American-European Cold War

To be more precise, what if Soviet Union had collapsed a lot earlier and it collapsed in the year of 1942. World War II changes though, but the Allied powers still win against the Axis Powers of Italy, Germany and Japan.

But instead of lets say Americans vs Russians in a Cold War since the USSR collapsed, would it then be very likely to be possible then if Americans and Europeans had a cold war instead?
 
If you avert WW2 and even WW1 altogether, then I suppose this is plausible. The U.S was fairly anti-Imperialist when it suited their interests, which was often. It's not hard to imagine a world where the U.S leads a coalition trying to break up the European colonial powers, who fight back.
 
Well Europe was in ruins after WWII, both financially and literally with Britain, France and especially West Germany requiring extensive American assistance in order rebuild their shattered countries. This is going to be even more necessary with the USSR out of the picture, as the Allied campaign into the continent will not have been smooth. Germany is going to likely be a nuclear ruin.
 
There is no reason for a "cold war" between the USA and Europe without some way back POD. You would need the USA and Europe to be at political opposite poles, and Europe "united" enough to be a realistic counterweight to the USA.
 
If you avert WW2 and even WW1 altogether, then I suppose this is plausible. The U.S was fairly anti-Imperialist when it suited their interests, which was often. It's not hard to imagine a world where the U.S leads a coalition trying to break up the European colonial powers, who fight back.

This really works.

Something I have always considered when people talk about avoiding the World Wars, is that without them that the European Imperial States would have been far more able and willing to fight to maintain their Empires.

And thus decolonization might have been a bloodbath with the majority of the Third World turned into a mega Vietnam.

(i have considered a ABS TL, where a ruined world sends back operatives to engineer an inter-European conflict to avoid this badness.)

And adding a US that is sympathetic to the rebels would be pretty easy.

IF the rebels are not Marxist.
 
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