The Soviet Union and Cold War Neutrality and Nonalignment in Europe

(Hardback)

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The Soviet Union and Cold War Neutrality and Nonalignment in Europe examines neutral countries in Europe at a time when most contemporaries had little faith in neutrality. During the split between Western and Eastern blocs, several long-time neutral countries abandoned the policy of neutrality and joined NATO. Other countries which remained neutral were perceived as a threat to the Soviet Unions sphere of influence. Based on extensive archival research, this volume offers state-of-the-art research about the relations between Europes neutral states and the Soviet Union during the Cold War and how these relations were perceived by other powers.

Reviews

[The] book absolutely delivers on its promise to provide a polycentric perspective on neutrality in Cold War Europe. It is going to be the first book to which to point students and scholars who are seeking a comprehensive history of the concept. In that context, I would be remiss not to mention the stellar bibliography of further reading, which lists not just the most important works on the subject, but also takes seriously the different historiographies of neutrality across Europe, and offers a rare collection of key works regardless of the language in which they were published. This book is a very welcome intervention indeed.

This interesting collection of essays directs attention to the importance of smaller states in Europe as they negotiated degrees of autonomy and independence in the face of pressure from the great powers.

Author Bio

Mark Kramer is director of Cold War studies at Harvard University and senior fellow at Harvards Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies.

Aryo Makko is pro futura scientia fellow at the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study (SCAS), professor of history at Stockholm University, and director of the Hans Blix Centre for the History of International Relations.

Peter Ruggenthaler is deputy director and senior research fellow at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Research on Wars Consequences.