“That an escalation to a nuclear war can and must be avoided.”      

”In my view, it is crucial to “unpack” the Cold War and even to question its centrality to the period. Without denying the importance of the ideological and political conflicts between the United States and the Soviet Union, they cannot explain all the imbalances and conflicts in the world at the time. Most of them…

‘‘That human beings are highly skillful in adapting to new situations: people suffered but they also learned to take advantage of the Cold War restrictions; that people can’s be forced into accepting an ideology which is against their free will.’’

‘‘For a student of the Cold War, it is a multi-demensional conflict that reveals crucial aspects of the dynamics of international relations and the evolution of the systems of government; a crucial reminder that research can only be based on responsible, systematic and multi-archival research. But as an individual, the Cold War for me is…

”I’m sorry to give a negative answer, but I don’t think the Cold War has “lessons” to offer. I don’t think history should guide the present. The Cold War, like anything else, is what one makes of it. That’s probably the most important lesson!”          

”The obvious answer is that the Cold War is the introduction to the contemporary, highly volatile and unpredictable, chapter of human history. The period between 1945 and 1991 offers important insights, e.g. to the ability of the superpowers to internalize and respect the nuclear taboo, or the perils of military interference in treacherous, third world…

”It is the pre-history of our time and many of its characteristics persist in one form or another.”                  

”Because the legacy of the Cold War is with us.”                

”Studying the Cold War is important to our understanding of the world today – which to an extent is a product of the Cold War. It enables one to see how things got to be as they are, not least in the geopolitical landscape, the economic disparity, as well as the volatile domestic politics in…

”The demise of communism as an alternative ideology has distorted present-day understandings of politics.”