Return to Cold War book cover

Return to Cold War

By Robert Legvold

The 2014 crisis in Ukraine sent a tottering U.S.-Russia relationship over a cliff—a dangerous descent into deep mistrust, severed ties, and potential confrontation reminiscent of the Cold War. In an incisive new analysis, Soviet and Russian foreign policy expert Legvold offers a detailed exploration of the new phase in this relationship. He traces the long and tortured path leading to this critical juncture and contends that the recent deterioration of Russia-U.S. relations deserves to be understood as a return to the Cold War with great and lasting consequences.

The 2014 crisis in Ukraine sent a tottering U.S.-Russia relationship over a cliff—a dangerous descent into deep mistrust, severed ties and potential confrontation reminiscent of the Cold War. In an incisive new analysis, Soviet and Russian foreign policy expert Legvold, the Marshall D. Shulman Professor of Soviet Foreign Policy, offers a detailed exploration of the new phase in this relationship. He traces the long and tortured path leading to this critical juncture and contends that the recent deterioration of Russia-U.S. relations deserves to be understood as a return to the Cold War with great and lasting consequences. He urges political leaders in both countries to adjust their approaches in order to make it “as short and shallow as possible.”