Gilbert Achcar at Aye Write Festival

With the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, warnings about a ‘new Cold War’ proliferated. Gilbert Achcar in his new book The New Cold War argues it has been ongoing since the turn of the century. Racing to solidify its position in the 1990s as the last remaining superpower, the US alienated Russia and China, pushing them closer and rebooting the ‘old’ Cold War with disastrous implications.

Vladimir Putin’s consequent rise and imperialist reinvention, along with Xi Jinping’s own ascendancy and increasingly autocratic tendencies, have culminated, respectively, in the murderous invasion of Ukraine and mounting tensions over Taiwan and trade.

Was all this inevitable? Will these three powers’ permanent readiness to war write the story of the twenty-first century? What comes after Ukraine? What might the contours of a more peaceful world look like? These questions and many others will be addressed in this event.

£13.44, Wheelchair access available.
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