Prof. Dr. Johny Santana de Araújo

The idea that a nuclear conflict would nullify any possibility of victory for either side.

Dr. Patcharaviral Charoenpacharaporn

The most important lesson of the Cold War is to understand that interventionism is not a panacea. It does not always produce the result that the interventionist power hoped for, nor does it always produce positive or long-lasting outcomes for the local people.

Dr. Ruud van Dijk

Avoid thinking in absolutes. 

Dr. Dario Fazzi

I think that one of the most important legacies of the bipolar confrontation was the consolidation of an anti-nuclear consciousness that we should never take for granted and that we – as scholars and educators – should help to constantly renew.

Dr. Frank Gerits

That the only solution to superpower conflict is negotiation.

Dr. Esmaeil Haddadian-Moghaddam

That human beings are highly skillful in adapting to new situations: people suffered but they also learned to take advantage of the Cold War restrictions; that people can’s be forced into accepting an ideology which is against their free will.

Professor Dr. Evanthis Hatzivassiliou

The most important lesson of the Cold War era is the realization that economic development is the major force that determines international affairs.

Professor Dr. Jan Hoffenaar

Know your enemy! Study them and try to understand them. What drives them? 

Professor Dr. Sandrine Kott

It is essential to go beyond the ideological discourse produced by one bloc in order to understand what is really at stake in the conflicts that are taking place.

Dr. Alessandro Landolo

The Cold War, like anything else, is what one makes of it. That’s probably the most important lesson!

Professor Emeritus Vojtěch Mastný

That an escalation to a nuclear war can and must be avoided.

Dr. Kona Swapna Nayudu

The Cold War amply demonstrates the inability of the system of states to function solely on the basis of great power politics – smaller powers and regional dynamics can often have a rebalancing effect on a body politic that seems to function in predetermined patterns set by larger, more powerful nations. […]

Dr. Fernando Camacho Padilla

The lessons we can draw about the Cold War is that the political will to avoid a large-scale confrontation was possible, especially because of the danger posed by nuclear weapons. Negotiations and political meetings took place more frequently than today.

Dr. Simeon Paravantes

The Cold War was not a mistake. This is the most important lesson.

Dr. Cristina Blanco Sío-López

That it can end and how it ended. We now have the privileged viewpoint of observing history in hindsight and we could be honored to unveil a so far unconnected causal link leading to turning points.

Dr. Rasmus Sinding Søndergaard

The most important lesson of the Cold War, in my view, is the imperative of combining deterrence with dialogue in great power relations.

Dr. Liliane Stadler

The most important lesson of the Cold War is that small states matter as much as large ones do. […] New scholarship has begun to show that smaller states had a larger influence within their respective superpower blocs than we tend to assume.

Prof. Dr. Ioannis Stefanidis

That in the world of great power struggles nothing should be taken at face value or for granted. What today looks strong and impregnable may tomorrow implode and disintegrate. Domestic cohesion and legitimacy are sometimes more important than vast military arsenals.

Luke Thrumble

The most important lesson of the Cold War is that war is not an inevitable consequence of enmity between great powers, and radical change can occur without violence. Though the spectre of nuclear annihilation continues to hang unwelcomely over our heads, its presence has allowed other forms of conflict and competition to take the place of another World War.