Transatlantic Cold War: Europe and the Superpowers

Course goals

Content

This course focuses on the transatlantic Cold War and thus on developments in and interactions between the US, the USSR and Europe from the angles of primarily diplomatic, as well as cultural and technological history.
The Cold War shaped international politics from the Second World War to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and beyond. Spreading their power over large parts of the earth, both the US and USSR became linchpins of far-flung systems of alliances. It has been argued that the great powers acted like a kind of policemen, imposing order in their spheres of influence through diplomacy or force. At the same time, allies also used room for maneuver to pursue their own goals in the Cold War world order.
This course not only addresses major events of the Cold War, but also the acrimonious debate on its origins, dynamics and end. Students also examine the aftermath of the Cold War and the nature of the post-Cold War world order.

Format
Every week students attend two seminars. The seminars are interactive and require active student participation. Students will be required to actively engage in group activities. These activities require preparation of the assigned material and will challenge students to delve deeper into the topic at hand. Students will also give a presentation on a topic related to the course content.
Students will write two papers during the course, one in the first half and one in the second. These will be based on literature and primary sources students will find and select, and will answer a research question, by comparing and contrasting different interpretations on the topic, and arriving at a substantiated conclusion. Students will receive teacher feedback on preliminary versions of the papers. Concluding the course, students take a written exam.

This course complements Decolonizing Security in the ‘Third World’ during the Global Cold War, which approaches the bipolar conflict from a global south perspective. It can be taken in conjunction with that course, as the two courses cover different regions and themes, or by itself.