Russia and the Idea of the West: Gorbachev, Intellectuals, and the End of the Cold War

by Robert English

Overview

An intriguing "intellectual portrait" of a generation of Soviet reformers, this book is also a fascinating case study of how ideas can change the course of history. In most analyses of the Cold War's end the ideological aspects of Gorbachev's "new thinking" are treated largely as incidental to the broader considerations of power—as gloss on what was essentially a retreat forced by crisis and decline. Robert English makes a major contribution by demonstrating that Gorbachev's foreign policy was in fact the result of an intellectual revolution. English analyzes the rise of a liberal policy-academic elite and its impact on the Cold War's end.

English worked in the archives of the USSR Foreign Ministry and also gained access to the restricted collections of leading foreign-policy institutes. He also conducted nearly 400 interviews with Soviet intellectuals and policy makers—from Khrushchev- and Brezhnev-era Politburo members to Perestroika-era notables such as Eduard Shevardnadze and Gorbachev himself. English traces the rise of a "Westernizing" worldview from the post-Stalin years, through a group of liberals in the late1960s–70s, to a circle of close advisers who spurred Gorbachev's most radical reforms.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231504744
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	10/25/2000
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
Lexile:	1710L (what's this?)
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Robert English, assistant professor of international relations at the University of Southern California, is currently a research fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton, New Jersey. The work upon which Russia and the Idea of the West is based won the Harold D. Lasswell prize of the American Political Science Association.

Table of Contents

Preface: An Intellectual History
Introduction: Intellectuals, Ideas, and Identity in the Sources of International Change
1. The Origins and Nature of Old Thinking
2. Leaders, Society, and Intellectuals During the Thaw
3. Intellectuals and the World: From the Secret Speech to the Prague Spring
4. The Dynamics of New Thinking in the Era of Stagnation
5. Advance and Retreat: New Thinking in the Time of Crisis and Transition
6. The New Thinking Comes to Power
Conclusion: Reflections on the Origins and Fate of New Thinking
Notes
Bibliography
Index

What People are Saying About This

Raymond L. Garthoff

Russia and the Idea of the West is a masterful account of the roots of the 'new thinking'and the influence of men of ideas on the Gorbachev transformation of Soviet policy, a crucial and underappreciated aspect of the end of the Cold War.

— Raymond L. Garthoff, Brookings Institution (retired)

Yale Richmond

For both the general public and the specialist, Robert English tells how Soviet intellectuals turned the 'old thinking'of the Stalin era into the 'new thinking'that led to Gorbachev's glasnost, perestroika, and the end of the Cold War. Based on interviews with Russia's famous and not so famous, as well as thorough archival research during many years of residence in Moscow, it is a pleasure to read.

— Yale Richmond, author of From Nyet to Da: Understanding the Russians

Archie Brown

English has written a book of major importance. It traces more fully than any other the origins of the new thinking of the Gorbachev Era and demonstrates how over many years radically new ideas were being developed by a minority of intellectuals within the Communist Party. English shows the limitations of an interest-based analysis of the transformation of the Soviet Union and of the international system and demonstrates how crucially important were ideas -- in particular, the combination of fresh thinking and the emergence of a leader, Gorbachev, ready and willing to ensure that conceptual change was translated into political breakthrough.

— Archie Brown, Oxford University

John Mueller

Well researched, carefully reasoned, and highly persuasive.

— John Mueller, Ohio State University

Thomas Risse

This is a highly significant book, both empirically and theoretically. It provides an excellent in-depth analysis of the intellectual origins of the 'new thinking' -- how it came to power and changed the world.... It is a must read for everybody interested in exploring fundamental changes in international affairs.

— Thomas Risse, European University Institute, Florence, Italy

Editorial Reviews

For both the general public and the specialist, Robert English tells how Soviet intellectuals turned the 'old thinking´ of the Stalin era into the 'new thinking´ that led to Gorbachev´s glasnost, perestroika, and the end of the Cold War. Based on interviews with Russia´s famous and not so famous, as well as thorough archival research during many years of residence in Moscow, it is a pleasure to read.

Yale Richmond

Russia and the Idea of the West is a masterful account of the roots of the 'new thinking´ and the influence of men of ideas on the Gorbachev transformation of Soviet policy, a crucial and underappreciated aspect of the end of the Cold War.

Raymond L. Garthoff

English takes a complex issue and makes it accessible to nonspecialists without sacrificing theoretical and empirical rigor. His rich and detailed account of Soviet intellectual development is fascinating and enjoyable to read, while his analysis makes a valuable contribution to debates over the origins of the Gorbachev Revolution.

Elaine McClarnand MacKinnon

A treasure trove of Russian sources. . . English does not just read, he listens. . . . As a work of history, this volume represents a thoughtful and highly readable reconstruction of the domestic ideational sources behind one of the most momentous transformations of the late twentieth century.

Slavic Review

This is a highly significant book, both empirically and theoretically. It provides an excellent in-depth analysis of the intellectual origins of the 'new thinking' -how it came to power and changed the world. . . . It is a must read for everybody interested in exploring fundamental changes in international affairs.

Thomas Risse

[An] impressively researched new book.

Nation

Well researched, carefully reasoned, and highly persuasive.

John Mueller

English has written a book of major importance. It traces more fully than any other the origins of the new thinking of the Gorbachev Era and demonstrates how over many years radically new ideas were being developed by a minority of intellectuals within the Communist Party. English shows the limitations of an interest-based analysis of the transformation of the Soviet Union and of the international system and demonstrates how crucially important were ideas -in particular, the combination of fresh thinking and the emergence of a leader, Gorbachev, ready and willing to ensure that conceptual change was translated into political breakthrough.

Archie Brown

English began this project at Princeton during the heady days between the rise of perestroika and the fall of the Soviet Union, and spent the next decade revising the underlying themes and actual information. He discusses such aspects as the origins and nature of old thinking; intellectuals and the world from the Secret Speech to the Prague Spring, and the new thinking comes to power. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

Robert English's path-breaking work... Ranks among the classics in both International Relations and Russian area studies. It thus behooves students of contemporary international relations to read or reread English's book, given its insightful exploration of the causes of the Cold War's burial - not to mention its important implications for the Post-post-Cold War era upon us now.

The Russian Review - Julie Newton

[An] impressively researched new book.

The Nation

Robert English's path-breaking work... Ranks among the classics in both International Relations and Russian area studies. It thus behooves students of contemporary international relations to read or reread English's book, given its insightful exploration of the causes of the Cold War's burial - not to mention its important implications for the Post-post-Cold War era upon us now.

— Julie Newton

The Russian Review

English takes a complex issue and makes it accessible to nonspecialists without sacrificing theoretical and empirical rigor. His rich and detailed account of Soviet intellectual development is fascinating and enjoyable to read, while his analysis makes a valuable contribution to debates over the origins of the Gorbachev Revolution.

— Elaine McClarnand MacKinnon

America