The Cold War was a prolonged period of political and military tension between countries on the side of democracy and those on the side of communism, the main players being the United States belonging to the former and the Soviet Union belonging to the latter (Westad). While the Cold War was known as such because there were no direct wars between the two major powers, large-scale fighting occurred in Vietnam. The Vietnam War (1954-75) is considered a historical consequence of the Cold War and therefore a proxy war between the socialist and capitalist blocs, although many historians provide a second perspective, according to which the war was simply a nationalist struggle for the conquest of power. independence and national reunification. While the latter argument acknowledges that external factors played a role, it states that the decisive factor that led the Vietnamese people to fight for their independence was their nationalism and patriotism (Marr). However, it is clear that from the moment the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was recognized by the communist powers China and the Soviet Union and America's subsequent direct intervention in the Vietnam War, the Vietnam War was no longer a nationalist struggle against the rule of French colonialists. -conquest, but had become part of the Cold War. The Vietnam War began as a nationalist struggle before turning into a class struggle when foreign powers became involved in the war. However, it is the opinion of many Vietnamese scholars that they see the conflict primarily as a nationalist struggle for independence and national reunification (Marr). Although the role of exogenous factors is recognized, according to this view it is the strength of Vietnamese nationalism and patriotism that motivates and encourages Vietnamese people and colonial ambitions. of the French; it had become an ideological conflict between the two Cold War blocs. The Vietnam War became not just a part but a focal point of the Cold War. A Cold War political mentality had already crept into Vietnamese politics. Works Cited Lawrence, Mark Atwood and Fredrik Logevall. The First Vietnam War: Colonial Conflict and Cold War Crisis. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2007. Print.Marr, David G. Vietnamese Tradition on Trial: 1920-1945 / David G. Marr. Berkeley: University of California, 1981. Print.Olson, Gregory Allen. Historical speeches on the Vietnam War. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 2010. Print.Westad, Strange. The Global Cold War: Third World Interventions and the Making of Our Times. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Print.