Description
Book SynopsisThis work examines the Iranian Crisis of 1946 and its active role in shaping the Cold War that followed. It is intended to serve as a case study of how the United States was able to successfully flex its short-lived atomic monopoly and achieve its international objectives in the early postwar era. This writing engages with the robust academic field of U.S. foreign relations that over the past number of years revisited and reimagined the origins and driving forces of the Cold War. The Soviet Union's violation of a troop withdrawal agreement at the conclusion of the Second World War, coupled with its active support of Kurdish and Azeri separatist movements, aggressively tested the new and evolving international order. The primary objective of this work is to understand how the international community achieved a relatively peaceful withdrawal of Soviet forces from Iranian territory. I contend that: 1) Iran possessed, due to its wartime role and latent economic potential, a degree of lever
Trade ReviewIn The Iranian Crisis and the Birth of the Cold War: The Bridge to Victory, Benjamin F. Harper ably illuminates an understudied but important topic. Aided by a wealth of primary sources, Harper rightly incorporates Iran’s perspective into this history and thereby demonstrates that Iranian leaders played a pivotal role in extricating themselves from the grip of the Soviet Union. This well-written book should be of interest to scholars in several fields. -- Michael Creswell, Florida State University
Table of ContentsChapter 1: Setting the Stage Chapter 2: The Saber and the Star: The US Presence in Iran, 1942–46 Chapter 3: Iranian Plurality and the Reemergence of Ahmad Qavām Chapter 4: Crisis Ensues: Atomic Diplomacy and Qavām's Cold War Chapter 5: A New World Order: The Iranian Crisis and the Legitimacy of the United Nations Conclusion: On Statesmanship and Power
