Cold War II (Global Instability)

Cold War II, also known as the Second Cold War, Cold War 2.0, or the New Cold War, was a state of geopolitical tension between the Democratic Bloc, including NATO and its allies, and the Industrial Bloc, including the Afro-Eurasian Alliance and its allies. The starting and ending dates of the period are not entirely agreed upon by historians, but many historians agree that the period began in 2019, when Russia intervened in the Iranian-Saudi War, and ended in 2038, when the Second Russian Revolution occurred.

The term "cold" is used because there was no direct large-scale fighting between the two sides, which fought each other through proxy wars by backing different sides in existing conflicts. Unlike the first Cold War, there was not a conflict between two very different ideologies, however, the conflict was far-reaching, and involved many regional security issues. Widespread fear of a nuclear world war returned during this time, with mass hysteria occurring across the planet. Aside from the development of the nuclear arsenals of both sides and the deployment of conventional forces, the struggle for global dominance was expressed elsewhere, such as in proxy wars, psychological warfare, propaganda campaigns, espionage, and various technological competitions, such as the Second Space Race and the Nanotechnology War.

The first phase of Cold War II began in 2019, when Russia intervened in the Iranian-Saudi War on the side of Iran and its allies. In March 2020 the Treaty of Moscow was signed, establishing the Afro-Eurasian Alliance (AEA). The Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) was also greatly expanded, including much of Asia and parts of eastern Europe and the Balkans by late 2020. A Eurasian parliament was also created, making the economic union much more influential. The Baltic Crisis (2021-22) was the first major crisis of Cold War II