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The Second Cold War 1999-Present


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Clockwise from top right: US President Barack Obama during a 2011 Summit regarding East-West co-operation over the Arab Spring; The September 11th 2001 Terroist Attacks were seen as a brief respite in tensions between Russia and Nato; A RAF Tornado GR4's takes off from RAF Akrotiri Cyprus in July 1999 on the first ever armed conflict between NATO and Russian troops during the Pristina Airport Crisis.

The Second Cold War is an era of ongoing heightened military tension between the NATO military alliance and the Russian Federation, following the 1999 NATO-Russia Conflict. While historians agree the cause of the Second Cold War was the NATO attempt to secure Pristina International Airport against the Russian military in the aftermath of the 1999 Kosovo War, many have now coined the term "Warm War" to describe a cold war but infrequent military clashes between main power blocs-as seen in 1999, the 2004 Baltic Standoff and the 2013-2015 NATO-Russia Crises.

The Second Cold War has been described as being far more dangerous than the first Cold War; owing to the dilapidation of the Russian military and its subsequent reliance on nuclear weapons in front-line attack, the general resentment of Russia for losing the last Cold War and a more aggressive US Foreign Policy following the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks-which has led some political scientists to question whether peace between Russia and the West is possible in principle.

The Second Cold War has, like the First Cold War, left a scignificant mark on popular culture from the late 1990s into the 2010s. Coupled with the fear of Islamic terrorism in the 2000s after 9/11, the 2000s are looked at as the tensest decade since the end of the Second World War, and many forms of media such as music, film and television were greatly impacted by the ongoing international situation.

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