European Community and Eastern Europe in the Long 1970s: Challenging the Cold War Order in Europe

The book explores the European Community's role in overcoming the East-West divide during the Cold War, using recently released primary sources from European and U.S. archives. It demonstrates the EC's ability to shape, implement, and further develop a coordinated Eastern policy, challenge Soviet bloc-keeping imperatives, resist the US call for a confrontational stance towards the Communist world, and promote new intra-European relations based on cooperation and interdependence. It argues that the EC Ostpolitik contributed to undermining socialist integration, offered an alternative path of relations to Eastern European countries, and established the influential role of the Community in the continent. It sheds new light on the interrelation between the two and adds to the broader history and understanding of contemporary Europe. It actively engages with Cold War historiographical debates on détente and its alleged crisis, the end of the Cold War, and the role of actors other than the superpowers in shaping East-West relations.

Format: Hardback
Length: 240 pages
Publication date: 01 January 2021
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This book is an historical investigation into the role of the European Community (EC) in the overcoming of the East-West divide during the Cold War. Using recently released primary sources from a broad range of European and U.S. archives, the work reveals the ability of the EC and its member states to shape, implement, and further develop a coordinated Eastern policy and play a significant transformative role in the Continent. It demonstrates that the EC polity successfully managed to challenge Soviet bloc-keeping imperatives, resist the US call for a confrontational stance towards the Communist world, and promote instead new intra-European relations based on cooperation and interdependence. The book argues that the EC Ostpolitik contributed to undermining the socialist integration, offered an alternative path of relations to Eastern European countries, and established the influential role of the Community in the continent, laying the ground on which to build post-Cold War Europe.

This book is a thorough addition to both Cold War and European integration historiographies, and sheds new light on the interrelation between the two. It also adds to the broader history and understanding of contemporary Europe in that it reveals a pro-active role of the EC towards the East since the early 1970s, whereas historians and political scientists generally admit an effective role of the European institutions only in the post-communist era. The book actively engages with Cold War historiographical debates on détente and its alleged crisis, the end of the Cold War, and the role of actors other than the superpowers in shaping East-West relations. The EC is now recognised as having played a determinant role in the Helsinki Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE).

The book begins by examining the origins of the EC's Eastern policy in the early 1970s, when the EC was faced with the challenge of managing the growing political and economic tensions between the East and the West. The EC's initial response was to promote economic integration through the establishment of the Common Market, which aimed to create a single market for goods and services across the Continent. However, the EC's Eastern policy was soon overshadowed by the Cold War, and the EC's member states were divided over how to respond to the Soviet bloc. Some member states, such as France and West Germany, were keen to maintain close relations with the Soviet Union, while others, such as the United Kingdom and Denmark, were more inclined towards a more confrontational stance towards the Communist world.

The book then explores the EC's efforts to shape and implement its Eastern policy in the 1970s and 1980s. The EC's Eastern policy was characterized by a combination of economic and political measures, including the establishment of trade agreements, the provision of financial assistance, and the promotion of cultural exchange. The EC's Eastern policy was also influenced by the US's Cold War strategy, which sought to contain the Soviet Union and promote democracy and human rights in Eastern Europe.

The book highlights the EC's success in challenging Soviet bloc-keeping imperatives and resisting the US call for a confrontational stance towards the Communist world. The EC's Eastern policy was able to promote new intra-European relations based on cooperation and interdependence, which helped to undermine the socialist integration of Eastern European countries. The EC's Eastern policy also offered an alternative path of relations to Eastern European countries, which allowed them to develop their own political and economic systems without being dominated by the Soviet Union.

The book also examines the EC's role in the end of the Cold War. The EC played a significant role in the negotiations that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the EC's Eastern policy was instrumental in promoting the transition to democracy and market economies in Eastern Europe. The EC's Eastern policy also helped to establish the European Union (EU), which is now one of the world's largest economic and political blocs.

However, the book also highlights the challenges that the EC faced in the post-Cold War era. The EC's Eastern policy was criticized for its lack of focus on human rights and democracy in Eastern Europe, and the EC's member states were divided over how to respond to the challenges of globalization. The EC's Eastern policy also faced competition from other international organizations, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which were more focused on promoting economic growth and stability.

In conclusion, this book is a valuable addition to both Cold War and European integration historiographies. It reveals the ability of the EC and its member states to shape, implement, and further develop a coordinated Eastern policy and play a significant transformative role in the Continent. The book also highlights the challenges that the EC faced in the post-Cold War era, and it offers insights into the future of European integration.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780415730129