Back on field one? Russia-NATO conflict

More and more Cold War power dynamics can be seen in Europe. Yet again – we are reminding that the “End of History” thesis of Fukuyama couldn’t be more wrong – compare the article  here. Below you can find a kind of Chessboard with the current NATO vs. Russia conflict.

There are just above 17000 nuclear weapons worldwide. And only about 500 of those are held by countries other than NATO countries and Russia. So even if we had peaceful years, this region is still potentially the most dangerous place on earth. And the instability in between the two giant powers is rising.

The confrontation between NATO and Russia - bases and nukes on both sides.

The confrontation between NATO and Russia – bases and nukes on both sides.

NATO and Russia Forces and conflict zones

NATO and Russia Forces and conflict zones

Regional conflicts – backed by larger forces

Crimea and eastern Ukraine are just the newest hot spots along a larger, continent-wide fault line. The border between NATO-allied Europe on one side and Russia on the other side is dotted with herds of instability – including several separatist regions that Moscow and its allies support. One reason for this support is that Russia wants to keep this regions in the own influence zone. The EU for example doesn’t allow countries with border conflicts to become members. So the Russian strategy here is to artificially create such border conflicts to make sure these countries can’t join Western organisations. Also, it is a strong signal to other countries that have to decide between the planned, Moscow-controlled Eurasian Union (EEU) and the EU or NATO (=become pro-Western).

Additional articles and resources