The cold war was a conflict between the democratic and communist nations. The major players were the United States and the Soviet Union. The two sides had ideological and economic differences. There was also power rivalry.
These differences led to problems between the two sides as each side held on to its values. The Soviet Union managed to expand in Europe, thus its communist values spread, and there was no democratic freedom for the people. The United States was opposed to this form of governance and thus protested, leading to tensions between the two sides.