This essential new volume reviews the threat perceptions, military doctrines, and war plans of both the NATO alliance and the Warsaw Pact during the Cold War, as well as the position of the neutrals, from the post-Cold War perspective.

Based on previously unknown archival evidence from both East and West, the twelve essays in the book focus on the potential European battlefield rather than the strategic competition between the superpowers. They present conclusions about the nature of the Soviet threat that could previously only be speculated about and analyze the interaction between...

The first comprehensive history of NATO in the 1960s, based on the systematic use of multinational archival evidence.

This new book is the result of a gathering of leading Cold War historians from both sides of the Atlantic, including Jeremi Suri, Erin Mahan, and Leopoldo Nuti. It shows in great detail how the transformation of NATO since 1991 has opened up new perspectives on the alliance's evolution during the Cold War. Viewed in retrospect, the 1960s were instrumental to the strengthening of NATO's political clout, which proved to be decisive in winning the Cold War - even more...

This book examines the geographic displacement of the illicit drug industry as a side effect of United States foreign policy. To reduce the supply of cocaine and heroin from abroad, the US has relied on coercion against farmers, traffickers and governments, but this has only exacerbated the world's drugs problems.

US Foreign Policy and the War on Drugs develops and applies a causal mechanism to explain the displacement, analyzing US anti-drug initiatives at different times and in various regions. The findings clearly show that American foreign policy has been a major driving force...

This book examines Russia's new assertiveness and the role of energy as a key factor in shaping the country's behavior in international relations, and in building political and economic power domestically, since the 1990s.

Energy transformed Russia's fortunes after its decline during the 1990s. The wealth generated from energy exports sparked economic recovery and political stabilization, and has significantly contributed to Russia's assertiveness as a great power. Energy has been a key factor in shaping Russia's foreign relations in both the Eurasian and global context. This...

This book examines the puzzle of why some states acquire nuclear weapons, whereas others refrain from trying to do so or even renounce them.

Based on the predominant theoretical thinking in International Relations it is often assumed that nuclear proliferation is inevitable, given the anarchic nature of the international system. Proliferation is thus often explained by vague references to states insecurity in an anarchic environment. Yet, elusive generalisations and grand, abstract theories inhibit a more profound and detailed knowledge of the very political processes that lead towards...

This book examines the evolution of Russia's security policy under Putin in the 21st century, using a critical security studies approach.

Drawing on critical approaches to security the book investigates the interrelationship between the internal-external nexus and the politics of (in)security and regime-building in Putin's Russia. In so doing, it evaluates the way that this evolving relationship between state identities and security discourses framed the construction of individual security policies, and how, in turn, individual issues can impact on the meta-discourses of state and...

This book aims to examine the conceptions and practices of security adopted by Regional Organisations (ROs) across the globe.

Since the end of the Cold War, there has been an increased focus on regions as a relevant realm for security, with actors within regional contexts identifying a significant degree of interdependency between one another. As a consequence, international security has taken on a distinct regionally institutionalised character, as seen by the increase in calls for greater utilisation of Chapter VIII: Regional Arrangements of the UN, in order to create a devolved...

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of peacekeeping in Africa.

Recent events in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Mali remind us that violence remains endemic and continues to hamper the institutional, social and economic development of the African continent. Over the years, an increasing number of actors have become involved in the effort to bring peace to Africa. The United Nations (UN) has been joined by regional organisations, most prominently the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU), and by sub-regional organizations like the Economic Community of...