Legacy of the Cold War

The unexpected end of the protracted conflict has been a sobering experience for scholars. No theory had anticipated how the Cold War would be terminated, and none should also be relied upon to explicate its legacy. But instead of relying on preconceived formulas to project past developments, taking a historical perspective to explain their causes and consequences allows one to better understand trends and their long-term significance. The present book takes such perspective, focusing on the evolution of security, its substance as well as its perception, the concurrent development of alliances and other cooperative structures for security, and their effectiveness in managing conflicts.In The Legacy of the Cold War Vojtech Mastny and Zhu Liqun bring together scholars to examine the worldwide effects of the Cold War on international security. Focusing on regions where the Cold War made the most enduring impact―the Euro-Atlantic area and East Asia―historians, political scientists, and international relations scholars explore alliances and other security measures during the Cold War and how they carry over into the twenty-first century.

The Legacy of the Cold War is an impressive piece of scholarship. Vojtech Mastny, Liqun Zhu, and their collaborators range widely and skillfully across the international landscape of more than six decades. They explore the conflicts shaping post-war Europe and Asia, and then weigh the effects of this history on the continued quest for international security in a transformed world. This is a volume of unusual scope and depth and deserves the widest possible audience among students of strategy, comparative history, and international institutions., Just when we thought that we knew everything we needed to know about the Cold War, a new book appears that greatly adds to our understanding of this complex struggle for global influence. Most books on the Cold War focus on only one region or portray events through the prism of one country or alliance. The enormous value of The Legacy of the Cold War is that it integrates multiple perspectives from the United States, Europe and Asia. It also includes the role of international organizations as well as nation states which is rare in Cold War historiography. This volume brings together an impressive array of leading Cold War historians. There is no better guide to understanding the Cold War, how it began, why it developed as it did, and why one day it miraculously came to an end., This lively volume usefully combines the insights of history and political science to reflect on the lessons of the experience of the Cold War for the security of the post-Cold War world.

Vojtech Mastny has been professor of history and international relations at Columbia University and other universities, including the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University.Zhu Liqun is professor of international studies and vice president of China Foreign Affairs University.