| ID | 106340 |
| Title Proper | Ideas have consequences |
| Other Title Information | the cold war and today |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Nau, Henry R |
| Publication | 2011. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | In this essay, I make the case that the Cold War was caused by a competition of ideas rather than by a struggle for power or a failure of international institutions. The Cold War started when two sets of ideas diverged sufficiently - capitalism and communism - that they precluded either a realist - spheres of influence - or liberal - United Nations - solution to postwar differences in Europe. It ended when one set of ideas prevailed, and democracy and markets spread throughout the whole of Europe, eclipsing realist and liberal outcomes. The Soviet Union disappeared, which realists never expected; whereas the United Nations, which functioned briefly as a classic liberal collective security operation in the first Persian Gulf War, was quickly replaced by a democratic NATO in Bosnia and Kosovo. The competition of ideas did not end in the 1990s, however. It continues today in other forms and will shape the contours of military conflict and international cooperation in tomorrow's world, no less that it did during the Cold War. |
| `In' analytical Note | International Politics Vol. 48, No. 4-5; Jul-Sep 2011: p.460-481 |
| Journal Source | International Politics Vol. 48, No. 4-5; Jul-Sep 2011: p.460-481 |
| Key Words | Ideology ; Cold War ; Reagan ; Gorbachev ; Detente ; Arms Race |