Final answer:
Countries around the globe aligned with either the NATO alliance, including the United States and Western European countries, or the Warsaw Pact, composed of the USSR and Eastern European nations. Many socialist countries sided with the USSR, and both blocs supported proxy conflicts worldwide. Some nations, like Yugoslavia, sought to remain non-aligned.
Step-by-step explanation:
During the Cold War, countries around the world were entangled in the geopolitical struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union. Nations aligned themselves with either the NATO alliance, led by the United States, or the Warsaw Pact, headed by the Soviet Union. NATO allies included Western European countries like the United Kingdom, France, and West Germany, as well as the United States, Canada, and Turkey. The Warsaw Pact largely comprised Eastern European nations such as East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria. Moreover, a variety of socialist countries aligned with the USSR, including Cuba, North Vietnam, and later, China, though China pursued a more independent foreign policy after the Sino-Soviet split. During this period, both sides engaged in proxy wars, supporting communist and anti-communist guerillas respectively, in conflicts around the globe, including places like Korea, Vietnam, and Afghanistan.
Countries like Yugoslavia attempted to chart a non-aligned path, resisting complete alignment with either bloc. In others, such as various countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, independence movements or local political groups received support and interference from the superpowers, often worsening existing conflicts or sparking new ones. As a result, the world was deeply divided, with numerous nations choosing sides during the Cold War not only based on ideology but also through economic and security incentives offered by the superpowers.