Interpreting COLD WAR Origins
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Was the Cold War Necessary? the Revisionist Challenge to Consensus History Norman M
was the cold war necessary? the revisionist challenge to consensus history norman m. wilensky Nearly ten years ago, seventy-five distinguished students of American history participated in a poll measuring the performance of thirty-one presidents from George Washington to Dwight Eisenhower. Each par ticipant in the poll helped to place the presidents into five general categories: "Great/' "Near Great," "Average," "Below Average," and "Failure." One of the surprise rankings was the "Near Great" mark accorded to Harry Truman, ninth on the list. Only the five "Great" presidents—Lincoln, Washington, Franklin Roosevelt, Wilson and Jeffer son—and three "Near Great" executives—Jackson, Theodore Roosevelt and Polk—preceded Truman. John Adams and Grover Cleveland, who immediately followed Truman, completed the "Near Great" group. What qualities and achievements elevated Truman above many other presidents? He was, according to these historians, a strong executive who acted masterfully and farsightedly in foreign affairs. Summarizing the poll for his fellow historians, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Sr. noted that Tru man "discharged impressively the awesome obligations devolving on the United States as the leader of the free world in the cold war with Soviet Imperialism." The Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, the Berlin airlift, the Point Four program and the intervention in Korea "all con stituted landmarks in an assumption of global responsibilities undreamed of only a few years before." Yet, less than a decade after the poll, this estimate is being dramatically challenged by historians of the cold war.1 A recent book sharply critical of cold war policies as well as Truman's role is Rexford G. -
The Wars of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries and America’S Rise to Power
The Wars of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries and America’s Rise to Power VOLKER DEPKAT Explanations for the United States’ rise to power in the eighteenth and nine- teenth centuries are manifold.1 Some draw on the unique geographical circum- stances that endowed the country with abundant natural resources and pro- tected it from foreign threats by two oceans serving as effective natural barriers. Complementing this favorable geographical situation was the fact that the United States did not have a powerful neighbor. The combination of geography and geostrategy allowed the United States to expand over the continent and gradually develop into a great power.2 A second grand narrative of American foreign policy sees the liberal and democratic values of the »American Creed«3 as the ideological driving force behind America’s rise to power. According to this interpretation, America’s foreign policy was thoroughly idealistic from its inception. The United States was an essentially peaceful country with strong anti-colonial and anti-imperi- alist traditions and became involved in foreign affairs only to promote demo- cratic and liberal values on behalf of mankind. A sense of mission designed to build the »Empire of Liberty« merged with a notion of the United States as a »Beacon of Liberty.« In its pursuit of foreign policy, the United States aimed at reforming the world by creating an international environment supportive of natural rights, liberalism, and democracy.4 1 Michael J. Hogan and Thomas G. Paterson, eds., Explaining the History of American Foreign Relations (2nd ed., Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004); Walter LaFeber, The Amer- ican Age: United States Foreign Policy at Home and Abroad since 1750 (2nd ed., New York: Norton, 1994); Michael J. -
Racing the Enemy Roundtable, Alperovitz on Hasegawa -1
H-Diplo Roundtable- Racing the Enemy Roundtable , Alperovitz on Hasegawa Tsuyoshi Hasegawa, Racing the Enemy: Stalin, Truman, and the Surrender of Japan (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2005) Roundtable Editor: Thomas Maddux , CSU Northridge Roundtable Participants: Michael D. Gordin, Gar Alperovitz, Richard Frank, Barton Bernstein, David Holloway Commentary by Gar Alperovitz, University of Maryland, College Park Tsuyoshi Hasegawa’s new book Racing the Enemy is subtitled “Stalin, Truman and the Surrender of Japan,” and the author clearly believes a central contribution to be the emphasis he gives to the concept of a “race” between Truman and Stalin as World War II in the Pacific drew to a close. Hasegawa does offer important new insights in connection with this issue, much of which will be of particular interest to specialists (especially information drawn from Soviet materials). However, by far the most important contribution of the book has to do with our understanding of a related but different matter-namely, how, precisely, Japan came to surrender, and what the critical factors were which led to the final decision. Non-specialists are not always aware of the difficulties which have faced historians concerned with this question. For almost half a century after World War II American scholars have been seriously handicapped by their lack of Japanese language skills and by the paucity of Japanese documents. Robert Butow’s 1954 book Japan’s Decision to Surrender was the primary and often only source of basic information on Japanese decision-making. In recent years this has begun to change. Herbert Bix, a researcher with language sophistication and knowledge of modern Japanese scholarship, offered his analysis in his 2000 Pulitzer Prize-winning Hirohito . -
NATO Expansion: Benefits and Consequences
University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 2001 NATO expansion: Benefits and consequences Jeffrey William Christiansen The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Christiansen, Jeffrey William, "NATO expansion: Benefits and consequences" (2001). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 8802. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/8802 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ■rr - Maween and Mike MANSFIELD LIBRARY The University of M ontana Permission is granted by the author to reproduce this material in its entirety, provided that this material is used for scholarly purposes and is properly cited in published works and reports. **Please check "Yes" or "No" and provide signature** Yes, I grant permission X No, I do not grant permission ________ Author's Signature; Date:__ ^ ^ 0 / Any copying for commercial purposes or financial gain may be undertaken only with the author's explicit consent. MSThe»i9\M«r«f»eld Library Permission Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. NATO EXPANSION: BENEFITS AND CONSEQUENCES by Jeffrey William Christiansen B.A. University of Montana, 2000 presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts The University of Montana 2001 Approved by: hairpers Dean, Graduate School 7 - 24- 0 ^ Date Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. -
A New Historiography of the Origins of the Cold War
SOSHUM Jurnal Sosial dan Humaniora [Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities] Volume 9, Number 2, 2019 p-ISSN. 2088-2262 e-ISSN. 2580-5622 ojs.pnb.ac.id/index.php/SOSHUM/ A New Historiography of the Origins of the Cold War Adewunmi J. Falode 1 and Moses J. Yakubu 2 1 Department of History & International Studies, Lagos State University, Nigeria 2 Department of History & International Studies, University of Benin, Edo, Nigeria Lasu, Ojo Campus Ojo Local Government, 102101, Lagos, Nigeria E-mail: [email protected] Article Info ABSTRACT ________________ ___________________________________________________________________ History Articles The Cold War that occurred between 1945 and 1991 was both an Received: international political and historical event. As an international political event, Jan 2019 the Cold War laid bare the fissures, animosities, mistrusts, misconceptions Accepted: June 2019 and the high-stakes brinksmanship that has been part of the international Published: political system since the birth of the modern nation-state in 1648. As a July 2019 historical event, the Cold War and its end marked an important epoch in ________________ human social, economic and political development. The beginning of the Keywords: Cold War marked the introduction of a new form of social and political Cold War, Historiography, experiment in human relations with the international arena as its laboratory. Structuralist School, Its end signalled the end of a potent social and political force that is still Revisionist School, st Orthodox School shaping the course of the political relations among states in the 21 century. ____________________ The historiography of the Cold War has been shrouded in controversy. -
PS 471/571 American Foreign Policy I Prof. Frank Wayman
P.S. 471/571 American Foreign Policy I Prof. Frank Wayman Fall Term 2010, TTh 11:30-12:45 PM Office: 2164 SSB 1195 SSB Bldg. 593-5226, or 593-5096 for messages e-mail: [email protected] Office Hrs: TTh 12:50-1:45, 5:50-6:10 URL: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~fwayman [100810] COURSE CONTENT: This course is the first semester of a survey of American foreign policy. The first semester provides a general overview, with some brief attention on events even up to the present, but with primary attention on the earlier period, i.e., pre-1990. This means a concern with (1) the Western Hemisphere, and (2) the relationship among the major powers, especially the Western major powers, such as France and Britain, and the two major powers in the communist and post-communist world, namely China and Russia. This syllabus represents a full description of PS 471, but those taking graduate credit (PS 571) will need to meet with me personally about the further requirements for taking the course for graduate credit. Basically, graduate students will be responsible for the work in this syllabus, plus a substantial research paper focusing on U.S. interventions, wars, and militarized inter-state disputes. For graduate credit, 25% of the course grade will be based on each exam, and 25% will be based on the paper. Term papers are due Dec. 5th. The Content of Our Course : Topics in PS 471/571 include the emergence of the U.S. as a great power (including the role of Teddy Roosevelt in the era of the Spanish American war); U.S. -
Bibliography
Bibliography [I] Dean Acheson, Present at the Creation: nry Years in the State Department (New York, 1969). An elegantly written account by Truman's last Secretary of State, who was the chief architect of containment. [2] G.M. Alexander, The Prelude to the Truman Doctrine: British Policy in Greece 1944-1947 (Oxford, 1982). The Truman Doctrine was the first overt expression ofAmerican support for Western security. This book examines the background of Britain's intervention in the Greek civil war. [3] Richard A. Asiano, American Defense Policy from Eisenhower to Kennedy: the Politics of Changing Military Requirements (Ohio, 1975). A comprehensive account ofthe vicissitudes ofAmerican defence policy from Sputnik to the presidential election of John F. Kennedy. [4] Gar Alperovitz, Atomic Diplomacy: Hiroshima and Potsdam (New York, 1965). A 'New Left' historian who believes that the atomic bomb was intended as much to blackmail the Soviet Union into making concessions as to serve as an instrument to defeat Japan. [5] Stephen E. Ambrose, Rise to Globalism: American Foreign Policy 193~1970 (Baltimore, 1970). A useful textbook by one of the leading historians of the Cold War. [6] Stephen E. Ambrose, Eisenhower: the President 1952-1969, vol. II (London, 1984). An account ofEisenhower's internal and foreign policy based on his letters and papers. This is a sympathetic approach to the President's achievements. [7] Stephen E. Ambrose, Nixon: 1913-1962 (New York, 1982). The first volume of a biography of Richard M. Nixon dealing with his earlier years as US Senator and Vice-President of the USA. It tries hard to be objective and to show that Nixon was not as black as he was painted by his contemporaries. -
If You Don't Like Capitalism & You Don't Like Socialism... What Do You Want?
Gar AlperovitzALPEROVITZ AND DUBB: IF YOU DON’T LIKE CAPITALISM, AND YOU DON’T LIKE SOCIALISM, WHAT DO YOU WANT? and Steve Dubb If you don’t like capitalism & you don’t like socialism... what do you want? THE POSSIBILITY OF A PLURALIST COMMONWEALTH AND A COMMUNITY-SUSTAINING ECONOMY It is increasingly obvious that the United For the most part, serious scholars and ac- States faces systemic problems. When protestors tivists have addressed the possibility of progres- occupy Wall Street and Ben Bernacke, the Chair- sive change in capitalist systems from one of two man of the Federal Reserve, not only responds to perspectives: The “reform” tradition assumes that the protestors, but actually casts the actions of the corporate institutions remain central to the design protestors in a favorable light, it is clear these are and structure of the system and that “politics” in not ordinary times: Testifying to the Joint Economic support of various “policies” (e.g. taxation, spend- Committee of Congress, Bernanke observed that ing, incentives, regulation) will contain, modify and [OLWYV[LZ[VYZ¸ISHTL^P[OZVTLQ\Z[PÄJH[PVU[OL WYVISLTZPU[OLÄUHUJPHSZLJ[VYMVYNL[[PUN\ZPU[V This paper has been prepared by the Democracy Col- [OPZTLZZHUK[OL`»YLKPZZH[PZÄLK^P[O[OLWVSPJ` laborative at the invitation of the organizing committee response here in Washington. And at some level, I for the American Sociological Association’s 2012 annual meeting. The meeting’s theme is “Real Utopias”: can’t blame them.”1 Income and wealth disparities have become The goal is to elaborate utopian ideals that are severe and corrosive of democratic possibilities. -
The Evolving Interpretations of the Origins of the Cold War
Háskóli Íslands Hugvísindasvið Rússneska The Evolving Interpretations of the Origins of the Cold War Have Historians Reached a Consensus on the Origins of the Cold War? Ritgerð til B.A. prófs Saga Helgason Morris Kt.: 011097-3329 Leiðbeinandi: Jón Ólafsson 1 Abstract The Cold War and its origins have been a constant source of debate among historians and quite rightly so. With no access to Soviet archives until 1991 and the outcome of the hostilities unknown, historians were left to draw their own conclusions from official documents and published propaganda. Hence, as with any historical event, interpretations have changed over time. In this paper, I set out to explore whether assessments have shifted to a degree whereby historians today have come together in their understanding of the origins of the Cold War. In order to answer this question, an investigation is required to explore how and why these historical perspectives have changed. First, the two traditional viewpoints of the Cold War are discussed, namely the orthodox and revisionist interpretations. The orthodox view places responsibility on the USSR for the development of the Cold War whereas the revisionist view argues that the hostilities developed as a result of reacting to one another’s actions. Subsequently, the viewpoints of a selected group of post-Cold War historians are explored. Gaddis argues that hostilities between the United States and Soviet Union had their roots in the nations’ different perceptions of security. Zubok and Pleshakov maintain that Stalin’s character and diplomatic actions were of particular importance in the onset of the Cold War. -
SPECIAL ISSUE the Collapse of the Soviet Union
IntroductionKramer SPECIAL ISSUE The Collapse of the Soviet Union (Part 2) Introduction Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/jcws/article-pdf/5/4/3/700378/152039703322483747.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 ✣ The four articles in this special issue look at some of the major in- ternal and external factors that helped precipitate the breakup of the Soviet Union. These articles should be read in conjunction with the four that ap- peared in our ªrst special issue on the collapse of the USSR, published in Vol- ume 5, No. 1 (Winter 2003). Our ªnal special issue on this topic, to be pub- lished in Volume 6, No. 3 (Summer 2004), will deal with domestic political and economic trends that destabilized the Soviet regime and contributed to the demise of the Soviet state. The Social Context The ªrst article in the current issue, by Walter Connor, discusses the social context of the dramatic events in the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev. In the 1960s a number of Western scholars, inºuenced by the burgeoning lit- erature on “modernization,” argued that long-term changes in Soviet soci- ety—increased literacy and education levels, industrialization, increased ur- banization, greater occupational differentiation, generational change, the advent of modern communications, and other such trends—were mitigating the Soviet regime’s ability to exercise tight political and economic control.1 Al- 1. See, for example, the essays collected in Zbigniew Brzezinski, ed., Dilemmas of Change in Soviet Pol- itics (New York: Columbia University Press, 1969). A related theme is developed by Richard Lowenthal, “Development versus Utopia in Communist Policy,” in Chalmers Johnson, ed., Change in Communist Systems (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1970), pp. -
Dean, Jonathan
The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training Foreign Affairs Oral History Project AMBASSADOR JONATHAN DEAN Interviewed by: Charles Stuart Kennedy Initial interview date: July 8, 1997 Copyright 2 ADST TABLE OF CONTENTS Background Born in Ne York City; raised in Darien, Connecticut Harvard College and Columbia University Canadian and U.S. Army, )orld )ar II Limburg, ,ermany - .reis Resident Officer 1121-1131 U.S. Land Commission ,erman democrati4ation Duties Environment Death threat Neo-Na4is Bonn, ,ermany - Political Officer 1132-1137 Environment Attitude of ,ermans 8ohn Paton Davies Liaison House Escort duties Bundestag ,ehlen organi4ation ,erman rearmament East Berlin uprising - 1133 ,ermany and NATO London and Paris Treaties Adenauer Political parties French policies ,erman-French relations Russia factor Cohn and Shine McCarthy atmosphere CIA system ,erman refugees East ,ermany recognition issue A neutral ,ermany issue State Department - East ,erman Desk Officer 1137-1170 Sue4 and Hungary issues Po ers U-2 aircraft issue Open skies proposal )arsa Pact system Soviet military intervention Eleanor Dulles Chief 8ustice Earl )arren —Live Oak“ contingency plans Soviet-East ,ermany peace threat East ,erman-Soviet relations Hallstein Doctrine Berlin )all CIA Congressional interests Foreign Service Institute - C4ech Language Training 1170-1171 Prague, C4echoslovakia - Political and Economic Officer 1171-1172 Police state Environment Relations ith government Embassy invaded Ambassador Ravndal Travel Surveillance )alk-ins PN, insurance -
THE NEXT SYSTEM a MAHB Dialogue with Political Economist Gar Alperovitz
THE NEXT SYSTEM A MAHB Dialogue with Political Economist Gar Alperovitz Sharing our world | Image courtesy of the author ‘The reconstruction of the nation’s underlying political-economy—away from corporate domination, towards democracy and community rebuilt from the bottom up—is itself an important condition of a fundamental change ’ … Gar Alperovitz Geoffrey Holland - Why is it important, at this time in history, to critically examine the social, economic and political structures that have shaped the human civilization that we know? Gar Alperovitz - I would start by saying we are facing what is best described as a systemic crisis, not simply a political crisis. By that, I mean that the long trends that are evident in the environment, climate change, income distribution, wealth distribution, and democratic participation and racial issues, have been going south for thirty or forty years. If the long trends either don’t move or decay, [then] you’re not simply talking about a political problem, you’re talking about something that is anchored much more deeply in the deep structures of the system that we call corporate capitalism, or for that matter, state socialism, but in our case, corporate capitalism. If that’s the case – and I used to work heavily in politics, running House and Senate staffs at one point – then you must go to what are the institutional drivers of the big trends that resist any change from normal politics. The most obvious one that most people understand in the United States is the radical decline of labor unions, which politically counter-balanced corporations.