| Summary/Abstract |
This article conceptualizes the current crises around Ukraine and Taiwan
as “a reverse Cuban missile crisis.” The Cuban missile crisis was a turning
point in the history of the Cold War. The two superpowers found themselves
at the brink of mutual annihilation and turned to negotiations to prevent
it. Today the transformation of the world order and escalation of the great
power competition can culminate in a new crisis like the Cuban one, and
with a similar outcome. However, in contrast to the USSR which ultimately
recognized the United States’ red lines, today the U.S. does not recognize
Russia’s and China’s red lines, denying the very legitimacy of red lines as
such. The U.S. plans to retain its hegemony and seeks to achieve it with the
help of its regional allies. This strategy of “offshore balancing” has proven
to be quite useful for the U.S., which seems to ignore any discontent coming
from Russia and China.
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