Radio Free Europe and the Pursuit of Democracy / Richard Buel.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Buel, Richard, Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Radio Free Europe--History--20th century.

Radio Free Europe.

Radio in propaganda--History--20th century.

Radio in propaganda.

International broadcasting--History--20th century.

International broadcasting.

Cold War--History.

Cold War.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

New Haven, CT : Yale University Press, [1997]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

From the 1950s to the aftermath of communist rule, two American-funded international broadcasting organizations-Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty-engaged in a prolonged battle of ideas: with remarkable persistence, the Radios fought against the spread of communist ideology. This book is a unique, personal account of Cold War combat over the airwaves, of psychological battles that succeeded in eroding the international appeal of the Soviet system and ultimately in helping to bring about the implosion of the Soviet empire.A leading expert on East and Central European and Soviet affairs, George R. Urban offers an insider's perspective on the history of Radio Free Europe by drawing on his service during the 1960s and his term as overall director in the 1980s. In vivid detail Urban describes how the Radios promoted the cause of liberal democracy and the free market economy for more than four decades and stood up against the Soviet system, with its clandestine offshoots and fifth columns in all the countries of the West. Urban contends that a second opponent was less visible but more powerful: influential members of the American and West European Left who believed the Soviet superpower should not be thwarted. The author explores the often controversial strategies and tactics employed by the staff and administrators of the Radios, sheds light on their role in the tragic 1956 Hungarian Revolution, examines the ideas and convictions of key figures, and reveals how communism was intellectually unmasked in a psychological contest that also made possible reconciliation between nations and individuals.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

Introduction

CHAPTER ONE. Preparations

CHAPTER TWO. The Contest of Ideas

CHAPTER THREE. High Communism

CHAPTER FOUR. Second Conductors

CHAPTER FIVE. Reluctant Americans

CHAPTER SIX. The Soft Approach to Communism

CHAPTER SEVEN. Before the Implosion

CHAPTER EIGHT. The National Interest

CHAPTER NINE. Jealousies in the Region

CHAPTER TEN. Draining the Poison out of the System

CHAPTER ELEVEN. Misapprehensions

CHAPTER TWELVE. Dialogues

CHAPTER THIRTEEN. Companions

CHAPTER FOURTEEN. 1956 Reconsidered

Appendix A. STASI and the Carlos Group

Appendix B. A Selection of Policy Guidances, 1984-1985

Appendix C. Excerpts from a Radio Free Europe Review, 1956

Notes

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 24. Apr 2020)

ISBN:

9780300149029

0300149026

OCLC:

1024020162