Led by the United Kingdom and the United States, more than 20 countries expelled Russian diplomats last week. Moscow promised to respond in kind and has already shown 60 foreign diplomats the door. Commentators in the Western media and the Russian press are breathlessly bandying about the same question: Is the world on the edge of a second Cold War? It is an absurd question for a number of reasons, but I will content myself here to explain just one of them. The Cold War was as much a geopolitical conflict as it was an ideological one. The Soviet Union viewed itself as the vanguard of a global revolution – this was the end that justified the means. The U.S. similarly believed it was unique, a liberal light unto the nations sworn to defend the freedom of every individual.
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