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| No | 37% | 101 votes | Total: 276 votes | |
| Yes | 63% | 175 votes |
No
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Add to FavoritesThe current situation is so very different from the days of the USSR, although the estrangement between Moscow and Washington maybe similar. The USSR had a well-developed and identifiable ideology, a host of client states and military power similar to the US. Perhaps most important, it had sufficient resources to
to sponsor revolutionary groups in many hot spots around the world and credibility as a superpower.
The point of the cold war was that there were multiple stalemates around the world between the US and the USSR. Additionally, Armageddon was believed to be one black-box away, as both superpowers had sufficient nuclear weapons to blow up the world many times over. Today, there are no identifiable locations where the US and the Russia have proxies fighting for power and Russian nuclear deterrence is at a far lower level than under the USSR.
Previously, communist philosophy gave intellectual support for the USSR style government system. Today, Russia has a hybrid government structure with some aspects similar to western countries and others that seem to be a holdover from the Soviet days. Before, the USSR was an empire, both at home and abroad. Today, Russia is still a major power, but its limitations are much more apparent. Before, none of the Soviet client states could choose to join NATO or the EC.
The bottom line is that people are no longer concerned that WW III could breakout at any moment or that there is a real risk of a nuclear conflagration with Moscow. Of course, Moscow still has impressive capabilities, but they are not flaunted as before.
Although distrust has grown and Russia seems to be willing to use toxic poisons to assassinate enemies wherever it wants, it is still a pale shadow compared to the former USSR. Perhaps, Russia will begin to build up an empire again, but it is not as fear-inducing as before. It is now recognized as one of several second rank powers.
Learn more about this author, Robert C. Sage.
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Yes
The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union lasted over thirty years, cost at least 13 trillion dollars for America, and polarized the world under fear of nuclear war, yet ended with a peaceful International Community. In recent years, diplomatic relations between the United States and Eastern nations like the Soviet Union and China have been strained. As new world powers emerge and exercise their strength in an increasingly fractured International Community, events seem to suggest a cold war scenario between the East and West could repeat.
Between the United States acting against the will of the International Community during the invasion of Iraq and Russia's 2008 brutal offensive in Georgia, preceded by Western plans to build an antiballistic missile shield in Eastern Europe, it feels as though the Cold War could return. Then again, the Obama Administration's efforts to reach out to Russian leaders and advance a policy of conflict resolution with defiant and rogue states seem to be well received by the former Soviet Union. In all, it appears Russia may well be simply trying to respond to Western influence and demonstrate it is still a mighty world power.
Although inflated energy prices have allowed oil and gas rich Russia to reemerge as a world power, China's economic expansion over the last few decades could eventually push the Communist nation into the role of superpower. In fact, China's efforts to refine its world image, solidify its economic power, and develop strong diplomatic relations as well as build a world class military, suggest just that. With this power growing, China will want to flex its muscles far more than it already has.
China needs to demonstrate it is a superpower by showing the world the West does not dictate policy in its region. With China taking soft stances on issues like nuclear North Korea and human rights violations in places such as Myanmar (Burma), it is doing so at the risk of creating a conflict with the West. As China moves to expand and demonstrate its power in Asia, it risks conflicts with its neighbors while completely ignoring Western interests would be a great mistake. Of course, the potential for conflict is strongly mitigated by the complex economic ties Asia shares with the West, yet this could also be the cause of a future conflict.
A new cold war between the East and West would likely center around the US and China with Asia as the battleground for proxy wars. The world is facing issues, such as climate change, water and food shortages, global terrorism, unstable energy prices, and dramatic power shifts that will seriously stress the International Community. What would start as a strong dislike for Chinese policies could escalate into a cold war in the event of a regional conflict with US allies like India or South Korea while Western intervention on issues like nuclear North Korea could also be a spark a larger conflict.
Learn more about this author, Matthew J. Geiger.
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