New perspectives on the end of the Cold War: unexpected transformations?

"This collection of essays makes a significant contribution to the historiography of the end of the Cold War. Research on the causes and consequences of the end of the Cold War is constantly growing. Initially, it was dominated by fairly simplistic, and often politically motivated, debates revolving around the role played by major 'winners' and 'losers'. This volume addresses a number of diverse issues and seeks to challenge several 'common wisdoms' about the end of the Cold War. Together, the contributions provide insights on the role of personalities as well as the impact of transnational movements and forces on the unexpected political transformations of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Geographically, the chapters largely focus on the United States, Europe, with special emphasis on Germany, and the Soviet Union. The individual chapters are drawn together by the overarching theme relating to a particular 'common wisdom': were the transformations that occurred truly 'unexpected'? This collection of essays will make an important contribution to the growing literature on the developments that produced the collapse of the Iron Curtain, the demise of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. This volume will be of much interest to students of Cold War Studies, International History, European Politics and International Relations in general"--

Unexpected transformations? / Jussi M. Hanhimäki -- Threat or opportunity? Kissinger, Brzezinski, and the demise of the Soviet Union / Jussi M. Hanhimäki -- The nuclear and space talks, George Shultz, and the end of the Cold War / James Graham Wilson -- Nuclear weapons, "nuclear ideas", and protests : did they matter? / Andrea Chiampan -- Eduard Shevardnadze, Anatolii Cherniaev, and German reunification : the role of secondary political actors in ending the Cold War / Wolfgang Mueller -- German foreign policy and the "German problem" during and after the Cold War : changes and continuities / Bernhard Blumenau -- Freer movement in return for cash : Franz Josef Strauss, Alexander Schalck-Golodkowski, and the Milliardenkredite for the GDR, 1983-1984 / Stephan Kieninger -- The opening of the Austrian-Hungarian border revisited : how European détente contributed to overcoming the "Iron Curtain" / Maximilian Graf -- The Reagan administration and the promotion of human rights in eastern Europe : the case of Romanian emigration, 1981-1989 / Sielke Kelner -- The European Single Act, European political cooperation and the end of the Cold War / Eleonora Guasconi -- The power of omission : the IMF and the democratic transitions in Poland and Hungary / Fritz Bartel