II era to describe the status of the United States and the Soviet Union. With almost every other country in ruins, and Great Britain increasingly identified with the United States, there were few nations that could challenge the global influence of these two nations. Of course, as the war came to an end, the United States and the communist Soviet Union clashed over a number of issues, especially the disposition of postwar Europe. These disputes deteriorated into what became known as the Cold War, a global rivalry between the two nations in what some historians have called a "bipolar" world. Many other nations, including China and India would become prominent geopolitically during the period between 1945 and 1989 (when communism collapsed in Eastern Europe) but none matched the power and influence of the United States and the Soviets. Through proxy wars, support for like-minded political leaders, foreign aid, and alliance systems, these nations exerted their power in every corner of the globe.

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