Sunday, September 7, 2008

The world is too hot to get cold. Or is it?

Since the beginning of the Russian-Georgian conflict, there hasn't been a day that has passed without me hearing a reference to an upcoming cold war. In developing countries, many dream of the end of a unipolar world; they don't want the USA to be the only superpower in the world as they think that the emergence of another superpower will make the world more peaceful and just. On the other hand, some folks in Russia as well as the USA are equally fascinated by the idea. But the question remains: Is another cold war really inevitable?

Looking at the state of the world right now, it seems that no one is ready for another cold war. America has enough problems in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it won't be able to open yet another front, not even with Iran. Russia also has its own problems and it isn't powerful enough to face the USA and all its followers.

But even that reality won't deter cold-warmongers from keeping on speaking about the cold war. The common thing between those people in both camps is that they are driven by some sort of arrogant nationalism. American cold-warmongers keep on searching for potential cold enemies, whether it is China, Russia, or even - at certain times - France! They have been alarmed by the rise of Russia under Putin's rule, and they don't like it. They just want America to remain as the only superpower, and they are afraid that any other nation maybe on the way to challenge them. As for the Russian cold-warmongers, they are exactly the opposite. They can't forget the days of the Soviet Union when they were head to head with the USA, and their national pride make them dream about a revival of these days.

One may think that Georgia was caught between all of this, but the reality is that Georgia brought all this to itself. A small and weak country like this don't even have a chance to beat Russia; and if they thought that the USA would stand by them militarily, they were gravely mistaken. They didn't gain anything except for hearing some opportunistic American politicians saying stuff like "We are all Georgians," when prior to this conflict, most Americans didn't know that there is another Georgia other than theirs!

Now it seems that the conflict brought the situation to a temporal, but long, deadlock. Maybe the world is too hot for a cold war, but it is certainly not that hot for a cold peace.

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