Cold War, up again???

[Jun aka Pekto]

Authoritarian states like Russia need to have a strong case for being one (authoritarian). They have to find an "enemy" outside to justify its hold on power because if it fails to present a strong case, then its people may force the state to embrace democratic reforms. Its like saying 'cmon let's become a strong state so that we will be able to counter the threat of the west- Democracy may only weaken us' ..

In reality though, the threat may not even exist... In the long run however, there will always be these kinds of conflicts because heads of states are there to represent the interests of their people.

Last I heard, Russia is already a democratic state. Putin was freely elected by its people. It's just that many old-timers must feel bad at seeing their country being left out in the world stage.

I wouldn't doubt it one bit if Russia becomes a major player once more. It's the largest country in the world and if anyone ever noticed, most recent superpowers have been the bigger countries: USA, USSR, China. I'm not sure why. But, I imagine it's because the larger countries can hold a bigger population and can survive an invasion/attack much better than a smaller country. China's poised to be the next big superpower. Canada and Australia aren't there yet because of their relatively small populations. I'll hazard a guess that once their populations increase sufficiently, they'll be on their way to becoming superpowers. Probably not in my lifetime, though

I imagine that's why the countries in Europe have formed the European Union. It gives an impression of a bigger country with a lot bigger population. But, the wildly differing cultures, language, equipment, national pride, etc will make coordination during war very difficult.

As for a new Cold War between Russia and the US, I don't think it is. The Cold War was really a clash of doctrines: democracy vs communism. Russia already lost that one. The current situation seems more like a spat than anything else. If there'll be another Cold War, it won't be between the US and Russia.