The war in Ukraine

This short article offers some tentative suggestions about how the history of the Cold War and its aftermath as experienced by Central and Eastern European states may inform our understanding of the current war in Ukraine. In doing so, this contribution has no pretensions to be either final in its suggestions nor exhaustive in considering the rich literature about Central and Eastern Europe’s political, economic, social and cultural Cold War experiences. In fact, given its nature, this piece is more likely to be found quite deficient in both. It will first address the definition and scope of 'Eastern Europe' and then delve into a discussion of the agency of Eastern European states during the Cold War vis-à-vis the Soviet Union. In its concluding remarks, this article will briefly consider the developments of the post-Cold War period and draw some considerations about the war in Ukraine and the question of a 'new Cold War'.