Description
Book SynopsisWhat makes for war or for a stable international system? Are there general principles that should govern foreign policy? This title explores how historical work can throw light on these questions. It deals with specific problems - with such matters as nuclear strategy and US-European relations.
Trade Review"[A] stimulating reconsideration of some of the central and already much-studied issues of the Cold War... Trachtenberg argues his case thoughtfully and interestingly. Contentious in parts, stimulating throughout, this is a book for historians and international relations scholars, especially those interested in each other's endeavours, and for a wider academic readership, too."--Roger Morgan, Times Higher Education "Trachtenberg provides a fresh analysis of the United States and Eastern Europe and the question of Soviet motivations and intentions in 1945. It is familiar territory to diplomatic historians and yet the insights and the repositioning that are made possible through the methodology are fascinating."--David Ryan, International Affairs "The Cold War and After ... will be a particularly valuable asset for (post)graduate students, although established IR scholars will also benefit. For those occupying the broad center of international studies, this book is a master class in historical and qualitative methods."--Peter Harris, Political Studies Review "Trachtenberg's often provocative conclusions make The Cold War and After ... an important book. Any scholar interested in the latest approach to the history of the Cold War would do well to read it."--Russel Lemmons, Historian
Table of ContentsPreface vii Part I: Theory 1 Chapter One: The Question of Realism: An Historian's View 3 Chapter Two: The Problem of International Order and How to Think about It 44 Part II: History 67 Chapter Three: The United States and Eastern Europe in 1945: A Reassessment 69 Chapter Four: America, Europe, and German Rearmament, August-September 1950: A Critique of a Myth 110 Chapter Five: The Making of the Western Defense System: France, the United States, and MC 48 142 Chapter Six: The Structure of Great Power Politics, 1963-75 154 Chapter Seven: The French Factor in U.S. Foreign Policy during the Nixon-Pompidou Period 183 Part III: Policy 245 Chapter Eight: Preventive War and U.S. Foreign Policy 247 Chapter Nine: The Iraq Crisis and the Future of the Western Alliance 281 Index 313
