This course examines the purposes and  tactics of American and Soviet diplomacy during the decades of Cold War rivalry.   Particular attention is devoted to how Soviet and American leaders understood the role of diplomacy in the international struggle for power as well as in the pursuit of peace. The historical and  ideological foundations of the Cold War will be integrated with a discussion of the national interest standard as a means of evaluating Soviet and American goals in the international political system.  Assigned readings and class discussion will focus on the relationship between theory and practice throughout the decades of superpower competition.  Concrete foreign policy problems and events will be viewed from the perspective of Cold War practitioners, revisionist historians, and post-revisionist scholars.

Central to our entire discussion will be how the emergence of the Cold War was driven by two incompatible conceptions of the post-World War Two world.  Two factors distinguish the conflict between the United States and Soviet Union from many hostile confrontations history records.  The first was the inability of either superpower to pursue conciliatory policies through compromise, which might have led to the routine diplomatic settlement of the outstanding issues.  Both sides, imbued with a crusading spirit and an unwavering sense of universalism, became the leaders of two gigantic power blocs and confronted each other with unyielding opposition.  A second factor was the necessity for both sides to protect and promote their interests through unilateral action on the opponent's will by all means available–diplomatic, military, economic, subversive–short of the actual use of force.  The very conditions of the Cold War transformed diplomacy into an auxiliary of war waged against the enemy, not for the purpose of accommodating conflicting interests, but for the triumph, however verbal, of one nation over another.

Any diplomatic case study of the Cold War obligates the historian to analyze classic concepts of politics and international relations.  Policies linked to containment or capitalist encirclement were driven by specific approaches to power, interest, the balance of power, spheres of influence, brinkmanship, detente, and imperialism.  In addition, these key concepts are applied to explanations of Cold War foreign policies that may operate at different levels of analysis: the role of individual leaders, the role of societal-governmental institutions, and the role of the international political system.  To what extent were issues of confrontation and conflict driven by leaders such as Lenin, Stalin, Khrushchev, Roosevelt, Truman, or Nixon?  Or were these leaders simply driven by other impersonal or objectives historical forces (e.g., ideology, culture, or economics).  Were Reagan and Gorbachev decisive for ending the Cold War, or did their policies merely reflect the working of capitalist or communist regimes over time?  To what degree were policy initiatives driven by vested domestic interests?  How did Soviet and American leaders view the global balance of power and the role of diplomacy with the nuclear "balance of terror?"

Attention is also devoted to how this "struggle for the minds" of men and women elevated moral issues to the forefront of foreign policy.  How were issues of democracy, human rights, and intervention viewed by representatives of the Marxist-Leninist tradition as well as by supporters of Liberalism.  How did both sides view issues ranging from society's general welfare to questions involving individuality, alienation, and group solidarity?  How did these larger ethical and philosophical issues enter into the foreign policy dialogue and strategic calculations of each superpower?

Writing Assignment

Each student will be required to turn in an 8-10 page review essay on Professor Gaddis' We Now Know: Rethinking Cold War History.  The papers will tackle Gaddis' analysis of the different causes of the Cold War, with attention to the role of ideology, democracy, economics, alliances, and nuclear weapons.  Essays should be double-spaced with one inch margins observed on all four sides.  No endnotes or footnotes will be required, unless additional authors or outside works are documented.  Long quotations should be avoided.  Quoted passages, however, should cite the relevant page number(s) in parentheses at the end of the sentence.  The paper will be due no later the beginning of class on May 1st.  Late papers will be penalized one letter grade per day.

Attendance & Course Requirements

Students are expected to be prepared and present for each and every class meeting.  It is practically impossible to take this class, and do well in this class, unless you are in the class room!  It is in the class room, from one meeting to the next, where we talk about the material and engage one another in debate about the historical record of the Cold War.  A record of attendance is maintained and each unexcused absence carries a three point grade penalty subtracted from the final course grade.
 
Absences are excused only in cases involving serious illness or hospitalization, funeral obligations, or university-approved travel.  In all cases, however, written documentation must be provided for purposes of verification.  Lifestyle and employment considerations do not fall under the category of excused absences.  Any other issues affecting a student's attendance must be discussed in advance with the professor.

Grades & Examinations

Course grades will be calculated as follows:

2 Midterm Examinations = 60%
Final Examination           = 30%
Writing Assignment        = 10%

The format for all three examinations will be a combination of short answer/essay.  Reviews for each exam will be distributed one week in advance of the test date.  Any make-up examination must conform to the attendance policy outlined above.  Make-up examinations must be taken the first day back in class.

Assigned Texts

Walter LaFeber, America, Russia, and the Cold War, 1945-1996.
George F. Kennan, Soviet Foreign Policy, 1917-1941.
Kenneth Jensen, ed. Origins of the Cold War
John Lewis Gaddis, We Now Know, Rethinking Cold War History

Course Schedule

Jan16: Organizational Meeting
 Kennan, pp. 10-38
 
Jan 18: Russia, Marx, and Lenin
 Gaddis, Chap. 1
  Kennan, pp. 38-77; 116-47

Feb. 1: Interwar Years: Stalin and War
 Kennan, pp. 77-116; 147-85
 LaFeber, Introduction & Chap. 1.

Feb. 8: World War and Geopolitics
 Gaddis, Chap. 2.

Feb. 20: FIRST MID-TERM EXAMINATION

Feb. 22: Europe & Asia
 LaFeber, Chap. 2.
 Gaddis, Chap. 3.

Mar.1: Containment and Encirclement
 Jensen, Origins of the Cold War (complete)
 LaFeber, Chap. 3-4.

Mar. 13: Nuclear Weapons and Brinkmanship
 Gaddis, Chaps. 4-5, 8.
 
Mar. 17-25: Spring Break 

Mar. 27: Second Mid-Term Examination
 Germany, Korea, and Suez
 LaFeber, Chaps. 5-8
 Gaddis, Chap. 6

Apr. 10:   Cuba & Vietnam
 LaFeber, Chaps. 9-10
 Gaddis, Chap. 9

Apr. 19: Detente
 LaFeber, Chap. 11.

Apr. 26: Reagan & Gorbachev: The Finale
 LaFeber, Chaps. 12-13.
 Gaddis, Chap. 10.

May 3: Final Class Meeting

May 10: FINAL EXAMINATION ( 8 - 10 AM)