The Second Cold War

Carter, Reagan, and the Politics of Foreign Policy

Aaron Donaghy

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN:
  9781108838030
• eBook ISBN:
  9781108952231
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

Towards the end of the Cold War, the last great struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union marked the end of détente, and escalated into the most dangerous phase of the conflict since the Cuban Missile Crisis. Aaron Donaghy examines the complex history of America's largest peacetime military buildup, which was in turn challenged by the largest peacetime peace movement. Focusing on the critical period between 1977 and 1985, Donaghy shows how domestic politics shaped dramatic foreign policy reversals by Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. He explains why the Cold War intensified so quickly and how - contrary to all expectations - US-Soviet relations were repaired. Drawing on recently declassified archival material, The Second Cold War traces how each administration evolved in response to crises and events at home and abroad. This compelling and controversial account challenges the accepted notion of how the end of the Cold War began.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title page
• Series page
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• List of Abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1 The Dwindling of Détente
• 2 “It’s All Political Now”
• 3 To the Right
• 4 Confrontation
• 5 The Nuclear Freeze Movement
• 6 Star Wars and the Evil Empire
• 7 The Most Dangerous Year
• 8 To the Center
• 9 Conciliation
• Epilogue
• Archives
• Notes
• Index