SDEb1004 Europe and the USA in the Cold War

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2024
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
PhDr. Vladimír Černý, Ph.D. (lecturer)
PhDr. Petr Suchý, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
PhDr. Petr Suchý, Ph.D.
Department of International Relations and European Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The primary goal of the course is to introduce students to developments in Europe and the United States of America in the Cold War years between 1945 and 1991. Attention will be paid to the change of positions of European states and the United States in the international system. Students will understand how their roles and cooperation evolved. They will also be acquainted with the developments of the confrontation of the western democracies with the Soviet Union and the Communist bloc. Students will learn about the main milestones of the Cold War and their reflection on the actions of European countries and the USA, their strategies, foreign policy concepts, and their outcomes.
Learning outcomes
Students will gain an overview of the development of Europe and the United States since the end of World War II to the collapse of the Soviet Union. They will become familiar with the main trends in the actions of the state actors under focus, their sources and their impact. In addition, they will be able to evaluate not only Czech but also foreign literature on the course topic, including primary sources, and apply their analytical skills in creating a presentation.
Syllabus
  • 1. Introductory lesson. Introduction to the course, its organization and conditions for its successful completion. Introduction to the subject, sources and literature.
  • 2. Europe after the Second World War and the changing role of the USA in the world. From isolationism to internationalism. George Kennan, the emergence of the strategy of containment of communism and its implementation. The Marshall Plan, the Truman Doctrine and the beginning of bipolar division.
  • 3. US and USSR foreign policy in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Escalation of conflict, Berlin Blockade; US and Soviet Union activities in divided Europe.
  • 4. The emergence of NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Nuclearization of the Cold War. Rise of the role of nuclear weapons. Military rivalry and its European, American and Soviet specificities.
  • 5. Khrushchev, Eisenhower and the period of destalinization. The first attempts to defuse tensions, the impact of the Suez Crisis, and the suppression of the 1956 uprising in Hungary.
  • 6. The beginnings of European integration. Economic cooperation between Western European countries and the USA.
  • 7. The Berlin crisis of 1961 and its aftermath. The Soviet Union and its European satellites in the first half of the 1960s.
  • 8. The 1960s - a period of hope and disappointment. European perceptions of American involvement in Vietnam, the West and the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact troops.
  • 9. USA, Europe and Détente. Specifics of European and American approaches to détente. Brandt's Ostpolitik; Nixon, Brezhnev and the European perception of the US-Soviet détente.
  • 10. The decline of détente and the deterioration of relations between the superpowers. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and its consequences. Western reactions to Soviet armaments.
  • 11. From confrontation to détente. Reagan's foreign policy and its perception in Europe and the Soviet Union. Gorbachev's futile attempts at reform and their results.
  • 12. 1989, its causes and consequences. Soviet and American armed forces in the 1980s; economic problems of the Eastern Bloc. The collapse of the Soviet Union.
  • 13. Overall summary of the issues and final discussion with students.
Literature
  • BLACK, Jeremy: The Cold War. A Military History. London – New York: Bloomsbury, 2015.
  • KERCHER, B. J. C.: Britain, America, and the Special Relationship since 1941. London – New York: Routledge, 2017
  • SUCHÝ, Petr: Strategie a zadržování v americké zahraniční politice. Vznik a vývoj koncepce 1945–1953. Brno: MPÚ MU, 2005.
  • MICHAELS. Jonathan: McCarthyism. The Realities, Delusions and Politics Behind the 1950s Red Scare. London – New York: Routledge. 2017.
  • TRACHTENBERG, Marc. The Cold War and after : history, theory, and the logic of international politics. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012, xi, 317. ISBN 9780691152035. info
  • The Cambridge history of the Cold War. Edited by Melvyn P. Leffler - Odd Arne Westad. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010, xviii, 662. ISBN 9781107602304. info
  • A failed empire : the Soviet union in the cold war from Stalin to Gorbachev. Edited by Vladislav Martinovič Zubok. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina press, 2009, xxx, 467. ISBN 9780807859582. info
  • SUCHÝ, Petr. Reagan a říše zla : vývoj americké zahraniční politiky a vztahů mezi supervelmocemi v letech 1981-1989. 1. vyd. Brno: Centrum pro studium demokracie a kultury (CDK), 2004, 283 s. ISBN 8073250462. info
Teaching methods
The course combines lectures and seminar teaching. During the semester, students will prepare a joint presentation on a given topic, testing their ability to apply analytical skills and work with literature written in Czech and English.
Assessment methods
Students are asked to work in groups to make a joint presentation on one of the assigned topics. The final exam consists of a written test to test the overall knowledge of the subject. The comprehensive course assessment of 60 points includes this final test (maximum 30 points), a mid-term written test on the topics covered so far in the semester (10 points) and a seminar paper (20 points). Students must earn a minimum of 40 points to pass the course successfully.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
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