The Fifty Years War: The United States and the Soviet Union in World Politics, 1941 - 1991

This is an authoritative and comprehensive history of the Fifty Years' war and the relationship that dominated world politics in the second half of the twentieth century. For fifty years relations between the United States and the Soviet Union were deciding factors in international affairs. Available for the first time in paperback, Richard Crockatt's acclaimed book is an examination of this relationship in its global context. It breaks new ground in seeking a synthesis of historical narrative and analysis of the global structures within which superpower relations developed. Attention is given to economic as well as political and military factors. Book Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 4 Contents......Page 5 List of figures......Page 12 Preface and acknowledgements......Page 14 List of abbreviations......Page 18 INTRODUCTION: THE FIFTY YEARS WAR......Page 26 THE AMERICAN AND SOVIET FOREIGN POLICY TRADITIONS......Page 38 INTRODUCTION......Page 60 THE SECOND WORLD WAR AND THE STRUGGLE FOR PEACE, 1941 1946......Page 62 'TWO WAYS OF LIFE': THE COLD WAR IN EUROPE, 1947 1953......Page 87 COLD WAR: THE FAR EASTERN DIMENSION, 1945 1953......Page 112 INTRODUCTION......Page 134 PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE AND IRRECONCILABLE CONFLICT, 1953 1964......Page 137 THE NUCLEAR ARMS RACE, 1945 1963......Page 161 THE UNITED STATES, THE SOVIET UNION AND THE THIRD WORLD, 1953 1963......Page 190 INTRODUCTION......Page 226 DTENTE IN THE MAKING, 1965 1973......Page 230 THE VIETNAM WAR AND THE SUPERPOWER TRIANGLE......Page 258 DTENTE UNDER PRESSURE, 1973 1981......Page 276 INTRODUCTION......Page 324 REAGANISM AND THE SPECTRE OF COMMUNISM......Page 328 GORBACHEV AND THE NEW WORLD DISORDER, 1985 1991......Page 361 CONCLUSION......Page 392 Notes......Page 402 Bibliographical note......Page 404 Bibliography......Page 407 Index......Page 422 For fifty years relations between the United States and the Soviet Union were deciding factors in international affairs. War against Germany brought them together in 1941 in an alliance that was decisive in securing Germany's defeat. Victory ultimately drove them apart, giving rise to the continuous, if fluctuating, antagonism that we know as the Cold war. In 1991, following the collapse of communism and the redrawing of the political map of central Europe, the Soviet Union itself disintegrated and with it the Cold war. Only now is it possible to view these years as a defined period of history. This book is an examination of the US-Soviet relationship within its global context. It breaks new ground in seeking a synthesis of historical narrative and analysis of the global structures within which superpower relations developed. Attention is given to economic as well as political and military factors. This is an authoritative and comprehensive history of the fifty years' war and the relationship that has dominated world politics in the second half of the twentieth century. Arts, Language and Literature Book Cover 1 Title 4 Contents 5 List of figures 12 Preface and acknowledgements 14 List of abbreviations 18 INTRODUCTION: THE FIFTY YEARS WAR 26 THE AMERICAN AND SOVIET FOREIGN POLICY TRADITIONS 38 INTRODUCTION 60 THE SECOND WORLD WAR AND THE STRUGGLE FOR PEACE, 1941 1946 62 'TWO WAYS OF LIFE': THE COLD WAR IN EUROPE, 1947 1953 87 COLD WAR: THE FAR EASTERN DIMENSION, 1945 1953 112 INTRODUCTION 134 PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE AND IRRECONCILABLE CONFLICT, 1953 1964 137 THE NUCLEAR ARMS RACE, 1945 1963 161 THE UNITED STATES, THE SOVIET UNION AND THE THIRD WORLD, 1953 1963 190 INTRODUCTION 226 DTENTE IN THE MAKING, 1965 1973 230 THE VIETNAM WAR AND THE SUPERPOWER TRIANGLE 258 DTENTE UNDER PRESSURE, 1973 1981 276 INTRODUCTION 324 REAGANISM AND THE SPECTRE OF COMMUNISM 328 GORBACHEV AND THE NEW WORLD DISORDER, 1985 1991 361 CONCLUSION 392 Notes 402 Bibliographical note 404 Bibliography 407 Index 422 At last, following the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, it is possible to view the events that have shaped all our lives as a defined period of history - The Fifty Years War. Richard Crockatt provides the first comprehensive and authoritative history of the global politics of the cold war. Uniquely, his perspective is neither that of the USA nor the Soviet Union, but encompasses the goals and fears of each superpower. The Fifty Years War is a monumental achievement, illuminating every twist and turn of the first war to threaten the very survival of humankind. This is an authoritative and comprehensive history of the Cold War and the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union that has dominated world politics in the second half of the twentieth century. Richard Crockatt. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 381-398) And Index.