Cold War Illusions: America, Europe, and Soviet Power: 1969-1989

1995 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 176
Author(s):  
David C. Hendrickson ◽  
Dana H. Allin
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Soviet Power

Confronting Soviet Power: U.S. Policy during the Early Cold War

2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 151-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul C. Avey
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
The United States ◽  
Soviet Power ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Foreign Policies ◽  
Distribution Of Power

Many self-identified realist, liberal, and constructivist scholars contend that ideology played a critical role in generating and shaping the United States' decision to confront the Soviet Union in the early Cold War. A close look at the history reveals that these ideological arguments fail to explain key aspects of U.S. policy. Contrary to ideological explanations, the United States initially sought to cooperate with the Soviet Union, did not initially pressure communist groups outside the Soviet orbit, and later sought to engage communist groups that promised to undermine Soviet power. The U.S. decision to confront the Soviets stemmed instead from the distribution of power. U.S. policy shifted toward a confrontational approach as the balance of power in Eurasia tilted in favor of the Soviet Union. In addition, U.S. leaders tended to think and act in a manner consistent with balance of power logic. The primacy of power over ideology in U.S. policymaking—given the strong liberal tradition in the United States and the large differences between U.S. and Soviet ideology—suggests that relative power concerns are the most important factors in generating and shaping confrontational foreign policies.

Cold War Illusions: America, Europe, and Soviet Power, 1969-1989.

1999 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
pp. 1679
Author(s):  
Randall Bennett Woods ◽  
Dana H. Allin
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Soviet Power

8. The final phase, 1980–90

2021 ◽  
pp. 140-164
Author(s):  
Robert J. McMahon
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Communist Party ◽  
Arms Control ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Soviet Power ◽  
Berlin Wall ◽  
Final Phase ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
General Secretary

‘The final phase, 1980–90’ recounts how the late 1980s witnessed the most momentous changes in the overall structure of world politics since the 1940s. Why did the Cold War end when it did? How does one make sense of a decade that opens with a rapidly intensifying Cold War and closes with a historic Soviet–American rapprochement, unprecedented arms control agreements, the withdrawal of Soviet power from Eastern Europe, Afghanistan, and elsewhere, and the peaceful reunification of Germany? These questions can be looked at by examining the Cold War’s final phase, including Mikhail S. Gorbachev’s accession as the general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party and the demolition of the Berlin Wall.

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