Abstract
As an international system, the Cold War was riddled with contradictions. Alliances that seemed to be based on ideological cohesion split apart much more readily than those based on practical interest. Countries that were strongly inimical towards each other joined the same set of alliances, because their fear of the ideological and strategic challenge posed by one of the superpowers was stronger than the fear of their neighbour. And, as with all ideology-based international systems, the role of mavericks and non-conformists was high up on the playbill, simply because they were so visible on stage: in a system based on conformity, it does not take much extra plumage to stand out.1
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Westad, O.A. (2017). The Balkans: A Cold War Mystery. In: Rajak, S., Botsiou, K., Karamouzi, E., Hatzivassiliou, E. (eds) The Balkans in the Cold War. Security, Conflict and Cooperation in the Contemporary World. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-43903-1_16
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-43903-1_16
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Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-43901-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-43903-1
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