The Korean War : an international history / William Stueck.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stueck, William Whitney, 1945-

Series:

Princeton studies in international history and politics

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Korean War, 1950-1953.

Korean War, 1950-1953--Diplomatic history.

Diplomatic history.

Physical Description:

xii, 484 pages : maps ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, [1995]

Summary:

This first truly international history of the Korean War argues that by its timing, its course, and its outcome it functioned as a substitute for World War III. Stueck draws on recently available materials from seven countries, plus the archives of the United Nations, presenting a detailed narrative of the diplomacy of the conflict and a broad assessment of its critical role in the Cold War. He emphasizes the contribution of the United Nations, which at several key points in the conflict provided an important institutional framework within which less powerful nations were able to restrain the aggressive tendencies of the United States.

In Stueck's view, contributors to the U.S. cause in Korea provided support not out of any abstract commitment to a universal system of collective security but because they saw an opportunity to influence U.S. policy. Chinese intervention in Korea in the fall of 1950 brought with it the threat of world war, but at that time and in other instances prior to the armistice in July 1953, America's NATO allies and Third World neutrals succeeded in curbing American adventurism. While conceding the tragic and brutal nature of the war, Stueck suggests that it helped to prevent the occurrence of an even more destructive conflict in Europe.

Contents:

Chapter 1 The Origins of the Korean War 10

Chapter 2 The Diplomacy of Confrontation and Consolidation 47

Chapter 3 Diplomacy Fails: The UN Counteroffensive and Chinese Intervention 85

Chapter 4 Limiting the War 127

Chapter 5 The Dimensions of Collective Action 167

Chapter 6 Armistice Talks: Origins and Initial Stages 204

Chapter 7 Progress 236

Chapter 8 Deadlock 268

Chapter 9 Concluding an Armistice 308

Chapter 10 The Korean War as International History 348.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [447]-468) and index.

ISBN:

0691037671

OCLC:

31710666