Understanding the Cold War

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xvi

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Elspeth O’Riordan

   Pages 1-13

3. Early Cold War: Origins and Development

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 15-15

      PDF

   2. Historical Background: World War II and Tensions in the Wartime Alliance

      • Elspeth O’Riordan

      Pages 17-35

   3. The Origins of the Cold War in Europe: From World War II to the Berlin Blockade

      • Elspeth O’Riordan

      Pages 37-53

   4. Studying the Cold War: Core Themes and Concepts—Is There a New International History of the Cold War?

      • Elspeth O’Riordan

      Pages 55-79

   5. The Early Development of the Cold War in Europe: The Division of Germany, the Formation of NATO and European Integration

      • Elspeth O’Riordan

      Pages 81-96

   6. The Origins of the Cold War in East Asia: The Emergence of Communist China, Japan and the Korean War

      • Elspeth O’Riordan

      Pages 97-122

4. Mid-Cold War: The Widening Contest

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 123-123

      PDF

   2. The Superpowers and the Cold War in the 1950s

      • Elspeth O’Riordan

      Pages 125-146

   3. Crises, 1958–1962

      • Elspeth O’Riordan

      Pages 147-172

   4. The Vietnam War

      • Elspeth O’Riordan

      Pages 173-202

   5. The Cold War and the Third World: Latin America

      • Elspeth O’Riordan

      Pages 203-235

   6. The Middle East and the Cold War

      • Elspeth O’Riordan

      Pages 237-264

   7. Waging the Cold War

      • Elspeth O’Riordan

      Pages 265-294

5. Late Cold War: Détente and the Final Years

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 295-295

      PDF

   2. Détente

      • Elspeth O’Riordan

      Pages 297-324

   3. The Travails of Détente

      • Elspeth O’Riordan

      Pages 325-346

   4. Beyond Geopolitics: Economics, Culture and the Transnational Cold War

      • Elspeth O’Riordan

      Pages 347-385

   5. The Superpowers and the End of the Cold War

      • Elspeth O’Riordan

      Pages 387-415

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. 

 

• Cold War
• Historiography
• Conflict studies
• Superpower
• Ideology
• Global history
• Russian history
• US history
• Post-1945

“Written in engaging prose and armed with a thorough grounding in the literature, Elspeth O’Riordan’s book provides a clear but sophisticated overview of the nature and meaning of the Cold War. Drawing on the latest scholarship, this volume introduces the reader to the major events while at the same time skilfully critiquing the ‘global turn’ in Cold War scholarship and stressing the need to remember the centrality of Europe to the conflict’s origins, course and conclusion. It also assesses the contribution of international relations theories to our understanding of these years of confrontation, and the way in which the conflict, in turn, shaped the evolution of the social sciences and influenced modern culture. Students will benefit greatly from this intelligent and perceptive introduction to the present state of play, which both summarises and interprets the key recent developments in a restless, ever-changing field.” (Antony Best, Professor of International History, London School of Economics)

“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)

• Defence Studies Department, King's College London, London, UK

  Elspeth O'Riordan

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).