Cold War 2.0 and the Axis of Upheaval

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.

This analysis 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?