The Global Cold War: Third World Interventions and the Making of Our Times

About this book

The Cold War between the former Soviet Union and the United States indelibly shaped the world we live in today--especially international politics economics and military affairs. This volume shows how the globalization of the Cold War during the 20th century created the foundations for most of todays key international conflicts including the "war on terror." Odd Arne Westad examines the origins and course of Third World revolutions and the ideologies that drove the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. towards interventionism. He focuses on how these interventions gave rise to resentments and resistance that in the end helped to topple one and to seriously challenge the other superpower. In addition he demonstrates how these worldwide interventions determined the international and domestic framework within which political social and cultural changes took place in such countries as China Indonesia Iran Ethiopia Angola Cuba and Nicaragua. According to Westad these changes plus the ideologies movements and states that interventionism stirred up constitute the real legacy of the Cold War. Odd Arne Westad is Professor of International History at the London School of Economics and Political Science. In 2004 he was named head of department and co-director of the new LSE Cold War Studies Centre. Professor Westad is the author or editor of ten books on contemporary international history including Decisive Encounters: The Chinese Civil War 1946-1950 (2003) and with Jussi Hanhimaki The Cold War: A History in Documents and Eyewitness Accounts (2003). In addition he is a founding editor of the journal Cold War History.