Cold War 2.0 and the Axis of Upheaval
The defence-industrial logic of systemic multi-theatre rivalry
17 pages · PDF · 15 May 2026 · Licensed single-user copy, watermarked to the buyer
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About this report
The strategic problem addressed in this report is not whether the present international system should be labelled a new Cold War.
The more material question is whether doctrine, procurement, sanctions, export controls, munitions demand, industrial capacity and capital allocation are already moving according to the logic of a prolonged, multi-theatre confrontation. Ukraine, the Red Sea, the Middle East, the Indo-Pacific and the technology-control contest are often analysed as separate crises.
Key questions this report answers
- Is doctrine, procurement, sanctions, export controls, munitions demand, industrial capacity and capital allocation already moving according to the logic of a prolonged, multi-theatre confrontation?
- How do the 'Cold War 2.0' historical-strategic framework and the 'Axis of Upheaval' political-operational framework connect Ukraine, the Red Sea, the Middle East, the Indo-Pacific and the technology-control contest?
- What institutional validation, critical objections and evidentiary limits qualify these frameworks?
- What defence-industrial, technology-control and financial implications follow for Defence Finance Monitor readers?
Inside this report
- Executive opening
- Cold War 2.0 as a historical-strategic framework
- The Axis of Upheaval as a political-operational framework
- Institutional validation, critical objections and evidentiary limits
- Defence-industrial, technology-control and financial implications for DFM reader
- Open questions and limitations
Who it's for
Strategy, corporate-development and investment teams that need an ecosystem-level view — budgets, industrial capacity and technology landscapes — before committing capital or capacity.
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Methodology, format & delivery
DFM reports are built from primary and official sources — TED procurement notices, CORDIS and the EU Funding & Tenders Portal, EIB operations, the NATO Innovation Fund portfolio, SIPRI data, official budget documents and company disclosures — read together with the underlying legal texts. Sources are cited in the document; it reflects them as of its publication date (15 May 2026). You receive a 17-page PDF, watermarked to you on every page, delivered on the confirmation page and by e-mail immediately after checkout (personal link valid 72 hours, up to 5 downloads). Guest checkout, single-user licence — Terms of Sale.
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