D Tente After Brezhnev

This book presents pieces of evidence, which ? taken together ? lead to an argument that goes against the grain of the established Cold War narrative. The argument is that a ?long d‚tente? existed between East and West from the 1950s to the 1980s, that it existed and lasted for good (economic, national security, societal) reasons, and that it had a profound impact on the outcome of the conflict between East and West and the quintessentially peaceful framework in which this ?endgame? was played. New, Euro-centered narratives are offered, including both West and East European perspectives. These contributions point to critical inconsistencies and inherent problems in the traditional U.S. dominated narrative of the ?Victory in the Cold War.? The argument of a ?long d‚tente? does not need to replace the ruling American narrative. Rather, it can and needs to be augmented with European experiences and perceptions. After all, it was Europe ? its peoples, societies, and states ? that stood both at the ideological and military frontline of the conflict between East and West, and it was here that the struggle between liberalism and communism was eventually decided.

Using new archival sources--including previously secret documents of the East German secret police and Communist Party--M. E. Sarotte goes behind the scenes of Cold War Germany during the era of detente, as East and West tried negotiation instead of confrontation to settle their differences. In Dealing with the Devil, she explores the motives of the German Democratic Republic and its Soviet backers in responding to both the detente initiatives, or Ostpolitik, of West Germany and the foreign policy of the United States under President Nixon. Sarotte focuses on both public and secret contacts between the two halves of the German nation during Brandt's chancellorship, exposing the cynical artifices constructed by negotiators on both sides. Her analysis also details much of the superpower maneuvering in the era of detente, since German concerns were ever present in the minds of leaders in Washington and Moscow, and reveals the startling degree to which concern over China shaped European politics during this time. More generally, Dealing with the Devil presents an illuminating case study of how the relationship between center and periphery functioned in the Cold War Soviet empire.

This detailed and scholarly history, based on contemporary and original sources, explains the fall of Soviet Communism by bringing into focus the process of revolution from above. It finds as its cause Gorbachev's relentless political struggle to raise himself above the collective leadership which brought him to power. Gorbachev's Revolution, 1985-91 examines: · the impact of the SDI and other US arms programmes of the early 1980s which provided a stimulus for both Gorbachev's domestic reforms and his arms control initiatives · Perestroika, originally intended to show the world that a new Soviet foreign policy was based on real changes in Soviet society, however, Gorbachev launched its most radical measures in order to get an edge on his Politburo critics · Glasnost, originally meant to be a strictly controlled process furnishing an argument for piecemeal economic reforms This multi-faceted volume provides a wide-ranging and revisionist analysis of this fascinating and influential period in Soviet and international history.

Were there any missed chances to build a more peaceful world than the present one after the Cold War? Were there any attempts at working out a more comprehensive and more cooperative way to overcome it? What was precisely at stake during the Cold War? What was really at stake for the 'losers' and what stakes did the 'winners' gain —- if there are any 'winners' at all? Those questions were raised during a seminar where some outstanding scholars were invited to discuss them plainly before an audience of young students in an ancient, yet 'peripheral' Italian university. The result may be seen as a readable concentration of basic and meaningful insights that often defy a noticeable amount of conventional wisdom on the ground of careful and authoritative scholarly research.