A World War II were Nazi Germany is halted before defeating France, and is beat down into unconditional surrender by the Western European Democracies (Britain, France and Benelux, possibly Czechoslovakia and Poland) before either Italy, Japan, the USSR or United States gets a chance to join in, along with a general decrease in aggressiveness among both Capitalists and Communists, could possibly lead to something like this. The Old Empires (Britain and France) either don't fall or is able to keep close relations with their now developing former colonies so that a power vacuum does not form, and neither of the New Empires (US and USSR) get a good chance to expand their influence to the extent that they headbutt eachother.
With any luck at all, with the world a now much more multipolar place, and more likely than not the non-existence of the Atom Bomb, the all-consuming rivalry between two superstates would never really happen.
The United States was very isolationist before Pearl Barbour, and could likely content themselves with Hegemony over the Americas and their East Asian Empire. Being a hyperpower is expensive, certainly when there is no need to be one.
Stalin was, indeed, a crazy, paranoid lunatic, but I don't really see him as the 'World Domination' type. His aggressiveness could largely be put down to the USSR being in mortal peril against first the Third Reich and then the United States. His highest priority was keeping the Soviet Union a secure and prosperous bastion of Communism, and with the Europeans and Americans minding their own business, he would be willing to keep the status quo.
The Old Empires have spread to as far as they wish to go, and have now settled their 'business' with the Germans. If anti-Communist feelings could be curtailed in both countries, then there would be little desire to invade the Soviets (defend against, yes, but without nuclear weapons, any war on the Soviet Union, even with a rebuilt Germany on-team, would be so costly that it would break the backs of both their empires). Attention would instead be on managing their Empire. Africa and East Asia would likely be put on a gradual path to developed status, to at least keep up with the vast size of the USA and USSR.
Instead of the world turning into History's Longest Staring Contest, both Communists and Capitalists would be happy for the other guy to keep inside his own borders and eventually fail to the inherent flaws in his own system. More focus would be on the 'Peace Race', were economic and social development would tempt the non-aligned nations to either system. "Make cars, not war", basically.
Of course, everything I just wrote could be utter pig swill.
