Final answer:
One traditional view regarding the end of the Cold War was that it ended partly due to the U.S. arms buildup, which the Soviet Union could not economically match. This arms race strategy was grounded in principles of mutually assured destruction and was one of many factors in the Cold War's dynamics. The Soviet Union's inability to sustain this arms race led to its collapse and the end of the Cold War.
Step-by-step explanation:
True, one traditional view about the end of the Cold War posits that it concluded partly due to the arms buildup by the United States, which the Soviet Union found impossible to keep pace with economically. This build-up encompassed not only nuclear arms but also advancements in technology and military might. The cost and effort of keeping up with the U.S. in terms of military expenditure, particularly during the Reagan administration's Strategic Defense Initiative, strained the already troubled Soviet economy, which played a significant role in the eventual dissolution of the USSR.
The Cold War era saw an intense competition between the U.S. and the USSR to amass powerful arsenals, including nuclear weapons, as part of a strategy known as "mutually assured destruction" (MAD). Both countries also engaged in proxy wars, political wrangling, espionage, and technological races – for instance, the space race – as means of exerting their influence and protecting their interests globally without engaging in direct military confrontation.
Ultimately, the Soviet Union's inability to match the U.S.'s extensive military and economic power contributed to its fall, leading to the end of the Cold War and the emergence of the United States as the sole superpower in a unipolar world order, at least for a time. The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) also illustrates the eventual cooperation between the superpowers in reducing their arms stockpiles by significant percentages.