Revisiting the First Cold War

Against the backdrop of major geopolitical developments, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine and intensifying great-power competition in the Indo-Pacific, this book undertakes a comprehensive reassessment of the United States' first Cold War strategy. In examining the machinations and dynamics of the Cold War era, it offers a nuanced understanding of today's security challenges and the underlying continuities that may inform contemporary security strategies.
While there are marked differences between the Cold War era and the geopolitics of the twenty-first century, there are also certain equivalences-increasing bipolarity, deepening polemics, sharpening distinctions between autocracies and democracies-that are very much driving developments. It is no longer questionable that the United States and China, tacit allies during the first half of the last Cold War, are engaged in their own new cold war: Chinese President Xi Jinping has proclaimed it, and a unique bipartisan consensus in the United States recognizes the contest. What, then, might previous challenges suggest about the current situation?
The core objective here is to demonstrate how the greatest ever unfought war-the Soviet-American Cold War-as well as other preceding struggles, might expand our understanding and foster resilience in adapting to the evolving Sino-American rivalry. When applied with a sophisticated grasp of contemporary dynamics, the lessons of the past can guide effective policy-making, enhance strategic foresight, and advance stability amid the many uncertainties of the present century.

Aiden Warren is Professor at the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies at RMIT University in Melbourne, and Theme Leader (National Security) at the Centre for Cyber Security Research and Innovation (CCSRI). He is a Fulbright Scholar and has spent extensive time in Washington DC completing fellowships at the James Martin Center of Non-proliferation, the Arms Control Association (ACA), and Institute for International Science and Technology Policy (IISTP) at George Washington University. Professor Warren is the author of US Foreign Policy and China: Security Challenges Across the Bush, Obama and Trump Administrations (2021), Understanding Presidential Doctrines (2022), and Global Security Crisis in an Age of Crisis (2024).
Joseph M. Siracusa is Professor and Inaugural Dean of Global Futures, Faculty of Humanities, Curtin University, Australia, and President Emeritus of Australia's Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. A veteran historian, he is known internationally for his writings on the history of nuclear weapons, diplomacy, and global security. He is the author of numerous books, including, Nuclear Weapons: A Very Short Introduction (3rd edn, 2020), and Presidential Doctrines: U. S. National Security from George Washington to Joe Biden (2022).