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Cold War 2.0

Cold War 2.0

Illusion versus Reality

Madhav Das Nalapat
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Cold War 1.0 was fought principally between the US and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Soon after the collapse of the latter, Cold War 2.0 began. Just as with the earlier Cold War, this is also a battle of systems on an existential trajectory. This time around, the principal protagonists are the US and the People Republic of China (PRC). Those who deny the reality of the new Cold War, believe that Cold War 1.0 has reappeared, this time with the Russian Federation replacing the Soviet Union as the opponent. Such a view ignores the changes to the global order caused by the increasingly visible efforts of the PRC to replace the US as the prime mover influencing the trajectory of the twenty-first century.

Rather than a rearview mirror perspective on the current geopolitics, what is needed is a forward looking view of the overall relationship between not just the four Great Powers (China, the US, Russia and India) but also key players such as the European Union. From the 1980s, China has harnessed geopolitical currents to rise from a poverty-stricken behemoth to a superpower. India’s inability or unwillingness to adopt the same practical approach has thus far constrained its rise.

The book details the crosscurrents of Great Powers’ dynamics in the twenty-first century, and why it is important for a future-focused rather than a past-obsessed approach towards each other by the two biggest democracies on the planet, India and the US. Each needs to reinforce the other to jointly overcome the multi-dimensional challenge posed by the Communist Party of China to the global future. Just as in the case of Cold War 1.0, the democracies need to prevail in Cold War 2.0 as well.

Imprint: India Viking

Published: Aug/2023

ISBN: 9780670098415

Length : 256 Pages

MRP : ₹699.00

Cold War 2.0

Illusion versus Reality

Madhav Das Nalapat

Cold War 1.0 was fought principally between the US and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Soon after the collapse of the latter, Cold War 2.0 began. Just as with the earlier Cold War, this is also a battle of systems on an existential trajectory. This time around, the principal protagonists are the US and the People Republic of China (PRC). Those who deny the reality of the new Cold War, believe that Cold War 1.0 has reappeared, this time with the Russian Federation replacing the Soviet Union as the opponent. Such a view ignores the changes to the global order caused by the increasingly visible efforts of the PRC to replace the US as the prime mover influencing the trajectory of the twenty-first century.

Rather than a rearview mirror perspective on the current geopolitics, what is needed is a forward looking view of the overall relationship between not just the four Great Powers (China, the US, Russia and India) but also key players such as the European Union. From the 1980s, China has harnessed geopolitical currents to rise from a poverty-stricken behemoth to a superpower. India’s inability or unwillingness to adopt the same practical approach has thus far constrained its rise.

The book details the crosscurrents of Great Powers’ dynamics in the twenty-first century, and why it is important for a future-focused rather than a past-obsessed approach towards each other by the two biggest democracies on the planet, India and the US. Each needs to reinforce the other to jointly overcome the multi-dimensional challenge posed by the Communist Party of China to the global future. Just as in the case of Cold War 1.0, the democracies need to prevail in Cold War 2.0 as well.

Buying Options
Paperback / Hardback

Madhav Das Nalapat

Prof. M.D. Nalapat was appointed India's first Professor of Geopolitics & the UNESCO Peace Chair by Manipal University in 1999, positions he still holds. An Executive Committee Member of the Editors Guild of India, Member of Indian School of Social & Economic Sciences and Associate Member of the National Institute of Advanced Studies and the United Services Institution, Prof Nalapat is also the Editorial Director of ITV Media Network, having previously edited the Mathrubhumi and the Times of India. He writes extensively in national and international publications and has authored nine books.


Prof. Nalapat has lectured extensively in India, the US, the UK, Austria, China, Taiwan and other countries and has originated several concepts, including that of the constrainment of China, Asian NATO, Southern Asia rather than only South Asia as India's hinterland and the concept of the proxy nuclear state.

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