Rethinking the Soviet collapse : sovietology, the death of communism and the new Russia / edited by Michael Cox.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Cox, Michael, 1947-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Soviet Union--Historiography.

Soviet Union.

Historiography.

Soviet Union--Study and teaching.

Soviet Union--Politics and government.

Politics and government.

Russia (Federation)--Politics and government--1991-.

Russia (Federation).

Physical Description:

ix, 294 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Pinter, 1998.

Summary:

One of the great issues still facing modern commentators is why they failed to anticipate the end of the Cold War in the late 1980s. This book, composed of original essays written by leading scholars from both sides of the Atlantic, explores this vexed problem by means of a critical interrogation of Soviet studies: perhaps the most controversial, and certainly the most policy-relevant, of all academic disciplines during the era of superpower conflict. To some now little more than a footnote in the intellectual history of the post-war period, Soviet studies for over forty years played a key role in shaping the West's understanding -- some would say misunderstanding -- of the nature of the Soviet system. But how fair are the charges now levelled against those whose task it once was to explain the strengths and weaknesses of the USSR? How far should they be held responsible for failing to forecast the demise of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War? And how much better have the experts done in explaining the dynamics of post-communist Russia? These are at least three of the large questions this innovative book seeks to answer.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [266]-286) and index.

ISBN:

1855673215

1855673223

OCLC:

39516035