Overview
- Provides an advanced introduction to the Cold War
- Discusses the evolution of scholarly debate around the Cold War
- Recognizes the interdisciplinary character of today’s Cold War
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Table of contents (17 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Early Cold War: Origins and Development
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Front Matter
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Mid-Cold War: The Widening Contest
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Front Matter
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Late Cold War: Détente and the Final Years
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Front Matter
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Keywords
About this book
This book provides an advanced introduction to the Cold War, assessing its origins, development and conclusion as a dynamic interaction between superpower confrontation and complex regional and local situations. The evolution of the subject’s scholarly debate is discussed throughout and the contest situated alongside enduring historical themes including decolonisation, development, nationalism and globalisation. Regional case studies, on Europe, East and Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, illuminate the Cold War’s global reach. Thematic analysis considers competition in military, strategic and economic spheres, as well as in aspects of culture, ideology, society, and Human Rights. The Cold War’s transnational elements and facets of international cooperation are also highlighted. The book unpacks the subject’s extensive scholarly discourse, underlining the interdisciplinary character of today’s Cold War historiography and the importance of understanding that its development has been informed by a vibrant interface between international history, international relations and the Cold War itself.
Reviews
“This book is an invaluable addition to literature on both the Cold War and the international history of the twentieth century. Elspeth O’Riordan has produced a thoughtful and penetrating analysis of the burgeoning historiography of the Cold War that readers will find lively and accessible. O’Riordan does full justice to the rich interdisciplinary character of Cold War scholarship as well as the impact of new theoretical and methodological approaches in the disciplines of history and international relations. This book will be a welcome addition to university readings lists for both undergraduate and postgraduate courses. It will also reward the general reader interested in better understanding the nature of the Cold War.” (Peter Jackson, Professor of Global Security at the University of Glasgow and Director of the Scottish Council on Global Affairs, UK)
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Elspeth O’Riordan is a Visiting Lecturer in the Defence Studies Department at King’s College London, in the UK. She studied at the London School of Economics and has held lectureships at the Universities of St Andrews and Dundee in Scotland. Her research focuses on twentieth-century British and international history. She has published widely on British foreign policy in the interwar and post-war periods, including the book, Britain and the Ruhr Crisis (Palgrave Macmillan, 2001).
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Understanding the Cold War
Book Subtitle: History, Approaches and Debates
Authors: Elspeth O'Riordan
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06075-5
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: History, History (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-031-06074-8Published: 13 October 2022
eBook ISBN: 978-3-031-06075-5Published: 29 September 2022
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XVI, 511
Number of Illustrations: 1 b/w illustrations
Topics: Modern History, World History, Global and Transnational History, Political History