Mysteries of the Cold War (Policy Studies Organisation Series)

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The end of the Cold War left many questions about how and why it happened in the way that it did. This text presents a study of selected issues involved in the ending of the Cold War. The first part of the book analyzes the sources and impacts of the Reagan defence build-up, examines the "strange" end of the Cold War from the perspective of Moscow, discusses the US-Soviet crisis confrontation over Berlin in late October 1961, when the "Checkpoint Charlie" confrontation evolved into one of the most dangerous clashes of the Cold War, and looks at the deterioration in US-Soviet relations in the early 1980s, growing out of a series of military and intelligence interactions. From chapter seven, the focus is shifted from the immediacy of crisis to the ongoing Cold War competition in weapons technology. The text explains how NATO's reliance on tactical nuclear weapons evolved and discusses the strategic and policy uncertainties surrounding those deployments. It also evaluates Soviet research and development on laser weapons. The final three chapters discuss aspects of US and Soviet military strategy that have been the subject of much Cold War misunderstanding or post-Cold War truncated explanation. They review the major phases in US Cold War maritime strategy, evaluate the role of communist internationalism during the Cold War and present a case study of Soviet military strategy, arguing that Moscow successfully adapted its thinking and practice to the unprecedented political and technological environments of the Cold War.