<P> The post -- Cold War era is the period in world history from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991 to the present . The term was criticized for its ambiguity : `` Even though it has been ten years since the Berlin Wall came down , wrote Paul Wolfowitz in 2000 , we still have no better name for the period in which we live than the post-Cold War era . '' The name means that this new era `` does not yet have a name . '' It was suggested that Pax Americana or `` clash of civilisations '' would more reflect the reality of the era but the former term would be `` offending for many . '' The same dilemma expressed Condoleezza Rice : `` That we do not know how to think about what follows the US - Soviet confrontation is clear from the continued references to the `` post-Cold War period . ' '' `` We knew better where we had been than where we were going . '' </P>
when did the post cold war era start
the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991