Past Kissinger Chairs, 2001-2006

*Group portrait of diplomats from China with Minister Anson Burlingame and others*. 1868. Wood engraving from Harpers New Monthly magazine. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

From 2001-2006, the scholars Aaron L. Friedberg, Klaus Larres, Lanxin Xiang, Melvyn P. Leffler, and James M. Goldgeier individually held the position of Kissinger Chair in Foreign Policy and International Relations.

The research topics that these scholars focused on during their tenure included:

European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
Policymakers in Washington and Moscow
China's democratization
American policy-making in Europe and Asia

The sections below provide a brief biography for each scholar and include webcasts of their Library of Congress lectures and programs, as well as selected bibliographies of their print publications.

James M. Goldgeier is professor of international relations at the School of International Service at American University and former senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. At the Kluge Center, Goldgeier examined the growing division between the European Union, NATO, and the former Soviet Union.

Featured Videos

June 11, 2015

As part of a two-day celebration of the 15th anniversary of the Kluge Center, this event discussed perspectives on the concept of world order from former Kissinger chairs at the Center.

June 12, 2008

The 12-year period between the end of the Cold War and the destruction of the Twin Towers was perceived as calm and peaceful. Yet foreign-policy experts say these were pivotal years in shaping America's role in the world. Derek Chollet and James Goldgeier examined those years in a lecture on their book “America Between the Wars”. According to Chollet and Goldgeier, when the Berlin Wall collapsed on Nov. 9, 1989—signaling the end of the Cold War—America and the West declared victory: democracy and free markets had prevailed and the United States emerged as the world's triumphant superpower. The finger-on-the-button tension that had defined a generation was over, and it seemed that peace was at hand. The next 12 years rolled by in a haze of self-congratulation, what some now call a "holiday from history." When that complacency shattered on September 11, confused Americans asked themselves: how did we get here? Chollet and Goldgeier examined how the decisions and debates of the years between the fall of the Berlin Wall and the terrorist attacks shaped the events, arguments and politics of the world we live in today.

November 15, 2006

James Goldgeier presented a lecture titled "The End of the Cold War and the Struggle Over American Foreign Policy" in a program sponsored by the Kluge Center.

Print Materials

The following titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are provided when available.

The Future of NATO by James M. Goldgeier
Call Number: UA646.3 .G65 2010
ISBN: 9780876094679
Published/Created: 2010-03-22
NATO's leaders never tire of calling the organization the most successful military alliance in history. It has gone from defending its members against a Soviet attack to engaging in humanitarian intervention in the Balkans to patrolling the Mediterranean Sea. At its recent sixtieth anniversary, however, the celebration was tempered by charges that the alliance was failing in Afghanistan. Today, the central question facing NATO is whether an alliance designed to confront traditional twentieth-century threats can respond to the transnational challenges of the twenty-first century. "The Future of NATO" argues that NATO members must recognize two features of the new security environment. First, threats are global, not local, and often are nonmilitary in nature; and second, NATO cannot manage many of these new threats on its own and must seek other partners, such as the European Union, to be effective. In addition, James M. Goldgeier maintains the alliance must come to a consensus on how to manage its relationship with an increasingly assertive Russia.
America Between the Wars by Derek Chollet; James M. Goldgeier
Call Number: E839.5 .C475 2008
ISBN: 9781586484965
Published/Created: 2008-06-03
When the Berlin Wall collapsed on November 9, 1989--signaling the end of the Cold War--America and the West declared victory: Democracy and free markets had prevailed and the United States emerged as the world's triumphant superpower. The finger-on-the-button tension that had defined a generation was over, and it seemed that peace was at hand. The next twelve years rolled by in a haze of self-congratulation--what some now call a "holiday from history". When that complacency shattered on September 11, 2001, setting the U.S. on a new and contentious path, confused Americans asked themselves: How did we get here? "In America Between The Wars", Derek Chollet and James Goldgeier examine how the decisions and debates of the years between the fall of the Wall on 11/9 and the collapse of the Twin Towers on 9/11 shaped the events, arguments, and politics of the world we live in today. Reflecting the authors' deep expertise and broad access to key players across the political spectrum, this book tells the story of a generation of leaders grappling with a moment of dramatic transformation--changing how we should think about the recent past, and uncovering important lessons for the future.
Power and Purpose: U.S. Policy Toward Russia After the Cold War by James M. Goldgeier; Michael McFaul
Call Number: E183.8.R9 G626 2003
ISBN: 0815731736
Published/Created: 2003-10-29
Russia, once seen as America's greatest adversary, is now viewed by the United States as a potential partner. This book traces the evolution of American foreign policy toward the Soviet Union, and later Russia, during the tumultuous and uncertain period following the end of the cold war. It examines how American policymakers--particularly in the executive branch--coped with the opportunities and challenges presented by the new Russia. Drawing on extensive interviews with senior U.S. and Russian officials, the authors explain George H. W. Bush's response to the dramatic coup of August 1991 and the Soviet breakup several months later, examine Bill Clinton's efforts to assist Russia's transformation and integration, and analyze George W. Bush's policy toward Russia as September 11 and the war in Iraq transformed international politics. Throughout, the book focuses on the benefits and perils of America's efforts to promote democracy and markets in Russia as well as reorient Russia from security threat to security ally. Understanding how three U.S. administrations dealt with these critical policy questions is vital in assessing not only America's Russia policy, but also efforts that might help to transform and integrate other former adversaries in the future.
Foreign Policy Decision-Making by Richard C. Snyder; H. W. Bruck; Valerie Hudson; Burton M. Sapin; Burton Sapin
Call Number: JZ1253 .S65 2002
ISBN: 1403960763
Published/Created: 2003-02-21
This classic work has helped shape the field of international relations and especially influenced scholars interested in how foreign policy is made. At a time when conventional wisdom and traditional approaches are being questioned, and when there is increased interest in the importance of process, the insights of Snyder, Bruck and Sapin have continuing and increased relevance. Prescient in its focus on the effects on foreign policy of individuals and their preconceptions, organizations and their procedures, and cultures and their values, "Foreign Policy Decision-Making" is of continued relevance for anyone seeking to understand the ways foreign policy is made.
Not Whether But When: The U.S. Decision to Enlarge NATO by James M. Goldgeier
Call Number: JZ5930 .G65 1999
ISBN: 0815731728
Published/Created: 1999-10-01
How did Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic become the newest members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization? Based on interviews conducted with more than 75 individuals--from Cabinet officials to desk officers--James M. Goldgeier tells the inside story of this controversial Clinton administration initiative. Analyzing the earliest internal deliberations, as well as administration discussions with allies, the Russians, and the United States Senate, Goldgeier demonstrates how a handful of committed policymakers outmaneuvered overwhelming bureaucratic opposition. He shows the role of domestic politics in shaping the evolution of this policy and dissects the national campaign waged by the administration's specially created NATO enlargement ratification office and its outside supporters. Weaving together insights about bureaucratic politics, policy entrepreneurship, and domestic politics, this book provides fresh insights into the American foreign policymaking process.
Leadership Styles and Soviet Foreign Policy by James M. Goldgeier
Call Number: DK266.45 .G65 1994
ISBN: 0801848660
Published/Created: 1994-07-01
How do world leaders make decisions in important foreign policy encounters? James Goldgeier argues that modern leaders come to power trained not as diplomats but as politicians, and their experiences as the most successful politicians at home provide the "schooling" for how to deal with friends and foes in the international arena. Goldgeier explores this important and understudied connection between key domestic political experiences and foreign policy decisions in case studies of four Soviet leaders of the Cold War era--Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev, Leonid Brezhnev, and Mikhail Gorbachev. Drawing connections between the domestic political experiences of these leaders and their behavior toward the United States during key foreign policy events, Goldgeier offers fresh interpretations of the Berlin blockade crisis of 1948, the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, the Middle East war of 1973, and German reunification in 1989-90. He argues that the defining moment in the development of a Soviet leader's style came during the period when that leader acted to consolidate power and neutralize adversaries in order to succeed a dead or deposed leader. Success in this period confirmed the effectiveness of the leader's first truly independent political action and shaped his distinctive political style--a style that reappeared in international bargaining.

Melvyn P. Leffler is professor of history emeritus at the University of Virginia and a leading authority on modern U.S. foreign relations. At the Kluge Center, Leffler analyzed efforts by policymakers in Washington and Moscow to reduce the confrontational nature of the Cold War.

Featured Video

November 10, 2005

Melvyn P. Leffler presented a lecture titled "Retreat from Armageddon? Khrushchev, Kennedy, Johnson and the Elusive Quest for Peace." According to Leffler, there were many attempts by policymakers in both Washington and Moscow to reduce the confrontational nature of the Cold War. Leffler analyzes the efforts of Nikita Khrushchev, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson and attempt to explain why they did not succeed.

Print Materials

The following titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are provided when available.

Shaper Nations: Strategies for a Changing World by William I. Hitchcock; Melvyn P. Leffler; Jeffrey W. Legro
Call Number: JZ1313 .S534 2016
ISBN: 9780674660212
Published/Created: 2016-04-05
"Shaper Nations" provides illuminating perspectives on the national strategies of eight emerging and established countries that are shaping global politics at the beginning of the twenty-first century. The volume's authors offer a unique viewpoint: they live and work primarily in the country about which they write, bringing an insider's feel for national debates and politics. The conventional wisdom on national strategy suggests that these states have clear central authority, coherently connect means to ends, and focus on their geopolitical environment. These essays suggest a different conclusion. In seven key countries--Brazil, China, Germany, India, Israel, Russia, and Turkey--strategy is dominated by nonstate threats, domestic politics, the distorting effect of history and national identity, economic development concerns, and the sheer difficulty, in the face of many powerful internal and external constraints, of pursuing an effective national strategy. The shapers represent a new trend in the international arena with important consequences. Among them is a more uncertain world in which countries concentrate on their own development rather than on shared problems that might divert precious resources, and attend more to regional than to global order. In responding to these shaper states, the United States must understand the sources of their national strategies in determining its own role on the global stage.
In Uncertain Times: American Foreign Policy after the Berlin Wall and 9/11 by Melvyn P. Leffler (Editor); Jeffrey W. Legro (Editor)
Call Number: E840 .I46 2011
ISBN: 9780801476198
Published/Created: 2011-05-15
"In Uncertain Times" considers how policymakers react to dramatic developments on the world stage. Few expected the Berlin Wall to come down in November 1989; no one anticipated the devastating attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in September 2001. American foreign policy had to adjust quickly to an international arena that was completely transformed. Melvyn P. Leffler and Jeffrey W. Legro have assembled an illustrious roster of officials from the George H. W. Bush, Clinton, and George W. Bush administrations--Robert B. Zoellick, Paul Wolfowitz, Eric S. Edelman, Walter B. Slocombe, and Philip Zelikow. These policymakers describe how they went about making strategy for a world fraught with possibility and peril. They offer provocative reinterpretations of the economic strategy advanced by the George H. W. Bush administration, the bureaucratic clashes over policy toward the breakup of the USSR, the creation of the Defense Policy Guidance of 1992, the expansion of NATO, the writing of the National Security Strategy Statement of 2002, and the invasion of Iraq in 2003. A group of scholars address these same topics. Bruce Cumings, John Mueller, Mary Elise Sarotte, Odd Arne Westad, and William C. Wohlforth probe the unstated assumptions, the cultural values, and the psychological makeup of the policymakers. They examine whether opportunities were seized and whether threats were magnified and distorted. They assess whether academicians and independent experts would have done a better job than the policymakers did. Together, policymakers and scholars impel us to rethink how our world has changed and how policy can be improved in the future.
The Cambridge History of the Cold War by Melvyn P. Leffler (Editor); Odd Arne Westad (Editor)
Call Number: D842 .C295 2010
ISBN: 9780521837194
Published/Created: 2010-03-25
This volume examines the origins, causes and early years of the Cold War. Leading scholars show how the conflict evolved from the geopolitical, ideological, economic, and socio-political environment of the two world wars and the interwar period as well as examining how markets, ideas, and cultural interactions affected political discourse, diplomatic events, and strategic thinking. Chapters focus not only on the USA, the USSR, and Great Britain, but also on other critical regions such as Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and East Asia. They deal not only with the most influential statesmen of the era but also address the issues that mattered most to peoples around the globe: food, nutrition, and resource allocation; demography and consumption; ethnicity, race, and religion; science and technology; national autonomy, self-determination, and sovereignty. In so doing, the book illuminates how people worldwide shaped the evolution of the increasingly bipolar conflict, and, in turn, were ensnared by it.
To Lead the World by Jeffrey W. Legro (Editor); Melvyn P. Leffler (Editor)
Call Number: JZ1480.A5 T65 2008
ISBN: 9780195330984
Published/Created: 2008-07-21
U.S. national security policy is at a critically important crossroads. The Bush Doctrine of unilateralism, pre-emptive war, and the imposition of democracy by force has proven disastrous. The United States now finds itself vilified abroad, weakened at home, and bogged down in a seemingly endless and unwinnable war. In "To Lead the World", Melvyn P. Leffler and Jeffrey W. Legro bring together eleven of America's most esteemed writers and thinkers to offer concrete, historically grounded suggestions for how America can regain its standing in the world and use its power more wisely than it has during the Bush years. Representing a wide range of perspectives, the writers gathered here place the current foreign-policy predicament firmly in the larger context of American and world history and draw upon realistic appraisals of both the strengths and the limits of American power. They argue persuasively that the kind of leadership that made the United States a great--and greatly admired--nation in the past can be revitalized to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
For the Soul of Mankind: The United States, the Soviet Union, and the Cold War by Melvyn P. Leffler
Call Number: E183.8.S65 L44 2007
ISBN: 9780809097173
Published/Created: 2007-09-18
To the amazement of the public, pundits, and even the policymakers themselves, the ideological and political conflict that had endangered the world for half a century came to an end in 1990. How did that happen? What caused the cold war in the first place, and why did it last as long as it did? The distinguished historian Melvyn P. Leffler homes in on four crucial episodes when American and Soviet leaders considered modulating, avoiding, or ending hostilities and asks why they failed: Stalin and Truman devising new policies after 1945; Malenkov and Eisenhower exploring the chance for peace after Stalin's death in 1953; Kennedy, Khrushchev, and LBJ trying to reduce tensions after the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962; and Brezhnev and Carter aiming to sustain detente after the Helsinki Conference of 1975. All these leaders glimpsed possibilities for peace, yet they allowed ideologies, political pressures, the expectations of allies and clients, the dynamics of the international system, and their own fearful memories to trap them in a cycle of hostility that seemed to have no end. Leffler's book illuminates how Reagan, Bush, and, above all, Gorbachev finally extricated themselves from the policies and mind-sets that had imprisoned their predecessors, and were able to reconfigure Soviet-American relations after decades of confrontation.
Origins of the Cold War: An International History by Melvyn P. Leffler (Editor); David S. Painter (Editor); Melvyn leffler
Call Number: D842 .O86 2005
ISBN: 0415341094
Published/Created: 2005-06-13
The Cold War dominated the world political arena for forty-five years. Focusing on the international system and on events in all parts of the globe, Melvyn P. Leffler and David S. Painter have brought together a truly international collection of articles that provide a fresh and comprehensive analysis of the origins of the Cold War. Moving beyond earlier controversies, this edited collection focuses on the interaction between geopolitics and threat perception, technology and strategy, ideology and social reconstruction, national economic reform and patterns of international trade, and decolonization and national liberation. The editors also consider how and why the Cold War spread from Europe to Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America and how groups, classes and elites used the Cold War to further their own interests. This second edition includes the newest research from the Communist side of the Cold War and the most recent debates on culture, race and the role of intelligence analysis. Also included is a completely new section dealing with the Cold War crises in Iran, Turkey and Greece and a guide to further reading.
Origins of the Cold War: An International History by Melvyn P. Leffler (Editor); David S. Painter (Editor)
Call Number: D842 .O86 1994
ISBN: 0415096944
Published/Created: 1994-06-02
The Cold War dominated the world political arena for forty-five years. Focusing on the international system and on events in all parts of the globe, Melvyn P. Leffler and David S. Painter have brought together a truly international collection of articles that provide a fresh and comprehensive analysis of the origins of the Cold War. Moving beyond earlier controversies, this edited collection focuses on the interaction between geopolitics and threat perception, technology and strategy, ideology and social reconstruction, national economic reform and patterns of international trade, and decolonization and national liberation. The editors also consider how and why the Cold War spread from Europe to Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America and how groups, classes and elites used the Cold War to further their own interests.
The Specter of Communism: The United States and the Origins of the Cold War, 1917-1953 by Melvyn P. Leffler; Eric Foner (Editor)
Call Number: E744 .L432 1994
ISBN: 080908791X
Published/Created: 1994-10-01
The Hill and Wang Critical Issues Series: concise, affordable works on pivotal topics in American history, society, and politics. "The Specter of Communism" is a concise history of the origins of the Cold War and the evolution of U.S.-Soviet relations, from the Bolshevik revolution to the death of Stalin. Using not only American documents but also those from newly opened archives in Russia, China, and Eastern Europe, Leffler shows how the ideological animosity that existed from Lenin's seizure of power onward turned into dangerous confrontation. By focusing on American political culture and American anxieties about the Soviet political and economic threat, Leffler suggests new ways of understanding the global struggle staged by the two great powers of the postwar era.
A Preponderance of Power: National Security, the Truman Administration, and the Cold War by Melvyn P. Leffler
Call Number: E813 .L45 1991
ISBN: 0804719241
Published/Created: 1992-01-01
This is a comprehensive history of the Truman administration's progressive embroilment in the Cold War. The book won the 1993 Bancroft Prize in American History and Diplomacy.
The Elusive Quest: America's Pursuit of European Stability and French Security, 1919-1933 by Melvyn P. Leffler
Call Number: E183.8.F8 L43
ISBN: 0807813338
Published/Created: 1979-01-01
Melvyn P. Leffler argues that American officials did not disregard European developments after World War I but, rather, they sought to settle the war debt and reparations controversies, to stabilize European currencies, and to revive European markets. Leffler bridges the gap between revisionist and traditionalist studies by integrating the diverse aspects of foreign policy and elucidates many new aspects of the foreign policymaking process in the postwar period.

Lanxin Xiang is professor of international history and politics at the Institut Universitaire de Hautes Études Internationales in Geneva, Switzerland. At the Kluge Center, Xiang analyzed the idea of democracy and Sino-U.S. Relations.

Print Materials

The following titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are provided when available.

China's Legitimacy Crisis: Republic without Plebiscite by Lanxin Xiang
Call Number: JQ1516 .X523 2017
ISBN: 9781498544726
Published/Created: 2017-06-30
Despite its achievements in economic growth, the People's Republic of China is facing its most serious legitimacy crisis since its founding in 1949. Its political order is, however, cracking at the seams. But the roots of this crisis are generally misunderstood in the west because the predominant conceptual framework and terminology have lost validity in explaining China. The most misleading assumption is that political problems in China would come from its lack of "democratic legitimacy," for this interpretation cannot explain why the crisis starts to manifest itself during China's most sustained period of economic boom in history. It is the contention of this book that the main source of China's legitimacy crisis comes from elsewhere: a clash between "Confucian legitimacy," or the traditional "mandate of heaven," and the alien feature of the Communist ruling machine.
The Origins of the Boxer War: A Multinational Study by Lanxin Xiang
Call Number: DS771 .X53 2003
ISBN: 0700715630
Published/Created: 2002-12-30
This is the first book to provide a panoramic view of the origins of the Boxer War. Comprehensively examining this historical conundrum of the 20th century from a detached perspective, the book is based on ten years of exhaustive research of both unpublished and published materials from all nine countries involved. Analysing the misunderstanding between the Chinese and foreign governments of the day, Lanxin Xiang debunks the traditional view that the anti-foreign Empress Dowager of the Chinese Empire was chiefly responsible for this catastrophic episode which altered the course of 20th century China's relationship with the west.
Mao's Generals: Chen Yi and the New Fourth Army by Lanzin Xiang
Call Number: U55.C4834 X85 1998
ISBN: 076181129X
Published/Created: 1998-06-25
"Mao's Generals" reevaluates the military history of Mao Zedong's seizure of power in China using all original historical materials, confronting the history as recorded by the communist party-influenced historians. It disputes the total invincibility and brilliance of Mao in military affairs by restoring credit to the generals that made significant contributions to the communist victory. The focus falls mainly on a brilliant romantic poet named Chen Yi who founded the New Fourth Army with a group of brilliant young men and led peasant guerrillas to the victory that broke the Kuomintong's backbone. Despite his accomplishments, he could not deter his eventual demise at the hands of Mao. The author uses these incidents, plus the manipulation of the Anti-Japanese War to expose the actual nature of the communist revolution and policy in China under Mao.
Recasting the Imperial Far East: Britain and America in China, 1945-50 by Lanxin Xiang
Call Number: DA47.9.C6 X53 1995
ISBN: 1563244608
Published/Created: 1995-02-28
Attempts to shed new light on the Anglo-American rivalry in China in the period between the defeat of Japan and the triumph of the Chinese Communists. This study contends that the USSR was not a major factor in the dispute.

Klaus Larres is professor of history and international affairs at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, NC. At the Kluge Center, Larres researched the United States and the ‘Unity of Europe’: a comparative analysis of American policy-making and European integration in the post-1945 and post-1990 eras.

Featured Videos

June 11, 2015

As part of a two-day celebration of the 15th anniversary of the Kluge Center, this event discussed perspectives on the concept of world order from former Kissinger chairs at the Center.

September 29, 2011

In this video, Klaus Larres discussed how the 1970s, like today, were characterized by controversial military engagements, deep political divisions and severe financial disruptions. Larres describes the Nixon/Kissinger approach to overcoming U.S. "decline" in an increasingly multilateral world and analyzes whether this approach is still relevant for the current administration.

May 18, 2010

Two distinguished historians discussed German and American historiography at the Library of Congress. The historians focused on Kocka's contributions to the rise of social history, which became the dominant force in contemporary history on both sides of the Atlantic. Kocka also illuminated the continuing benefits of studying history in the 21st century.

May 26, 2005

This event commemorated the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, focused on an historical perspective of the events surrounding the end of the war and. The panel was moderated by Prosser Gifford, former Director of Scholarly Programs at the Library of Congress. Panelists included Klaus Larres, James Hershberg, Jon Meacham, Elizabeth B. White and Peter Black.

Print Materials

The following titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are provided when available.

Understanding Global Politics by Klaus Larres (Editor); Ruth Wittlinger (Editor)
Call Number: JZ1310 .U53 2019
ISBN: 9781138682276
Published/Created: 2019-04-20
Contemporary international affairs are largely shaped by widely differing thematic issues and actors, such as nation states, international institutions, NGOs and multinational companies. Obtaining a deeper understanding of these multifaceted themes and actors is crucial for developing a genuine understanding of contemporary international affairs. This book provides undergraduate and postgraduate students of global politics and international relations with the necessary knowledge of the forces that shape and dominate our global political, economic and social/cultural environment. The book significantly enhances our understanding of the essentials of contemporary international affairs. "Understanding Global Politics" takes a pragmatic approach to international relations, with each chapter being written by an expert in their respective field: Part I provides the historical background that has led to the current state of world affairs. It also provides clear outlines of the major yet often complex theories of international relations. Part II is dedicated to the main actors in global politics. It discusses actors such as the most important nation states, the UN, EU, international organizations, NGOs, and multinational companies. Part III considers important contemporary themes and challenges in global politics, including non-state centered challenges. Chapters focus on international terrorism, energy and climate change issues, religious fundamentalism and demographic changes.
A Companion to Europe since 1945 by Klaus Larres (Editor)
Call Number: D1051 .C65 2009
ISBN: 9781405106122
Published/Created: 2009-04-13
"A Companion to Europe Since 1945" provides a stimulating guide to numerous important developments which have influenced the political, economic, social, and cultural character of Europe during and since the Cold War. Includes 22 original essays by an international team of expert scholars. Examines the social, intellectual, economic, cultural, and political changes that took place throughout Europe in the Cold War and Post Cold War periods.
The Cold War after Stalin's Death by Klaus Larres and Kenneth Osgood (Editors)
Call Number: D840 .C636 2006
ISBN: 9780742554511
Published/Created: 2006-10-12
After Stalin's death in March 1953, the Cold War changed almost overnight. The Soviet Union embarked on a course of reconciliation and greater openness. However, despite an end to the Korean War and progress on many other outstanding East-West questions, the Western world remained mistrustful of Soviet motives and policies and Soviet leaders remained suspicious of Western intentions. Less than a decade after Stalin's death the Berlin Wall was erected and the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the world close to nuclear annihilation. Was this development unavoidable? Was an opportunity missed to overcome and terminate the Cold War? Was there a possibility for the creation of a more stable, less threatening, and less costly world in both human and material terms? It is only now, after the end of the Cold War and based on recently declassified western documents and revelations from once-closed archives in the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and China, that new light can be shed on the nature of international Cold War policies in the years after Stalin's death. The essays in this book offer a historical understanding of this crucial period of the Cold War, assessing both the possibilities for change and the obstacles to d tente. The book draws on the collective talents of an international group of scholars with a wide range of historical, geographical, and linguistic expertise. All of the essays are based on original research, many of them drawing from previously inaccessible archival documents from both the East and West.
Churchill's Cold War:The Politics of Personal Diplomacy by Klaus Larres
Call Number: DA588 .L364 2002
ISBN: 0300094388
Published/Created: 2002-08-11
Churchill's techniques of government were distinctly unconventional. Energetic, self-confident, and persuasive, he preferred to act outside official civil service channels when the stakes were high. When forming foreign policy, his preferred modus operandi was summit diplomacy--the cultivation of personal contacts to achieve national objectives. At its best his direct intervention could be heroically successful, resulting, for example, in the entry of the United States into the Second World War. At its worst it failed utterly. Either way this was international politics at a level of high drama and high risk. This book explores Churchill's predilection for direct diplomatic action from his first tentative involvement in 1908 until his retirement as prime minister in 1955. Its principal focus is the period 1945-1955, during which the full force of Churchill's personal diplomacy was directed at sustaining Britain's great power status--in relation to the Soviet Union and the United States--at a time when its own economic power was declining. In particular, after October 1951 Churchill sought to revive with President Eisenhower and with Stalin's successors in Soviet Russia the "Big Three" summitry he saw as the most effective means to forestall a nuclear holocaust and achieve a lasting peace. Based on an exhaustive scrutiny of official documents and private archives in Europe and the United States, this book breaks vital new ground in terms of both Churchill scholarship and the international history of the Cold War.
Germany since Unification: The Development of the Berlin Republic by Klaus Larres (Editor)
Call Number: JN3971.A91 G464 2001
ISBN: 0333918290
Published/Created: 2001-02-13
A decade after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of the GDR and the end of the Cold War, Germany has begun to cope with the political, economic, social and nationalistic challenges unification has posed to its institutions and way of life in both the western and eastern part of the once divided nation. The books' eleven authors, all experts in their field, analyse the way united Germany has tackled the many unforeseen problems and highlighted the gradually emerging short- and long-term patterns in Germany's slow adjustment to the new realities. The country has not only become more populous and territorially bigger, but also burdened with much underestimated problems, particularly economic and social ones. The emergence of a new economic, political and perhaps military superstate as feared by many in 1990 has not materialised. Instead, Germany today is only just coping with the domestic and external challenges of unification. The economic and social integration of the former East Germany into the Federal Republic has still not been completed and may take yet another ten to fifteen years. This book gives the reader ample and well-analysed information to comprehend the many challenges facing Germany and its European neighbours in the post-Cold War world.
The Cold War: The Essential Readings by Klaus Larres (Editor); Ann Lane (Editor); Alfred E. Eckes (Contribution by)
Call Number: D843 .C577323 2001
ISBN: 0631207066
Published/Created: 2001-10-08
This collection brings together the most influential and commonly-studied articles on the Cold War.
Uneasy Allies: British-German relations and European integration since 1945 by Klaus Larres (Editor); Elizabeth Meehan (As told to)
Call Number: DD120.G7 U53 2000
ISBN: 0198293836
Published/Created: 2000-05-11
This book offers an interesting and challenging insight into the evolution of British-German relations within the context of European integration in the last half of the 20th century. It is one of the first substantial and interdisciplinary attempts to analyze the volatile British-German relationship since World War II. It argues that although British-German relations were difficult throughout the post-World War II period, since the change of government in 1997 in Britain and 1998 in Germany, both countries have developed a much more constructive policy towards each other.
Germany since Unification: The Domestic and External Consequences by Klaus Larres
Call Number: JN3971.A91 G465 1998
ISBN: 031217747X
Published/Created: 1998-01-01
More than five years after the opening of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of the GDR and the end of the Cold War, Germany has begun to cope with the political, economic, social and nationalistic challenges unification has posed to its institutions and way of life in both the western and eastern part of the once divided country. This book's nine authors, all experts in their field, analyze the way united Germany has tackled the many unforeseen problems and highlight the gradually emerging short and long-term patterns in Germany's slow adjustment to the new realities.
The Federal Republic of Germany Since 1949 by Klaus Larres; Panikos Panayi
Call Number: HC286.5 .F43 1996
ISBN: 0582238919
Published/Created: 1996-08-20
This book offers a reassessment of Germany's postwar development from its inception through to reunification, including a thorough examination of the implications for economic, political and social policies. The team of contributors include: Hartmut Berghoff, David Childs, Immanuel Geiss, Graham Hallett, Klaus Larres, Terry McNeill, Torsten Opelland, Richard Overy, Stephen Padgett, Panikos Panayi, and Mathias Siekmeier.

Sound Recordings

The following titles link to fuller bibliographic information of audio recordings in the Library of Congress Online Catalog.

Statecraft and America's position in the World by Klaus Larres
Call Number: RYK 5456-5457
Published/Created: 2004
Organized and moderated by Klaus Larres. The panelists include: Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security adviser during the Carter administration; Brent Scowcroft, national security adviser during the Ford and Bush administrations; and Richard Holbrooke, assistant secretary of state in the Carter and Clinton administrations.
Downward Course: European-American relations from the 1970s to present by Klaus Larres
Call Number: RYK 5443
Published/Created: 2003
Larres was appointed the second Henry Alfred Kissinger Scholar at the Library of Congress in Sept. 2002. Recorded June 23, 2003, in the Mumford Room, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The Death of Stalin: A missed opportunity to overcome the Cold War? by Klaus Larres (Moderator)
Call Number: RYK 5444-5445
Published/Created: 2003
On the 50th anniversary of death of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, historical "witnesses" and historians discuss the implications and consequences of Stalin's death on the Cold War policies of the Eisenhower administration and whether his death could have been exploited to arrive at an earlier end of the Cold War. The event was a roundtable discussion, moderated by Klaus Larres, sponsored by the Kluge Center.
Re-evaluating the Nixon/Ford/Kissinger Era: Transatlantic relations and U.S. foreign policy during the 1970s and beyond by Klaus Larres (Moderator)
Call Number: RYK 5433-5436
Published/Created: 2003
The panel of historical "witnesses," journalists, and scholars discuss topics related to the relationship that existed between Europe and the U.S. during the Nixon and Ford administrations and its continuing legacy. Topics discuss include America and the development of a common European identity, the rise of neo-nationalism, the Western Alliance and NATO, the oil crises, changes in Eastern Europe, etc. The event was a roundtable discussion, moderated by Klaus Larres, sponsored by the Kluge Center.
Churchill's Cold War the Politics of Personal Diplomacy by Klaus Larres
Call Number: RYK 5437
Published/Created: 2002
Klaus Larres discusses his book, "Churchill's Cold War: the politics of personal diplomacy", and explains how Churchill's personal diplomatic meetings with foreign leaders helped maintain Britain's status as a world power on par with the Soviet Union and the U.S., despite the fact that the past two world wars had greatly contributed to his country's decline.

Aaron L. Friedberg is professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University. On April 27, 2001 he was appointed the first Henry Alfred Kissinger Chair. His residence inaugurated the Henry Alfred Kissinger Chair in Foreign Policy and International Relations at the Library of Congress. At the Kluge Center, Friedberg researched the rise of Asia and its implications for America.

Print Materials

The following titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are provided when available.

Beyond Air-Sea Battle by Aaron L. Friedberg
Call Number: JK2261 .M355 2016
ISBN: 9781138808324
Published/Created: UA23 .F813 2014
This book presents the first comprehensive analysis of the debate over how the United States and its allies can counter China's rapidly growing military power.
A Contest for Supremacy: China, America, and the struggle for mastery in Asia by Aaron L. Friedberg
Call Number: JZ1480.A57 C6 2011
ISBN: 9780393068283
Published/Created: 2011-08-15
There may be no denying China's growing economic strength, but its impact on the global balance of power remains hotly contested. Political scientist Aaron L. Friedberg argues that our nation's leaders are failing to act expeditiously enough to counter China's growing strength. He explains how the United States and China define their goals and reveals the strategies each is now employing to achieve its ends. Friedberg demonstrates in this provocative book that the ultimate aim of Chinese policymakers is to "win without fighting," displacing the United States as the leading power in Asia while avoiding direct confrontation. The United States, on the other hand, sends misleading signals about our commitments and resolve, putting us at risk for a war that might otherwise have been avoided.
Strategic Asia 2001-02: Power and Purpose by Richard James Ellings (Editor); Michael D. Swaine (Contribution by); Aaron Louis Friedberg (Editor); Thomas J. Christensen (Contribution by); Kenneth B. Pyle (Contribution by); Eric Heginbotham (Contribution by); Nicholas Eberstadt (Contribution by); Rajan Menon (Contribution by); Ashley J. Tellis (Contribution by); Sheldon W. Simon (Contribution by)
Call Number: HD30.28 .S729217 2001
ISBN: 097139380X
Published/Created: 2001-09-01
In the Shadow of the Garrison State: America's Anti-Statism and its Cold War Grand Strategy by Aaron L. Friedberg
Call Number: JC330 .F74 2000
ISBN: 0691048908
Published/Created: 2000-04-16
War--or the threat of war--usually strengthens states as governments tax, draft soldiers, exert control over industrial production, and dampen internal dissent in order to build military might. The United States, however, was founded on the suspicion of state power, a suspicion that continued to gird its institutional architecture and inform the sentiments of many of its politicians and citizens through the twentieth century. In this comprehensive rethinking of postwar political history, Aaron Friedberg argues that such anti-statist inclinations prevented Cold War anxieties from transforming the United States into the garrison state it might have become in their absence. Drawing on an array of primary and secondary sources, Friedberg concludes that the "weakness" of the American state served as a profound source of national strength that allowed the United States to outperform and outlast its supremely centralized and statist rival: the Soviet Union. Friedberg's analysis of the U.S. government's approach to taxation, conscription, industrial planning, scientific research and development, and armaments manufacturing reveals that the American state did expand during the early Cold War period. But domestic constraints on its expansion--including those stemming from mean self-interest as well as those guided by a principled belief in the virtues of limiting federal power--protected economic vitality, technological superiority, and public support for Cold War activities. The strategic synthesis that emerged by the early 1960s was functional as well as stable, enabling the United States to deter, contain, and ultimately outlive the Soviet Union precisely because the American state did not limit unduly the political, personal, and economic freedom of its citizens.
The Weary Titan: Britain and the Experience of Relative Decline, 1895-1905 by Aaron L. Friedberg
Call Number: DA570 .F75 1988
ISBN: 0691055327
Published/Created: 1988-10-21

Kissinger Chair in Foreign Policy and International Relations

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