Description: "A new Russian ideology has emerged in the 2000s that integrates information warfare at all levels: political, military-strategic, and economic, and includes the use of nuclear forces for signaling. That ideology also demands the subjugation of Ukraine and Western Europe. The United States and NATO partners were slow to react effectively to this state of affairs, but as the crises worsened, they improvised a series of responses that now hold Russia in check. This book provides a detailed analysis of the dimensions of the present crisis, specifically related to the movements of Russian, American, French, and British nuclear forces. There is an entire world of nuclear force manipulation and signaling that the public does not see, and the frequency of this activity greatly exceeds that of similar activity during the Cold War"-- Provided by publisher.
Brief description: Sean Maloney is a professor of history at the Royal Military College of Canada and served as the historical advisor to the Chief of the Land Staff during the war in Afghanistan. He previously served as the historian for 4 Canadian Mechanized Brigade, the Canadian Army's primary Cold War NATO commitment after the reunification of Germany and at the start of the Balkan conflicts. From 2001 Dr. Maloney focused nearly exclusively on the war against the Al Qaeda movement and its allies. After returning to Royal Military College, Dr. Maloney refocused on the Cold War. His latest book, Emergency War Plan, received the Air Force Historical Foundation's Air Power Book Prize in 2024.
Review Quotes:
"In this very timely work, Sean Maloney argues persuasively that Putin's reign of power in Russia has been characterized by a new way of nuclear deterrence signaling that it is woven together with advancements in information technology. This period, which the author terms the "Cool War," extends to the present day. To back up his argument, Sean takes the reader through a history of nuclear and conventional signaling up to the eve of the current Ukraine crisis. Readers interested in deterrance, nuclear operations, U.S.-Russian relations, and the Russo-Ukrainian War would all benefit from reading this book."--Melvin Deaile, Director of the School of Advanced Nuclear Deterrence Studies, USAF Air Command and Staff College
"This is an essential reference to understand how Russia's president Putin has employed strategic nuclear forces in his 21st century crusade to subjugate Ukraine and intimidate Europe and America. Strategic signalling using nuclear forces, coupled with modern information warfare, is an integral part of the confrontation between democracies and authoritarian regimes. It is crucial that we understand this to develop effective national security strategies for the decades ahead."--Maj. Gen. Mick Ryan, AUA (Ret.), author of The War for Ukraine and War Transformed "The Cool War is an essential work for anyone seeking to understand contemporary strategic competition. It provides a compelling conceptual framework for the nuclear information age, a clear methodological path for future research, and a detailed reconstruction of the most significant nuclear signalling crisis of the twenty-first century. Maloney has provided the field with a foundation. It is now the responsibility of scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to develop it further." -- Royal Alberta United Services Institute"Dr. Sean M. Maloney's The Cool War...is a timely and authoritative analysis of how nuclear signalling functions in the twenty-first century. ...The Cool War is required reading for defence professionals. It offers a rigorous framework for understanding strategic signalling in a world where everything is visible, everything is interpreted, and everything is contested. Maloney has mapped the terrain of the new deterrence environment. It is now up to practitioners to navigate it." -- Canadian Defense Review