The Cold War threatened the independence of new nations. Since the Soviet Union and the United States were competing for political influence, many newly independent nations were subject to take over either by the Soviet Union or the USA. However, there was also a positive impact to some newly independent countries because the two antagonists of the Cold War would support whatever country they saw fit. Therefore, some new countries gained support from larger nations.
This is just one of the many possible answers, since so many nations were affected differently. All the same, I hope this helps. :)
