Although there is an ongoing debate among Russian and Soviet scholars on whether we are experiencing a new Cold War or the previous Cold War never ended, none will dispute the fact that US-Russian relations are at their lowest point in decades and chances of a Cold War turning into a hot war have never been greater.  Because the consequences of this new cycle are so dire, it is essential to understand how we got here.   This is the task of this NH Peace Action presentation led by Veteran for Peace/Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity activist Sarah Wilton who applies her more than 30 years as a military intelligence analyst, and a Russian area studies and international relations scholar to her analysis of the current predicament.

Historians will long debate whether the current US-Russia tensions are the beginnings of a new Cold War or the continuation of that started in World War II’s aftermath.  Regardless of the genesis, relations between the planet’s foremost nuclear powers have never been more dangerous.    Unlike the post-World War II tensions, there is no Warsaw Pact buffer between NATO and Russia.  Further, there are no ambassadorial level representations between Russia and the US.  US-Russia tensions have had pivotal contexts such as the US-UK world order set up in the aftermath of World War II as well as turning points such as the collapse of the former Soviet Union and the regime change wars in the former Yugoslavia, Libya and Ukraine….The purpose of this presentation is not only to examine the roots of these events but to appreciate their seen and unseen consequences.

Emerging from Oklahoma and New Hampshire rooted family, Sarah Wilton was commissioned active duty Ensign in the Naval Reserves after graduating from the University of Oklahoma.  Pursuing her interests in travel, research and foreign languages she left naval active duty and engaged in a US Government national security career lasting through her retirement from the Naval Reserves as a full Commander (05), and her retirement from the Department of Defense with 30 years federal service.  Within the Federal Government, she specialized in Russian/Soviet military politics and contributed to policies from the height of the Cold War through the international embrace of arms control to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) expansion.  Along the way, she received advanced degrees from Georgetown University, the Naval War College, and the University of Maryland.  After the birth of her two sons, Ms. Wilton’s career took a pivotal turn with her recognition of the importance of environmental vitality to national security.  A lifetime member of Veterans for Peace, and she is an environmental and peace activist and free-lance teacher and writer. She led a discussion on Health and War with her presentation at the 2012 Peace Action New Hampshire annual convention.  An avid biker, Ms. Wilton spent her 2002 summer vacation with her two sons on a biking tour of Denmark.

About NHPA’s bi-weekly Zoom Peace & Justice Conversation Series: 2020’s upheavals brought us to a new moment of reckoning and possibility. How do we want to live in the world? What do we value? How can we make the changes we’ve been yearning for? NH Peace Action has been engaged in working for change for decades. We’d like to bring you into these conversations about issues and options for the future. Join us!