Return to Cold War

Abstract

Given Russia's ongoing actions in Ukraine and Syria, concerns over its interference in recent US and European elections, and fears of further aggression against the West, Robert Legvold's Return to Cold War is a welcome addition to the burgeoning literature surrounding these developments and the nature of the growing conflict between Russia and the West. His central thesis is that America and Russia have—especially since Ukraine's 2014 Revolution of Dignity, which Legvold identifies as the tipping point in souring relations—entered into a Cold War in which both sides are to blame and can only emerge from it by jointly seeking common ground. Thus, he uses the ‘original’ Cold War as the framework for examining the current state of play between the two countries. As Legvold describes, relations between the US and Russia have been in a state of decline in recent years despite periodic efforts to improve them. While some analysts, like Legvold, began referring to the current deadlock as a new Cold War, others disagreed due to—in their view—the absence of an ideological struggle and strategic rivalry between superpowers, and that the fact that we are no longer living in a bipolar world divided into superpower-led camps. According to Legvold, while objections to calling the conflict a Cold War are valid in certain respects (e.g. Russia lacks the economic and military strength of its Soviet predecessor), opponents of this label ignore fundamental characteristics of Russia. These include, inter alia, Russia accounting for, along with America, over 90 per cent of the world's nuclear arsenal; its potential to lead in non-proliferation efforts; its role as the world's largest energy supplier; and its membership of the United Nations Security Council. Additionally, one could argue that even if Russia doesn't have the economic or military might it once had, it has significant asymmetrical capabilities which it uses to its advantage, as it demonstrated in Ukraine and elsewhere. Moreover, in support of his argument, Legvold reminds readers that the fundamental relationship of the original Cold War—between America and Russia—is still pertinent today and with similar implications for global security.