History Main / SpaceColdwar

* Urras in ''Literature/TheDispossessed'' is in the midst of a cold war intentionally reminiscent of the real one, with the players being the liberal, parliamentary republic A-Io and the socialist totalitarian regime Thu. When a war breaks out, they don't attack each other but rather help different sides of a conflict in the underdeveloped country of Benbilli, which bears a suspicious resemblance to [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar Vietnam]].

* The first two ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' novels have a cold war going on between the Star Kingdom of Manticore, and the People's Republic of Haven, that has been ongoing for half a century before the first story starts (The war goes hot halfway through the third book). Several recent books concern about the Cold War between the Mantico-, ahem, Grand Alliance and Solarian League, which became hot rather quickly thanks to [[spoiler:[[TheManBehindTheMan Mesan Alignment]] manipulating [[UnwittingPawn the League leadership]] behind the scenes and]] [[WhatAnIdiot the League's bosses' own stupidity]].

** ''VideoGame/TheNewOrderLastDaysofEurope'' and ''VideoGame/ThousandWeekReich'' are two total conversion mods for ''VideoGame/HeartsOfIron IV'' set in a Cold War waged between the United States and... UsefulNotes/NaziGermany, in a world where [[AlternateHistoryNaziVictory they won World War II]] and took over most of Europe. ''Thousand-Week Reich'' hews more closely to realism, with a strong dose of SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome for the Nazis as their PlotArmor wears off in the postwar era and all the faults of their dysfunctional system come down on their head. ''The New Order'', meanwhile, goes for the pulp and {{dystopia}}, including having UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan (whose survival in World War II was even less likely than Germany's in real life) as the third superpower in its Cold War, having both Germany and Japan able to reform into democracies (or just go FromBadToWorse), and having the US be able to fall into either [[DayOfTheJackboot fascist]] or [[DirtyCommunists communist]] [[OppressiveStatesOfAmerica tyranny]].

* ''Literature/GoodOmens'' is, essentially, a [[AMythologyIsTrue Christian Mythology]] Cold War. Heaven and Hell are portrayed as the cosmic equivelent of a global superpower, with supposedly totally opposed ideologies but in practice they aren't too different. The entirety of Earth is basically a third-world country that both superpowers are trying to control and use as a battleground for little ProxyWar and eventually [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Armageddon]], the real battle between the two sides when their Cold War starts heating up (and is supposed to start with the heating up of the real, Earthly, [[UsefulNotes/ColdWar Cold War]] as well). The tropes of the AngelUnaware and the DevilInDisguise are reimagined as weary Cold-War spies, sent to promote the ideology of Heaven\Hell among the people of Earth by tempting them into evil or inspiring them to be good. Two of these agents, the Angel Aziraphale and the Demon Crowley, who ended up GoingNative, and have grown very accostumed to the comforts of their jobs and to all of the wonderful things on Earth, and decide to go against their war-happy superiors to try and prevent Armageddon and the Earth's destruction in the war. Due to the Cold War Metaphor in this 1990 novel becoming almost instantly dated, later adaptations (such as the 2014 BBC Radio adaptaion or the [[Series/GoodOmens2019 2019 Live-Action Adaptation]] play down this metaphor compared to the book.

* This describes the overall relationship between The Empire and Bretonnia in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}''. Diplomacy between the two human nations has warmed and cooled over the ages, and the two have come into conflict several times, but both sides admit to themselves they could never fully conquer the other. The Empire nominally has a technological and manpower advantage, but a single pass threads the mountains the separate the two that would funnel their forces into a meatgrinder and some use of ExactWords means the Bretonnian navy is enough to heavily attrition any seaborne invasion. Victory would be inevitable, but plunge the Empire into an economic crater it would never survive. Bretonnia understands that even if it could best the Empire militarily, they would be inheriting a country where the common man is used to many right that would be removed from them (i.e. any at all) and well-educated enough to organize a resistance to the occupation, undoing any establishment as soon as it was made. In the end, they tolerate the massive ideological divide (even when they publicly claim otherwise) and both sides are also pragmatic enough to [[EnemyMine ally in the face of mutual enemies]] such as Chaos or greenskins.

** ''VideoGame/KaiserreichLegacyOfTheWeltkrieg'' starts out with its own alternate history version of World War II (in a world where UsefulNotes/ImperialGermany won [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI the Weltkrieg]], the rematch pits them against a syndicalist Britain and France to the west and a revanchist Russia to the east), and two mods exist that take this scenario into the postwar era. In ''Kalterkrieg: Shadow of the Second Weltkrieg'', the Third International was defeated and the SecondAmericanCivilWar ended in a ceasefire, leading to a multipolar Cold War between Germany, the Entente Cordiale (the restored UK, Canada, and South France), Russia, and Japan while the various nations in the former United States all line up behind different power blocs. In ''Krasnacht'', meanwhile, Germany was defeated in the west by the Third International and in the east by an ultra-nationalist Russian regime, the two sides now locked in a Cold War with the politics reversed from our own history, the West being leftist and the East being right-wing.

* In ''Series/BattlestarGalactica1978'' this is the sitiuation on Terra and its colonies. In "Assignment in Terra" the Eastern Empire attempts to go hot, but all their ICBMs are shot down by the Galactica.

** What became Deadworld had its own version of the Apocalypse War. The Soviets decided to strike while their American enemy was undergoing their own civil war, instigated by the Dark Judges and their acolytes... but didn't expect to invade in what was basically the middle of a ZombieApocalypse. Their own capital is obliterated with a FantasticNuke that turns the entire city into a necropolis.

** What became Deadworld had its own version of the Apocalypse War. The Soviets decided to strike while their American enemy was undergoing their own civil war... but didn't expect to invade in what was basically the middle of a ZombieApocalypse. Their own capital is obliterated with a FantasticNuke that turns the entire city into a necropolis.

* ''Literature/GoodOmens'' is, essentially, a [[AMythologyIsTrue Christian Mythology]] Cold War. Heaven and Hell are portrayed as the cosmic equivelent of a global superpower, with supposedly totally opposed ideologies but in practice they are NotSoDifferent. The entirety of Earth is basically a third-world country that both superpowers are trying to control and use as a battleground for little ProxyWar and eventually [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Armageddon]], the real battle between the two sides when their Cold War starts heating up (and is supposed to start with the heating up of the real, Earthly, [[UsefulNotes/ColdWar Cold War]] as well). The tropes of the AngelUnaware and the DevilInDisguise are reimagined as weary Cold-War spies, sent to promote the ideology of Heaven\Hell among the people of Earth by tempting them into evil or inspiring them to be good. Two of these agents, the Angel Aziraphale and the Demon Crowley, who ended up GoingNative, and have grown very accostumed to the comforts of their jobs and to all of the wonderful things on Earth, and decide to go against their war-happy superiors to try and prevent Armageddon and the Earth's destruction in the war. Due to the Cold War Metaphor in this 1990 novel becoming almost instantly dated, later adaptations (such as the 2014 BBC Radio adaptaion or the [[Series/GoodOmens2019 2019 Live-Action Adaptation]] play down this metaphor compared to the book.

** ''VideoGame/TheNewOrderLastDaysofEurope'' and ''VideoGame/ThousandWeekReich'' are two total conversion mods for ''VideoGame/HeartsOfIron IV'' set in a Cold War waged between the United States and... UsefulNotes/NaziGermany, in a world where [[AlternateHistoryNaziVictory they won World War II]] and took over most of Europe. ''Thousand-Week Reich'' hews more closely to realism, with a strong dose of RealityEnsues for the Nazis as their PlotArmor wears off in the postwar era and all the faults of their dysfunctional system come down on their head. ''The New Order'', meanwhile, goes for the pulp and {{dystopia}}, including having UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan (whose survival in World War II was even less likely than Germany's in real life) as the third superpower in its Cold War, having both Germany and Japan able to reform into democracies (or just go FromBadToWorse), and having the US be able to fall into either [[DayOfTheJackboot fascist]] or [[DirtyCommunists communist]] [[OppressiveStatesOfAmerica tyranny]].

* Declaring Rivals in ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'' is essentially this. Declaring a rivalry gives you a bonus to influence, which is essential in extending your borders. Notably, your rival doesn't have to reciprocate, which can lead to a situation where your ships in Rival Territory could still move about until said rival responds by declaring you a rival (or at the least, closing borders).

* The real conflict in ''VideoGame/PerfectDark'' is not between the [[HeroesRUs Carrington Institute]] and [[{{Megacorp}} dataDyne]], but rather [[TheGreys the Maians]] and [[TheReptilians the Skedar]]. Earth itself is considered [[InsignificantLittleBluePlanet a backwater]], and the only reason the Skedar have even bothered to take an interest in Earth is because they're losing the war against the Maians but have learned about the existence of a LostSuperweapon under the ocean that was left behind by a third alien race [[{{Precursors}} who are long gone by now.]] To compound matters, humanity isn't considered a player in this war; the Skedar plan to activate the weapon on Earth just to ''test'' it, and if successful, then they'll deploy it against the Maians.

* In ''[[Literature/SolarWarden Alien Secrets]]'', the [[HumanAliens Nordics]] explain that the reason they can't directly act against the [[TheReptilians Saurians]] is because both races are too powerful, and with both also possessing TimeTravel means that attacks wouldn't be only in one time period (especially since the Nordics aren't even from the 21st century, being humans from about 11,000 years from now). Presumably their relationship with TheGreys is similar, especially since the Greys are also descended from humans, only about a million years from now (in a paradoxical twist, they're also partly responsible for humanity's evolution in the first place). The protagonist explicitly compares the Nordic-Saurian stand-off to the Cold War and explains to the Nordic woman he's talking to that the US and USSR waged proxy wars to avoid Mutually Assured Destruction. She agrees that the comparison is apt, which is why them using Solar Warden (the secret space fleet of the US) against the lackeys of the Saurians ([[spoiler:escaped Nazis]]) is more acceptable and less likely to result in open war between the Nordics and the Saurians.

** Turns out, the whole idea was {{Invoked}} by said Emperor. He wanted the whole galaxy wiped out, except for him, [[AGodAmI so that he could rebuild it all to his liking.]] What better way than to force the two biggest superpowers into a ceaseless, galaxy-spanning war of attrition where a body count in the ''trillions is all but guaranteed?'' Oh, and he embezzled the war spoils of The Empire to his "side project" Eternal Empire in Wild Space that was unknown to ''everyone'' until both factions were weak enough for him to bust out said side project and crush them both.

The Cold War! [[RecycledinSpace Recycled in SPACE!]] Considering it lasted about 45 years, the UsefulNotes/ColdWar massively influenced speculative fiction and fantasy work during and after that period.

Metaphors and analogy about [[FantasticNuke nuclear weapons]], [[BalanceOfPower superpower rivalry]], [[RedScare communism]], [[LensmanArmsRace arms races]], etc. therefore were common.

Note that this is not entirely without rational foundation, a technology capable of interplanetary (or even moreso) interstellar travel necessarily involves energy levels and destructive possibilities on a grand scale. MutuallyAssuredDestruction is quite plausible in a war between space-faring powers, making scenarios at least akin to the Cold War not entirely unlikely. To avoid such destructive confrontations, the powers involved may resort to engaging in {{Proxy War}}s instead.

Please note this entry is limited to exterior settings inspired by the UsefulNotes/ColdWar and not stories that explicitly involve the actual Cold War. Despite the name, however, it's ''not'' limited to examples set in space -- any fictional setting will do.

* ''Literature/GoodOmens'' is, essentially, a [[AMythologyIsTrue Christian Mythology]] Cold War. Heaven and Hell are portrayed as the cosmic equivelent of a global superpower, with supposedly totally opposed ideologies but in practice they are NotSoDifferent. The entirety of Earth is basically a third-world country that both superpowers are trying to control and use as a battleground for little ProxyWars and eventually [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Armageddon]], the real battle between the two sides when their Cold War starts heating up (and is supposed to start with the heating up of the real, Earthly, [[UsefulNotes/ColdWar Cold War]] as well). The tropes of the AngelUnaware and the DevilInDisguise are reimagined as weary Cold-War spies, sent to promote the ideology of Heaven\Hell among the people of Earth by tempting them into evil or inspiring them to be good. Two of these agents, the Angel Aziraphale and the Demon Crowley, have GoneNative, and have grown very accostumed to the comforts of their jobs and to all of the wonderful things on Earth, and decide to go against their war-happy superiors to try and prevent Armageddon and the Earth's destruction in the war. Due to the Cold War Metaphor in this 1990 novel becoming almost instantly dated, later adaptations (such as the 2014 BBC Radio adaptaion or the [[Series/GoodOmens2019 2019 Live-Action Adaptation]] play down this metaphor compared to the book.

** ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' featured a TimeTravel cold war called the Temporal Cold War. Interestingly, the incipient Federation played the part of the Third World in this conflict, being used as a pawn between two secretive factions who were neither of them the ''nice'' guys, even if one was the "good" guys. There were at least four factions in this war: The Federation, represented by "Daniels"; An anti-Federation faction represented by "Future Guy" that acted primarily through the Suliban, Future Guy's identity and species was never revealed, but some believe he was Romulan; the Sphere-Builders, who manipulated the Xindi into attacking Earth, and the Na'kuhl (a brand new species) lead by Vosk, apparently opposed to everyone. Future Guy was also opposed to the Sphere-Builders and Vosk's factions, and helped the ''Enterprise'' [[EnemyMine crew fight them]]. This cold war eventually turned hot in the end of Season 3/beginning of Season 4, leading to a deeply messed up timeline on Earth. [[spoiler: The crew eventually killed Vosk, ending his threat and apparently allowing the Temporal War to end (or maybe never happen in the first place...)]]

** ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' featured a TimeTravel cold war called the Temporal Cold War. Interestingly, the incipient Federation played the part of the Third World in this conflict, being used as a pawn between two secretive factions who were neither of them the ''nice'' guys, even if one was the "good" guys. There were at least four factions in this war: The Federation, represented by "Daniels"; An anti-Federation faction represented by "Future Guy" that acted primarily through the Suliban, Future Guy's identity and species was never revealed, but some believe he was Romulan; the Sphere-Builders, who manipulated the Xindi into attacking Earth, and Vosk a Na'kuhl (a brand new species). Future Guy was also opposed to the Sphere-Builders and Vosk's factions, and helped the ''Enterprise'' [[EnemyMine crew fight them]]. This cold war eventually turned hot in the end of Season 3/beginning of Season 4, leading to a deeply messed up timeline on Earth. [[spoiler: The crew eventually killed Vosk, ending his threat and apparently allowing the Temporal War to end (or maybe never happen in the first place...)]]

** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' opened in the middle of a cold war between the Federation and the Cardassian Union that started with the Cardassians acting covertly to subvert the peace treaty between them, arming proxies on Bajor and in the Demilitarized Zone. Beginning in season two this was overshadowed by the Dominion engaging in an intelligence war with the Federation in preparation to invade, which ultimately took the form of them installing a puppet state in Cardassia as a foothold to conquer the rest of the franchise's home space.
** ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' featured a TimeTravel cold war called the Temporal Cold War. Interestingly, the incipient Federation played the part of the Third World in this conflict, being used as a pawn between two secretive factions who were neither of them the ''nice'' guys, even if one was the "good" guys. A future version of the Federation was ''at least'' one of the sides of this rather confusing, and clearly not thought entirely through, cold war.

[[folder: FanWorks]]