Word count: 1745
Do you agree with the Russian Prime Minister, Dmitri Medvedev that “We
are rapidly rolling into a period of a new Cold War”?
I fundamentally agree with the Russian Prime Minister’s view on global superpowers
entering a period of a new Cold War. To demonstrate my view, I will firstly define what a
Cold War is and outline the features of this relatively new kind of war. I will then analyse the
causes and nature of the geopolitical tensions between the United States and The Soviet
Union and how that has led to my claim that we are undeniably entering a period of a new
Cold War. Secondly, I will conduct my essay into three parts. I will demonstrate that there is
clear evidence that will prove my thesis. However, it should also be noted that there are
counter arguments to my thesis, which I will analyse in much more detail, and eventually
lead to my conclusion in this essay.
A Cold War can be seen as a period of indirect military confrontation and a display of
structural features of great power rivalry. One of the main features the Cold War defined
was a period of neither peace nor war (Lippman, 1947). Another feature was the direct
confrontation of ideology between the capitalist US and the communist Soviet Union
[ CITATION Web16 \l 2057 ]. Although Mr. Medvedev states that the world has not entered
a cold war, he briefly mentions the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine as today’s struggle
between Russia and its adversaries [ CITATION Rob14 \l 2057 ]. The US’s foreign policy in
Syria has indirectly intensified tensions between key players in the region, as Bashar Al
Assad military has conducted airstrikes under Russia’s supervision in Syria to combat
terrorist organisations. In Russia’s eyes, the chaos in Syria combined with US’s policies to
undercut authoritarian states has led to the rise of radical groups in the region, which has
reconstructed the civil war into a proxy US-Russia conflict [ CITATION Ste16 \l 2057 ].
Therefore, Mr Medvedev’s analysis may be legitimate as the US is indirectly ambushing
Russia through arming and funding terrorist organisations in order to topple the regime and
seize control [ CITATION Ste16 \l 2057 ]. This can be seen as an ambush on Russia because
they are invested financially in supporting the regime to eradicate terrorism therefore
Russia are incurring financial losses as they are combatting US funded terrorist organisations
who possess American made weapons, which significantly boosts their strength [ CITATION
Ric08 \l 2057 ]. Furthermore, the US’s policy opposes Russia’s interests as the chaos created
will lead to the spread of Islamic extremism in Russia’s neighbouring states and potentially
in Russia itself. A similar strategy was adopted by the US in the 1950s, where the Truman
administration offered to extend around $13 billion in aid to help rebuild European
economies after the end of the second World War [ CITATION Joh05 \l 2057 ]. This strategy
was a response to series of moves by the Soviet Union to expand its communist ideology
and influence in Eastern Europe and Asia [ CITATION Joh05 \l 2057 ]. This is a policy of
containment, which helped the US prevent the spread of communism and limit the Soviet
Union’s influence in Europe. This demonstrates US’s intentions to indirectly undermine its
adversaries by financially assisting weaker states or terror organisations in order to maintain
its global dominance. Therefore, I agree with Mr. Medvedev’s statement. On the other
Do you agree with the Russian Prime Minister, Dmitri Medvedev that “We
are rapidly rolling into a period of a new Cold War”?
I fundamentally agree with the Russian Prime Minister’s view on global superpowers
entering a period of a new Cold War. To demonstrate my view, I will firstly define what a
Cold War is and outline the features of this relatively new kind of war. I will then analyse the
causes and nature of the geopolitical tensions between the United States and The Soviet
Union and how that has led to my claim that we are undeniably entering a period of a new
Cold War. Secondly, I will conduct my essay into three parts. I will demonstrate that there is
clear evidence that will prove my thesis. However, it should also be noted that there are
counter arguments to my thesis, which I will analyse in much more detail, and eventually
lead to my conclusion in this essay.
A Cold War can be seen as a period of indirect military confrontation and a display of
structural features of great power rivalry. One of the main features the Cold War defined
was a period of neither peace nor war (Lippman, 1947). Another feature was the direct
confrontation of ideology between the capitalist US and the communist Soviet Union
[ CITATION Web16 \l 2057 ]. Although Mr. Medvedev states that the world has not entered
a cold war, he briefly mentions the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine as today’s struggle
between Russia and its adversaries [ CITATION Rob14 \l 2057 ]. The US’s foreign policy in
Syria has indirectly intensified tensions between key players in the region, as Bashar Al
Assad military has conducted airstrikes under Russia’s supervision in Syria to combat
terrorist organisations. In Russia’s eyes, the chaos in Syria combined with US’s policies to
undercut authoritarian states has led to the rise of radical groups in the region, which has
reconstructed the civil war into a proxy US-Russia conflict [ CITATION Ste16 \l 2057 ].
Therefore, Mr Medvedev’s analysis may be legitimate as the US is indirectly ambushing
Russia through arming and funding terrorist organisations in order to topple the regime and
seize control [ CITATION Ste16 \l 2057 ]. This can be seen as an ambush on Russia because
they are invested financially in supporting the regime to eradicate terrorism therefore
Russia are incurring financial losses as they are combatting US funded terrorist organisations
who possess American made weapons, which significantly boosts their strength [ CITATION
Ric08 \l 2057 ]. Furthermore, the US’s policy opposes Russia’s interests as the chaos created
will lead to the spread of Islamic extremism in Russia’s neighbouring states and potentially
in Russia itself. A similar strategy was adopted by the US in the 1950s, where the Truman
administration offered to extend around $13 billion in aid to help rebuild European
economies after the end of the second World War [ CITATION Joh05 \l 2057 ]. This strategy
was a response to series of moves by the Soviet Union to expand its communist ideology
and influence in Eastern Europe and Asia [ CITATION Joh05 \l 2057 ]. This is a policy of
containment, which helped the US prevent the spread of communism and limit the Soviet
Union’s influence in Europe. This demonstrates US’s intentions to indirectly undermine its
adversaries by financially assisting weaker states or terror organisations in order to maintain
its global dominance. Therefore, I agree with Mr. Medvedev’s statement. On the other
