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The Cold War 1945 - 1989 and Its Aftermath: US Policy and Eastern Europe

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The Cold War 1945 - 1989 and Its Aftermath: US Policy and Eastern Europe

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PSC260

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The Cold War 1945 - 1989 and Its Aftermath: US Policy and Eastern Europe

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Professor Henryk Szlajfer, Ph.D.

Office hours:
Tuesday and Thursday 15:00 – 16.00
# 101b Harkness Hall
Department of Political Science
Skalny Center for Polish and Central European Studies
Tel. 273 5847
275 9898

PSC 260

Syllabus

The Cold War 1945 – 1989 and Its Aftermath: US Policy and Eastern Europe
Two-credit course
Time: Oct 10 – Nov 21, 2006
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:05 – 12.20
Place: Meliora Hall 204

Course Work: One 5-page paper (with references). Paper should be ready on Nov. 1.
Exam: Essay-style final exam (6-page paper with references) – ready on Nov. 20 – will
concentrate on general problems taught during the course.
Final grade will be counted in the following way:

a. 15 points for active participation in classes


b. 35 points for a paper
c. 50 points for the final exam

Description:
The course concentrates on the origins and consequences of the Cold War. Its focus will be on
the political process leading toward formation of the post-WWII international order and its
decline at the end of the 20th century. Within this framework, general conceptions and actions
of US government toward Eastern Europe will be explored. Original US Government
documents (including those from 1989) and secondary sources will be used to provide an
analysis of the most dramatic and important moments: 1953 (East Berlin), 1956 (Poland and
Hungary), 1968 (Czechoslovakia), 1980-81 (Poland), 1989 (Poland and other Eastern Block
countries) and to survey the American political and diplomatic response. During the course,
we will also explore the linkages between American policy and actions undertaken by EE
countries (and societies) in the international and domestic policies (including human rights).
1. Oct. 10, 2006: The region of Eastern Europe.
Readings: Joseph Held, ed., The Columbia History of Eastern Europe in the
Twentieth Century, Columbia University Press 1996, especially chapters on
Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia (also for lecture 2, 8 and 9); Robin Okey,
Eastern Europe 1740–1985. Feudalism to Communism, University of
Minnesota Press 1986 (also for lecture 2); Milan Kundera, ‘The Tragedy of
Central Europe’, in: Gale Stokes, ed., From Stalinism to Pluralism. A
Documentary History of Eastern Europe since 1945, New York 1991

2. Oct. 12, 2006: Political and economic legacy of the interwar


period.
Readings: Joseph Held, ed., The Columbia History of Eastern Europe, pp. 1–
16; Robin Okey, Eastern Europe; Joseph Rothschild, Return to Diversity. A
Political History of East Central Europe since World War II, Oxford University
Press 1989, pp. 3–24

3. Oct. 17, 2006: American and Soviet policies during WWII.


Readings: H. Kissinger, Diplomacy, New York 1994, pp. 394–422, Warren I.
Cohen, The Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations. Vol. IV:
America in the Age of Soviet Power 1945–1991, pp. 3–81 (also for lecture 4);
Charles E. Bohlen, ‘Poland at the Teheran Conference’ (December 1943), in:
Gale Stokes, ed., From Stalinism to Pluralism, pp. 29–30; Winston S.
Churchill, ‘The Percentages Agreement’ (October 9, 1944), in: Gale Stokes,
ed., From Stalinism to Pluralism, pp. 31–32

4. Oct. 19, 2006: Origins of the Cold War: USA (Truman’s


foreign policy).
Readings: J. L. Gaddis, The Cold War, New York 2005, pp. 5–47 (also for
lecture 5); Bennet Kovrig, Of Walls and Bridges. The United States and
Eastern Europe, New York 1991, pp. 27–49, 228–233, 244–246; Joseph F.
Harrington and Bruce J. Courtney, Tweaking the Nose of the Russians: Fifty
Years of American–Romanian Relations 1940–1990, New York 1991, pp. 80–
85, 93–100, 119–128 (also for lecture 5); G. Kennan, ‘Long Telegram’
(Moscow, February 22, 1946), in: Kenneth M. Jensen, ed., Origins of the Cold
War. The Novikov, Kennan, and Roberts ‘Long Telegrams’ of 1946, United
States Institute of Peace Press 1993, pp. 17–31, and “Mr. X” (G. Kennan), ‘The
Sources of Soviet Conduct’ (1947) (search internet); Winston Churchill, ‘Iron
Curtain Speech’ (Fulton, March 5, 1946) (search internet); ‘The Truman
Doctrine’ (March 12, 1947) (search internet)

5. Oct. 24, 2006: Origins of the Cold War: Soviet Union and
Eastern Europe.
Readings: J. L. Gaddis, The Cold War, pp. 5–47; H. Szlajfer; ‘The Beginnings
of the Cold War’, in: The Polish Quarterly of International Affairs,No. 3, 2000,
pp. 99–126 (e-reserve); ‘The Novikov Telegram’ (Washington, September 27,
1946), in: Kenneth M. Jensen, ed., Origins of the Cold War, pp. 3–16 ; Andrei
Zhdanov, ‘The Two-Camp Policy’ (September 1947), in: Gale Stokes, ed.,
From Stalinism to Pluralism, pp. 38–42
[5-page paper (with references), ready on Nov. 1]

6. Oct. 31, 2006: Shaping foreign and security policies:


containment and the NSC-68.
Readings: NSC-68 (April 14, 1950) (search internet); Peter J. Katzenstein, A
World of Regions. Asia and Europe in the American Imperium, Ithaca 2005,
pp. 50–58.

7. Nov. 2, 2006: Order and resistance (1). War and rebellion:


Korea and Berlin.
Readings: NSC-162/2: Basic National Security Policy, October 30, 1953
(search in internet); B. Kovrig, Of Walls and Bridges, New York 1991, pp.
50–102 (also for lecture 8); Warren I. Cohen, The Cambridge History of
American Foreign Relations, pp. 81–128; Joseph F. Harrington and Bruce J.
Courtney, Tweaking the Nose of the Russians, pp. 135–143, 157–166

8. Nov. 4, 2006: Order and resistance (2). 1956: The Polish


June and October, the Hungarian Revolution.
Readings: B. Kovrig, Of Walls and Bridges, pp. 50–102; Piotr S. Wandycz,
United States and Poland, Harvard University Press 1980, pp. 331–342, 348–
371; Joseph Held, ed., The Columbia History of Eastern Europe in the
Twentieth Century; NSC-5811/1 – U.S. Policy Toward the Soviet-dominated
Nations in Eastern Europe (July 27, 1960) (e-reserve)

9. Nov. 7, 2006: Order and resistance (3). From Cuban Crisis


(1962) to invasion of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact in
1968.
Readings: John L. Gaddis, The Cold War, pp. 75–82; Documents on Cuban
Crisis (copies in the library); ‘The Brezhnev Doctrine’ (November 12, 1968),
in: Gale Stokes, ed., From Stalinism to Pluralism, pp. 132–134; Warren I.
Cohen, The Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations, pp. 147–181;
Joseph F. Harrington and Bruce J. Courtney, Tweaking the Nose of the
Russians, pp. 249–257, 260–266; Piotr S. Wandycz, United States and Poland,
pp. 373–390

10. Nov. 9, 2006: From bridge-building to “détente”: Helsinki


Conference (1975) and Eastern Europe.
Readings: ‘The Helsinki Accords’ (August 1, 1975) (search internet); Warren
I. Cohen, The Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations, pp. 182–207;
J. L. Gaddis, The Cold War, pp. 195–236; Joseph F. Harrington and Bruce J.
Courtney, Tweaking the Nose of the Russians, pp. 285–303, 350–352, 368–
372, 415–429; Piotr S. Wandycz, United States and Poland, pp. 390–413
11. Nov. 14, 2006: Polish Crisis (1980-81) and R. Reagan’s
policy toward the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.
Readings: B. Kovrig, Of Walls and Bridges, pp. 130–142, 180–197, 233–242,
259–261; Arthur R. Rachwald, In Search of Poland. The Superpowers’
Response to Solidarity, 1980–1989, Hoover Institution Press 1990, pp. 47–92;
National Security Decision Directive No. 54, ‘United States Policy Toward
Eastern Europe’ (September 2, 1982) (e-reserve); National Security Decision
Directive No. 119, ‘Strategic Defense Initiative’ (January 6, 1984) (search in
internet); Warren I. Cohen, The Cambridge History of American Foreign
Relations, pp. 219–239; Joseph F. Harrington and Bruce J. Courtney,
Tweaking the Nose of the Russians, pp. 481–484, 563–564

[Final examination 6-page paper (with references), ready on Nov. 20]

12. Nov. 16, 2006: The Cold-War order in crisis: the US


perception of the Polish transition (1989).
Readings: B. Kovrig, Of Walls and Bridges, pp. 151–156, 200–227; Warren I.
Cohen, The Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations, pp. 239–245;
‘United States Policy Toward Eastern Europe”, in: Hearing before the
Subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East of the Committee on Foreign
Affairs House of Representatives, June 5, 1990 (Witnesses: Mark Palmer and
Madeleine Albright); Mikhail Gorbachev, ‘A Common European Home’ (July
6, 1989), in: Gale Stokes, ed., From Stalinism to Pluralism, pp. 266–267; J. L.
Gaddis, The Cold War, pp. 237–257 [A concise overview of the U.S.
diplomatic correspondence – Department of State to/from U.S. Embassy,
Warsaw, 1989 – will be provided during the lecture]

13. Nov. 21, 2006: General tendencies in American policy


toward Eastern Europe during Cold War and after:
summary.
Readings: J. L. Gaddis, The Cold War, pp. 259–266; B. Kovrig, Of Walls and
Bridges, pp. 323–350; Joseph F. Harrington and Bruce J. Courtney, Tweaking
the Nose of the Russians, pp. 605–615; Piotr S. Wandycz, United States and
Poland, pp. 414–424

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