Rethinking Cooperation in Cold War Europe: Difficult Friendships across the 'Nylon Curtain'

Studies of post-war Europe have conventionally stressed the Cold War’s ideological divisions and competing economic models. This open access book brings together historians from across Europe to explore the ways in which these political differences were circumvented, subverted, or overcome, whether in the spirit of international collaboration, solidarity or for more pragmatic reasons of national interest.

Rethinking Cooperation in Cold War Europe examines the systemic divide not as an Iron Curtain but – borrowing the metaphor of the Hungarian historian György Péteri, as a ‘Nylon Curtain’ – a present and yet surmountable partition that was frequently breached in a variety of ways by ordinary citizens, artists, scientists, politicians, and other historical actors.

From environmental collaboration and medical ethics to academic exchanges and peace activism, this book brings to life a complex series of ambiguous allegiances and complicated collaborations. For all of the difficulties, the mistrust, the paranoia, and the ulterior motives, the contributors here demonstrate the myriad ways in which ‘Bloc thinking’ could be and often was overcome in the service of common interests and shared visions. With Europe today facing an array of military and political challenges unprecedented in the post-war era, the book offers a wide-ranging and timely overview of the ways in which channels of communication can be kept open even at times of heightened geopolitical tensions.

The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the European Research Council.

• Publication date: 17 September 2026
• Page count: 280
• Dimensions: Height 236 mm; Width 162 mm; Thickness 22 mm
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
• Format: Hardback
• ISBN-13: 9781350436992