For years the United States was confident that a newly democratic Russia and an increasingly wealthy China would be lured into a Western-led order that promised peace and prosperity—so long as they agreed to Washington's terms. By the time America emerged from 20 years of counterterrorism, it was clear that this was a fantasy. Now the three powers are engaged in a high-stakes struggle for military, economic, political and technological supremacy that seems likely to stretch on for decades.

Pulitzer-prize winning journalist David Sanger—a Distinguished Wilson Center scholar—and Wilson Public Policy Fellow Mary K. Brooks have written an insider account of what happened as five presidents grappled with these new realities. New Cold Wars: China's Rise, Russia's Invasion and America's Struggle to Defend the West moves rapidly through 30 years of Washington's dawning awareness of Vladimir Putin's and Xi Jinping's ambitions, culminating in the Biden administration's efforts to contain China's technological progress and push back on Russia's invasion—and its nuclear threats.