A New Iron Curtain? A comparative study among five authors

(ANSA) - WARSAW, 27 NOV - The Russian-Ukrainian war has heralded the beginning of a new season of competition between Russia's West and East: the journey of the book 'Towards a New Iron Curtain', written by five authors from different countries and perspectives (Poland, Czech Republic, Finland, Turkey and Bosnia), opens in the context of the future of defence in Europe. The publication of the book, which is a collaboration between the Luigi Einaudi Foundation and the European Liberal Forum think-tank, was announced at a recent conference in Warsaw.
    "The project 'Towards a New Iron Curtain' - explains the volume's editor, Renata Gravina, a researcher at Sapienza University - analyses the scenario according to which an Iron Curtain is being recreated over Europe in the face of possible Russian expansion into Ukraine. By looking at the history and geopolitical evolution of the last three decades, the book helps to understand both the reality of post-Soviet dynamics and the difficulty of European political balances".
    Is the future of Europe a growing Iron Curtain? Some states, fearful of being the next victims of Putin's ambitions, see NATO as the only solution to an unstable outlook. The 138 pages of this volume are devoted to this question.
    In the case of Poland, Milosz Hodun (Project Polska) argues that the Iron Curtain was never perceived as over: fear of Russia and perceptions of danger have simply "shifted eastwards". The Czech Sarka Shoup (Politics and Society), on the other hand, points out that the Czech Republic's position has historically been characterised by a considerable degree of volatility: if the Czech government is to "continue to maintain its position as a reliable partner within the Eu and Nato", it will continue to face internal pressures that pose a dilemma for the future.
    Recently, Mikko Majander (Magma) explains, Finland has shown growing concern about the perceived threat from Russia, underlined by the final decision to join Nato in 2023. According to Bosnian Jasmina Ibrahimpasic (Bdf), while Nato and the Eu still represent aspirations for stability, economic growth and security in the post-Yugoslav space, Russian interference in the Yugoslav context complicates the creation of an Iron Curtain.
    Finally, Turkey's multilateral engagement, as Elif Menderes (Fnf) points out, is aimed at establishing the country as a mediator and stabilising force in the region: "First and foremost, Turkey wants to strengthen its central influence as a regional federal and economic power". (ANSA).