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The “little war” of August 2008 shook the world, but it did not change it. No new Cold War followed the Russian-Georgian hostilities, but the five-day war demonstrated how brittle security in Europe is nearly two decades after the end of the real Cold War.

This chilling sense of insecurity pushed both sides to change their foreign policies. U.S. President Barack Obama hit the “reset,” and Moscow came up with the notion of “modernization alliances” with the United States and Europe.