Did the West win the Cold War? Was it a genuine or a contrived conflict? When did it begin? How was its cause related to its end? These are among the questions considered by the contributors of this volume. Asked to assess the combination of socio-political forces and events they attribute to ending the Cold War, they have come up with diverse theories that challenge the self-serving orthodoxy that claims Western military prowess, economic strength, and ideological superiority produced the triumph.

The contributors consider a range of views from the contention that the West's...