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January 11, 2007 at 8:18 pm #517
Phidippides
KeymasterDo you think that old Cold War-era geopolitical mentalities continue to exist today, more than a decade since the Cold War ended? Do you think that geopolitics – military, economics, political, and cultural -needs to be updated for our new age of globalism?
January 11, 2007 at 10:56 pm #7853DonaldBaker
ParticipantDo you think that old Cold War-era geopolitical mentalities continue to exist today, more than a decade since the Cold War ended? Do you think that geopolitics - military, economics, political, and cultural -needs to be updated for our new age of globalism?
I think our older bureaucrats are lost without a great all encompassing enemy out there to focus on. The War on Terror is the replacement to the Soviet Union and the attitudes of the old Cold Warriors shine through in the campaign against terror.
January 14, 2007 at 2:05 am #7854forumposters
ParticipantOver the last 20 years I've found myself going from believing that there would be less and less animosity and fighting in the world, but recently have come to face the fact that this kind of mentality is alive now as it ever was. I hate to be a downer, but I think the next few years will be very scary and many new wars will arise all over the world.
January 14, 2007 at 3:49 am #7855Phidippides
KeymasterOver the last 20 years I've found myself going from believing that there would be less and less animosity and fighting in the world, but recently have come to face the fact that this kind of mentality is alive now as it ever was. I hate to be a downer, but I think the next few years will be very scary and many new wars will arise all over the world.
With the Cold War the lines were drawn and sides were taken. I believe the enemy was somewhat predictive and played the game according to established rules. The current situation is less predictive and yes, it can be as scary as the Cold War.
January 15, 2007 at 4:06 am #7856Stumpfoot
ParticipantIt seems when this country moves from one era to another they have to learn the hard way that the old ways dont always work the best.
March 24, 2008 at 11:29 pm #7857skiguy
ModeratorTo the original question: Where does China play a role in this? Or is there too much trade going on between the U.S. and China to label it a cold war?
March 25, 2008 at 12:29 am #7858Wally
ParticipantTo the original question: Where does China play a role in this? Or is there too much trade going on between the U.S. and China to label it a cold war?
It's hard to be a super-power w/o another one to compete with... no USSR... so we really need China (or another power of that magnitude) to be a super-power ourselves. Mike Tyson could never be the greatest heavy-weight because he had no one that was near enough to him to make him great by beating them.
March 25, 2008 at 12:47 am #7859skiguy
ModeratorIs that kind of like what Don said earlier about needing an enemy?
March 25, 2008 at 1:59 am #7860Wally
ParticipantAbsolutely!
July 3, 2008 at 8:34 pm #7861skiguy
ModeratorDo you think Russia's current actions in mainly Eastern Europe nations are a continuation of Cold War mentality?Do a google news search on Estonia and you'll see what I mean.
July 3, 2008 at 9:40 pm #7862Wally
ParticipantYup… many there long for (a return to) the good ol' days.
August 11, 2008 at 5:08 pm #7863georgejunia
ParticipantRead all these posts. What do they have in common. In short, even after the fall of the Soviet Union, the writers detect great animosity. There are those that look to China (and some Chinese that look for a showdown with the US), and those that want to have a general war with Muslim nations, no matter that they are all over the map in their hostility to the West. Maybe, just maybe, people do not change. That is, there are always a group of people that have to have a carefully defined enemy. Then, there are those that look for more peaceful ways. Hmm, which group do the neo-cons fit into. Let's see, they look through 2,000-3,000 year old texts for tactics and secrets that are hidden to all of us ordinary folk. They also search new books and magazines to discover other “secrets.” Maybe the secrets are not there. Maybe, just maybe, a small group of people have to have their straw men to object to and try to destroy. Even if they do, they need another enemy right away.
August 11, 2008 at 10:49 pm #7864skiguy
ModeratorMaybe, just maybe, a small group of people have to have their straw men to object to and try to destroy.
That's an interesting statement with a lot of truth in it. The attacks on 9-11 were an invisible, yet very real enemy, and I think as a nation we needed someone to "take it out on" and we turned our anger to just about every Muslim nation and the religion of Islam. We should have just kept our attention more to finding and destroying these real and invisible enemies instead of turning our anger against all those of Middle Eastern decent. I honestly think Bush tried that, but the neocons and the Right wanted more blood.
August 12, 2008 at 8:16 pm #7865DonaldBaker
Participant9-11 has been used as an excuse for more global interventionism. Exporting Democracy sounds like a good idea, but the way we're currently doing it just doesn't seem to be the way to go. We are in danger of overstaying our welcome in Iraq if we don't wrap that conflict up soon…by soon I mean within the next two years if at all possible.
August 14, 2008 at 7:37 pm #7866scout1067
ParticipantDo you think Russia's current actions in mainly Eastern Europe nations are a continuation of Cold War mentality?Do a google news search on Estonia and you'll see what I mean.
Russia's actions in Eastern Europe are a continuation of a centuries old Policy by the Russian's. They think that the Slavic countries are their backyard and they should have carte blanche to do with them and to them what they will. As to the Cold War, did it ever really end? I would argue that it was briefly suspended but is now beginning to flare up anew. The cold war was all about about free nations versus authoritarian regimes. China is simply the biggest dictatorship left, but there are plenty of others out there as well. If you think about it, militant Islam is simply another authoritarian creed on a par with Marxism, Fascism, insert -ism here.
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