Origins of the Cold War An International History - Rewriting Histories

For 45 years, the Cold War was the central factor in world politics. It dominated the foreign policies of the United States and the Soviet Union, and it affected the diplomacy and domestic politics of most other nations. Understanding the origins of the Cold War is central to understanding the international history of the closing half of the 20th century.;Focusing on the international system and on global events, this volume aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the origins and spread of the Cold War. Moving beyond earlier controversies over responsibility for the Cold War, and avoiding preoccupation with Soviet-American relations, the editors have brought together articles that deal with such topics as: geopolitics and threat-perception; technology and strategy; ideology and social reconstruction; national economic reform and patterns of international trade; decolonization and national liberation.;The essays demonstrate how tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union spawned an arms race, polarized domestic and international politics, and split the world into military as well as political blocs.