How the Cold War Ended: Debating and Doing HistoryPotomac Books, Inc., 2011 - 320 pages The Cold War continues to shape international relations almost twenty years after being acknowledged as the central event of the last half of the twentieth century. Interpretations of how it ended thus remain crucial to an accurate understanding of global events and foreign policy. The reasons for the Cold War s conclusion, and the timing of its ending, are disputed to this day. In this concise introduction to the Cold War and its enduring legacy, John Prados recognizes the debate between those who argue the United States was the key player in bringing it to a close and those who maintain that American actions were secondary factors. Like a crime scene investigator meticulously dissecting evidence, he applies a succession of different methods of historical analysis to illuminate the key cataclysmic events of the 1980s and early 1990s from a range of perspectives. He also incorporates evidence from European and Soviet intelligence sources into the study. The result is a stunning narrative that redefines the era, embraces debate, and deconstructs history, providing a coherent explanation for the upheavals that ended the conflict. "How the Cold War Ended" also provides an in-depth guide to conducting historical inquiries: how to choose a subject, how to frame a narrative, and how to conduct research and draw conclusions. Prados does this for a variety of methods of historical analysis, furnishing a how-to guide for doing history even as it explores a crucial case study." |
Contents
Institutions Operators | |
Economics | |
The Shadow Cold | |
9 | |
How the Cold War Ended | |
APPENDIX OF DOCUMENTS | |
Impact of Credit Restrictions on Soviet Trade | |
National Security Decision Directive 66 East | |
The Political Processes in the European Socialist | |
November 9 1989 | |
February 1983 | |
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Able Archer action Afghan Afghanistan agreement allies American analysis Andropov Archive arms control became began Berlin Brezhnev Bush Carter Casey Chernobyl Chernyaev Cold War Cold War ended Communist Party conflict countries CPSU crisis decade defense deployment dissidents East Germany East-Central Europe Eastern Europe economic efforts Euromissiles European factors forces foreign policy George H. W. Bush glasnost hard-liners Helmut Kohl historian human rights Hungary important institutions issues leadership Ligachev Mikhail Gorbachev Minister missiles Moscow National Security NATO negotiations nuclear weapons officials percent perestroika periphery Poland policy entrepreneurs Polish Politburo political President Reagan Press problems Reagan administration reform republics Reykjavik role Ronald Reagan Russian Secretary Shevardnadze socialist Solidarity sources Soviet collapse Soviet economy Soviet leader Soviet military Soviet Union strategic summit superpower Thatcher treaty triumphalist troops U.S. intelligence United USSR Walesa Warsaw Pact Washington West Western York