Russia and the idea of the West : Gorbachev, intellectuals, and the end of the Cold War / Robert D. English.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

English, Robert (Robert D.)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Relations.

Politics and government.

Philosophy.

Soviet Union--Politics and government--1953-1985--Philosophy.

Soviet Union.

Soviet Union--Politics and government--1985-1991--Philosophy.

Intellectuals--Political activity--Soviet Union.

Intellectuals.

Intellectuals--Political activity.

Soviet Union--Relations--United States.

United States.

United States--Relations--Soviet Union.

Soviet Union--Relations--Europe, Western.

Europe, Western--Relations--Soviet Union.

Europe, Western.

Western Europe.

Physical Description:

xii, 401 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Columbia University Press, [2000]

Summary:

In most analyses of the Cold Wars end the ideological aspects of Gorbachevs "new thinking" are treated largely as incidental to the broader considerations of power -as gloss on what was essentially a retreat forced by crisis and decline. Robert English makes a major contribution by demonstrating that Gorbachevs foreign policy was in fact the result of an intellectual revolution. English analyzes the rise of a liberal policy-academic elite and its impact on the Cold Wars end.

Contents:

Preface: An Intellectual History ix

Introduction: Intellectuals, Ideas, and Identity in the Sources of International Change 1

1. The Origins and Nature of Old Thinking 17

2. Leaders, Society, and Intellectuals During the Thaw 49

3. Intellectuals and the World: From the Secret Speech to the Prague Spring 81

4. The Dynamics of New Thinking in the Era of Stagnation 117

5. Advance and Retreat: New Thinking in the Time of Crisis and Transition 159

6. The New Thinking Comes to Power 193

Conclusion: Reflections on the Origins and Fate of New Thinking 229.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [345]-373) and index.

ISBN:

0231110588

0231110596

OCLC:

43520982