Cold War

The Hollywood Blacklist, Screenwriters and Free Expression Under Attack

by Larry Ceplair

The current screenwriters' strike is occasion to look back at the targeting of writers by HUAC in the 1950s, the politics of moral panic, and the impact of political fear on the content of popular culture.

Former East Germans Largely Eschewed Opportunity to Read their Stasi Files—What that Says about Ethics

Few of the former residents of East Germany have chosen to view the files kept on them by the communist secret police; scholars have investigated this as an example of strategic ignorance that can help individuals function and preserve social harmony. 

Climate Policy Needs a Return to Land Reform

by Jo Guldi

In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, the United Nations' international development agenda took its cues from struggles for decolonization from Ireland to India, making the redistribution of rural land a top priority. Is this the key to more effective climate change mitigation? 

One Cost of American Military Protection of South Korea? A Brutal Sex Trade

“Our country held hands with the U.S. in an alliance and we knew that its soldiers were here to help us, but that didn’t mean that they could do whatever they wanted to us, did it?”

The "Great" Powers are Seeing Remarkably Diminished Returns from War

by Tom Englehardt

The legacy of the victory culture engendered by World War II has been a string of costly defeats and stalemates against theoretically overmatched foes and the destructive subordination of the economy and democracy to "national defense" and militarism. 

New Official Bio Claims Big Role for Secretary of State George Shultz in Ending the Cold War

Philip Taubman's new biography portays Shultz as a key figure in pushing Reagan to move closer to Soviet leadership, albeit one who was content to work in the background. 

The "Madman Theory" Was Quintessential Nixon

by Zachary Jonathan Jacobson

Richard Nixon's famed foreign policy ruse—encouraging adversaries to think him capable of seemingly insane decisions—had one essential component: Nixon himself, and his commitment to the tightrope-walking performance. 

We Miss Dr. Strangelove now that We've Learned to Stop Worrying and Forget the Bomb

by Andrew Bacevich

Kubrick's classic film forced viewers to confront the possibility that the controls of the world's nuclear weapons were held by fools, fanatics, and outright lunatics. Today, it's too easy to ignore it altogether. 

Despite Ike's Warning, We're Still Nailed to a Cross of Iron

by William Astore

At the start of his presidency, Eisenhower warned of the dangers and costs of escalating militarism. By the end of his term, he was convinced the Military-Industrial Complex had entrenched itself. It was only getting started. 

The Victims of Communism Museum is a Propaganda Machine for Normalizing the Hard Right

by Billie Anania

The museum, which counts numerous Nazi sympathizers among its founders, peddles a spurious notion of "double genocide" that lets fascists off the hook by promoting the number of 100 million victims of communism. How do they get that tally? Including every German soldier killed on the eastern front and every victim of COVID-19. 

Whittaker Chambers's Odyssey from Communist Spy to Conservative Hero

by Matthew Sitman and Sam Adler-Bell

Praised by the right and loathed by the left, Whittaker Chambers entered the public eye when he accused State Department worker Alger Hiss of being a Communist. But his story before and after reveals much more about the political history of midcentury America. 

Biden Should Remove Cuba from List of State Sponsors of Terrorism

by Guillaume Long

After Obama removed Cuba from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism, Trump reinstalled it for petty political reasons. The Biden administration should reverse the decision again. 

Is Ukraine Headed for a Cease Fire? And Is That the Best Option?

by Sergey Radchenko

After an essential stalemate between 1951 and 1953, a cease-fire in Korea enabled the parties to avoid both defeat and the cost of victory. Is this the best chance for resolving the war in Ukraine? 

There's a Long History of Indoctrination in Florida Schools—on the Right

by Tera W. Hunter

The author's experiences with a state mandated course contrasting "Americanism" with "Communism" echo in today's attacks on curriculum, and the exclusion of ideas challenging a social order of economic and racial inequality. 

Who Poisoned Pablo Neruda?

by Ariel Dorfman

"In retrospect I wonder if perhaps I was so tired of tales of torture and disappearances, so full of death and grief, that I could not deal with one more affront. I preferred to shield the sacred figure of Neruda from the violence."

Forensic Experts: Chilean Poet and Pinochet Opponent Pablo Neruda Killed by Poison in 1973

The poet, a Communist and ally of democratically-elected President Salvador Allende, died shortly after the coup that installed General Augusto Pinochet as dictator. There had been longstanding suspicion of the official explanation of his death. 

In "Argentina, 1985" Progressive Values Win

by Walter G. Moss

The true story depicted in the Oscar-nominated film shows the necessity of persistence and the power of hope. 

Canada's Hottest Tourist Attraction Could be the Government's Doomsday Bunker

Canada's Diefenbunker was decommissioned in 1994, and today is one of the few places where tourists can see the preparations made to preserve government in the event of the unthinkable. 

Why George Kennan Thought He Failed His Biggest Challenge

by Patrick Iber

After urging the United States to firmly oppose the expansion of Soviet influence as a way of bringing the USSR's internal weaknesses to the forefront, Kennan grew disillusioned at the militarized tack later versions of "containment" took. A new book revisits and challenges canonical studies of the diplomatic thinker. 

Martin Sherwin's "Gambling with Armageddon" Strips away the Myths of Nuclear Deterrence

by Lawrence Wittner

As Sherwin points out, “the real lesson of the Cuban missile crisis . . . is that nuclear armaments create the perils they are deployed to prevent, but are of little use in resolving them.”