After the end of the Cold War, hopes were high for an era of Russo-Western cooperation and a positive peace order in Europe. In a vitally important new book, Dr Richard Sakwa explores the reasons for the collapse of those hopes in the thirty years that followed. Understanding this history is vital not only to understanding the roots of the present disastrous war in Ukraine and the breakdown in European security more broadly, but to formulating ways out of that conflict and finding pathways to establishing a new European peace order. With the rise of China and the resurgence of Russia, today there are once again global powers rivaling those of the West. We are now in a Second Cold War – and international security is under threat. In this incisive account, Richard Sakwa traces the loss of peace and the new configuration of international politics that has arisen in its place, demonstrating that the years of 'cold peace' were little more than a hiatus. As Russia aligns with China, shifts in global politics blur the lines of confrontation and the liberal order as a whole faces unprecedented challenges. In a compelling reinterpretation of the accepted narrative, Sakwa shows how this new conflict could have been avoided – and what we need to learn to finally inaugurate a new peace order.