The Lost Peace: How the West Failed to Prevent a Second Cold War

The end of the Cold War in 1989 heralded a unique prospect for an enduring global peace, as harsh ideological divisions and conflicts began to be resolved. Now, three decades on, that peace has been lost. With increasing tensions between China, Russia, and the West, and war in Ukraine, great power politics once again dominates the world stage. But could it have been different?

In this incisive account, Richard Sakwa shows how these intervening years represented merely a hiatus in conflict rather than its end. Tracing the intricate reconfiguration of international politics which has led to this Second Cold War, Sakwa considers the resurgence of China and Russia and the disruptions and ambitions of the liberal order that opened up catastrophic new lines of conflict. This is a vital, erudite account of how the world entered its present era of renewed war in Europe, global rivalries, and nuclear threat.