In A New Cold War Era, How Battles Are Being Fought Through Social Media, Tariffs, And Tech

Last Updated:January 09, 2026, 07:00 IST

Due to geopolitical instabilities since 2024 trade restrictions, tariffs and sanctions have forced social media, fashion brands and tech companies to redraw and restructure plans

The “Cold War 2.0” is defined less by ideology than by global bifurcation across technology, energy and security.

The Cold War was a decades-long standoff between two nuclear superpowers between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR), defined by ideology, military brinkmanship and a rigid division of the world into opposing camps. The tensions today are more fragmented and less binary yet the underlying pattern is unmistakable visible via economic rival blocs, restricted flows of goods and services, and strategic competition for influence across technology, trade and culture.

The recent escalation between Washington and Caracas offers a stark example. U.S. military action in the Venezuelan capital, which led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, prompted an emergency decree and revived warnings from analysts that Latin America already politically fragile, could slide into Vietnam-era style flashpoints if tensions continue to deepen.

Tracing back to June 2020, during the India–China standoff after a deadly clash in the Galwan Valley marking a turning point in Asia’s geopolitical landscape. It demonstrated how territorial disputes could rapidly spill into economic and technological areas. India then banned Chinese apps like TikTok, tightened scrutiny of imports and investments, and encouraged domestic manufacturing. What followed was not just a diplomatic freeze, but a behavioural one. From smartphones to festive décor, Indian consumers began reassessing where products came from, turning geopolitical tension into a lived, everyday calculation.

Is The World Sliding Back Into Cold War Divisions?

In 2025, the US–China rivalry has extended into semiconductors, AI models and clean energy. Russia and the US remain locked in a prolonged economic standoff that has reshaped energy flows across Europe.

What this really means is that geopolitics is no longer something that happens above people’s heads. It is happening in their phones, their shopping baskets and their job prospects. The new Cold War does not ask citizens to pick sides loudly, it nudges them there quietly.

The world is experiencing heightened geopolitical divisions that many analysts describe as a “new" or “second" Cold War, though few argue it is a direct replay of the US–Soviet era. Today’s rivalry is more fragmented and multipolar, yet increasingly systemic, shaped by competition between the US-led West and a China–Russia axis often described as the “DragonBear". As geopolitical strategist Velina Tchakarova asks on , “Are you ready for the New Cold War?", this “Cold War 2.0" is defined less by ideology than by global bifurcation across technology, energy and security.

The shift has accelerated since 2025. US–China competition now centres on semiconductors, AI models and clean energy, with export controls limiting China’s access to advanced chips and Beijing responding by accelerating domestic alternatives under long-running industrial strategies. Analysts note that Taiwan’s dominance in advanced chipmaking has turned technology into a strategic fault line. At the same time, China’s grip on electric vehicles and rare earth exports has reshaped supply chains and prices worldwide.

According to the Council of Foreign Relations, Russia’s prolonged standoff with the US and Europe has reinforced these divisions. Sanctions expanded through 2025, Europe moved toward ending reliance on Russian energy, and Moscow grew more economically dependent on China. Think tanks warn that nuclear risks and arms competition now resemble late Cold War dynamics.

There is also a certain disagreement on how closely this resembles the Cold War of the 20th century. Former US ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul has argued that the analogy falls short, pointing to ongoing economic integration and the absence of a universal ideological divide.

Are Geopolitical Tensions Really Changing What We Wear?

From wars shortening hemlines, recession’s dull palettes to revolutions romanticising uniforms, fashion has always responded to upheaval. What is different now is how quickly geopolitics alters production itself.

Trade restrictions, tariffs and sanctions since 2024 have forced fashion brands to redraw their maps. Overreliance on any single country has become a liability. As research from the fashion and design sector shows, companies are increasingly shifting manufacturing closer to home or diversifying across politically aligned regions.

Even in India, this shift dovetailed neatly with Make in India. As tensions with China intensified, consumer behaviour followed policy. During festive seasons, buying Indian goods became a form of economic self-expression. Handloom, khadi and locally made décor gained renewed relevance, not because they were suddenly trendier, but because they felt safer, more loyal, more rooted.

Similar patterns appear elsewhere. In Europe, sanctions on Russia accelerated interest in locally sourced materials and regional craftsmanship. In the US, trade disputes have nudged brands to highlight domestic manufacturing, even when it raises prices. Clothes now carry geopolitical subtext. Labels signal not just quality or status, but alignment.

Will These Tensions Reshape Where and How We Work?

The labour market may be where Cold War-like dynamics are felt most sharply. In Moscow, tech professionals once integrated into global networks now navigate restricted access to Western platforms and capital. Many have pivoted towards domestic firms or partnerships within Asia. In the US, companies increasingly scrutinise where data, code and talent originate. National security has entered HR policy.

The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 states, “Geoeconomic fragmentation and geopolitical tensions are expected to drive business model transformation in one-third (34%) of surveyed organizations in the next five years."

India offers a telling contrast. After Chinese apps were banned, domestic digital platforms flourished almost overnight. Jobs followed. What began as a restriction created space for local entrepreneurship, investment and hiring. The same pattern is now visible in manufacturing, clean energy and AI services, where geopolitics shapes opportunity as much as innovation does.

According to global employment research from 2025, geopolitical instability ranks among the top factors influencing corporate restructuring. Companies are rethinking remote work not because it failed, but because borders have returned, digitally if not physically. Certain roles are now quietly limited to specific nationalities or regions. Others migrate to politically neutral zones.

Since 2025, these pressures have intensified. From US–China technological decoupling to Russia’s prolonged economic isolation, from India’s recalibration of trade and digital sovereignty to renewed instability in parts of Latin America, geopolitics has slipped into daily life with little ceremony. The consequences are rarely abstract. They show up in what people wear, which apps they use, and where they are able to work.

News explainers In A New Cold War Era, How Battles Are Being Fought Through Social Media, Tariffs, And Tech