The thing is, a Cold War (to me at least) wouldn’t feel very Star-Warsy to watch. Maybe as a novel, sure, but espionage and betrayal being the main driving force behind a space action serial for all ages would seem out of place.
I remember on the drive home from the premiere of TFA with my brother, I said to him “I thought it was fucking awesome how after the shit politics scenes driving the prequels, they literally blew up politics in this one!”