General Introduction

Abstract

The Cold War has been defined as a state of extreme tension between the superpowers, stopping short of all-out war but characterised by mutual hostility and involvement in covert warfare and war by proxy as a means of upholding the interests of one against the other. The Cold War remained ‘cold’ because the development of nuclear weapons had made resort to war a suicidal enterprise: both sides would be totally devastated by such an eventuality. The struggle between the two sides has accordingly been carried out by indirect means, very often at considerable risk, and the resulting tensions have ensured that both sides have maintained a high and continuous state of readiness for war. The massive expenditures by both sides on research and development of nuclear arsenals and delivery vehicles has led to a spiralling arms race which could, in turn, as a result of miscalculation by one side or the other, have led to a holocaust. There is a huge bibliography seeking to interpret and explain the origins and development of the ‘Cold War’. Inevitably these interpretations have changed in response to the influence of contemporary developments on the writers.