The end of the first Cold War was a time of great hope with narratives of “the end of history” and “peace dividend,” recalls David Sanger in his new book, New Cold Wars: China’s Rise, Russia’s Invasion, and America’s Struggle to Defend the West. The old Cold War and the new Cold Wars do have similarities, hence the use of the Cold War moniker today. It was only really under the Trump administration that the US started taking up the challenge of the New Cold Wars. One of the most interesting stories in Sanger’s book concerns the role of the private sector in the Ukraine War. It is one of few books on recent international politics that I would regard as a “must-read.”This is a review of David Sanger’s New Cold Wars: China’s Rise, Russia’s Invasion, and America’s Struggle to Defend the West (Penguin House, 2024).
