Myths of the Cold War (eBook)

Amending Historiographic Distortions

Albert L. Weeks (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2014
154 Seiten
Lexington Books (Verlag)
978-0-7391-8970-2 (ISBN)

Infos

In this book, Albert L. Weeks provides a lucid analysis of the Cold War as he dispels the myths that have made their way into contemporary historiography on the topic, while using the conflict as a lens through which to view contemporary crises, such as Russia’s recent intervention in Ukraine.

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Myths of the Cold War: Amending Historiographic Distortions provides a corrective for the distortions and omissions of many previous domestic and foreign (including Russian) studies of the Cold War, especially those published since 2000. The "e;present interest"e; motivation in Weeks's analysis is gaining a clear understanding of the bi-polar, $4 trillion, nuclear-war-threatening standoff that lasted over 40 years after World War II until the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991.Without such knowledge and understanding of this dangerous conflict, any future encounter of the cold-war type with another nation-state is liable to be construed in confusing ways just as the U.S.-Soviet Cold War was. The consequence of such misunderstanding in the historiographic sense as well as in policy-making at the highest level is that the populations of the contending powers will have distorted conceptions of the reasons for the confrontation. The result of this, in turn, is skewed tendentiousness that masks concrete, underlying causes of intense inter-state contention.Practical benefits thus flow from an unprejudiced analysis of the past Cold War with Communist Russia. This understanding can help prevent a future conflict, such as one with Communist China, which some reputed sinologists are currently predicting, as well as one with post-Soviet Russia. Conversely, if a new cold war is imposed on the West, a clearer understanding of the post-World War II archetypical Cold War will be edifying.

Autor

Albert L. Weeks served in the U.S. Department of State as senior Soviet analyst during the Cold War and is the author of several books on international affairs.

Inhalt

CHAPTER 2 Cold War BasicsLooming Cold War, 1943-1946Cold War CalendarA "New" Postwar Stalin?Ideology and the Cold WarThe Realist ViewTraditionalist ViewSoviet Diplomatic "Warfare"Stalin's Empty ArgumentMoscow's Post-Soviet Attempts at UnitySoviet Doctrine of ExpansionFinlandUkraineOther Borderland CountriesSpecial Cases of the Baltic States and PolandExpansion if the Far EastAmerican ReactionPrewar, Wartime, Postwar Soviet ExpansionSoviet Expansion, 1940-1946Expansionism of 1939 to June 1941Resistance to Further ExpansionThe Roosevelt Factor Stalin's "World" vs. Western ProjectionClashes Between "Civilizations"Post-Soviet TextbooksOther Post-Soviet BooksChina Cold War CaseAvoiding old WarsPreventive MeasuresHow "Marxist" Is China?Conclusions 1946 APPENDIX III Andrei A. Zhdanov on "Two-World Struggle"

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 2.7.2014
• Zusatzinfo: 5 Illustrations including: - 3 Black & White Illustrations; - 2 Tables.
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Geschichte / Politik ► 20. Jahrhundert bis 1945
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
• Themenwelt: Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Militärgeschichte
• Schlagworte: Cold War • Cold Wars • Origin of "Cold War" • Sino-U.S. Cold War • U.S.- Soviet Cold War
• ISBN-10: 0-7391-8970-0 / 0739189700
• ISBN-13: 978-0-7391-8970-2 / 9780739189702