Sarah Bey Steinmetz Academic Centre

The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union dominated international relations for the second half of the 20th Century. The animosity between these two superpowers resulted in armed conflicts, as well as ideological conflicts. The ripple effects of the Cold War are still felt today, in terms of political instability and ethnic hostilities in many regions of the world.

In The Specter of Communism, Melvyn Leffler examines the fundamental causes of the Cold War using an impressive collection of primary source documents, both of American and Soviet origin. His argument reflects, in my opinion, a balance of revisionist and post?revisionist theory in examining the important question of, who was responsible for the start the Cold War. He postulated that American expansionism and the nature of U.S. capitalism is primarily responsible for the start of the Cold War. However, the Soviet Union also shares some of that blame through their establishment of an Eastern European "buffer zone".

According to Leffler, the Cold War was an inevitable occurrence due to the ideological clash between communism and capitalism. It began with this ideological rivalry and escalated because of the American fear of Soviet power and expansion and the Soviet fear of maintaining security and political stability. The United States government was clearly democratic and the Soviet Union was totalitarian in nature. Democracy and Totalitarianism are political opposites of each other, just as capitalism and socialism are economic opposites of each other. As Vladymir Lenin said, "As long as capitalism and socialism exist, we cannot live in peace." American leaders also used dangerous rhetoric. Woodrow Wilson identified Bolshevism as a "poison . . . running through the veins of the world" and Harry Truman described communism as "tyranny against freedom," and a "threat to our liberty." Political leaders on both sides distrusted the motives and actions of the other. This mistrust created the underlying tension between the Soviet Union and the United States. However, Leffler explains in great detail the events during and immediately following World War II that created a multitude of problems and situations where both countries ended up on opposite sides. For example, the power vacuum in Europe, the question and rebuilding of Germany and Japan, the political struggles in Asia, and the arms race all contributed to the intensity
of the Cold War.

Leffler's chronological organization in The Specter of Communism allows both novice and expert students of contemporary history to better understand the perceptions and motives of American and Soviet leaders, and thus the policies that they implemented. In particular, Leffler's explanation of American-Soviet relations beginning in 1917, during the Bolshevik Revolution, provides a unique perspective of the causes of the Cold War. Most American history textbooks offer little explanation of the origins of the Cold War, except to say that it began after World War II. This book clearly lays the groundwork in American-Soviet tensions prior to 1945.

My impression is that Professor. Leffler describes the United States as giving the Soviet Union too much credit in terms of influencing major events in Asia and expanding their sphere of influence in Europe. Most of American policy was dictated by this exaggerated fear of Communist domination, when, in fact, Soviet goals were less international and more domestic. However, I do believe Leffler omits important information supporting American fears. The fear of Soviet expansion was justified due to particular actions of the Soviet government, such as establishing a Soviet sphere in Eastern Europe, Soviet agents infiltrating the U.S. government, Soviet spies stealing nuclear secrets from the U.S., and assisting communist regimes in Asia. These actions would be considered international, by many historians, and not domestic.

Overall, Leffler provides a fundamental explanation about the origins of the Cold War. His book details many important events prior to and during the Cold War, such as the White Army in Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution, the Berlin blockade/airlift, and the development of Chinese-Soviet relations. Used as a supplementary piece, students can learn more about the men behind Soviet and American foreign policy, study the effects of policy which intensified hostility between these superpowers, and better understand the impact the Cold War had in shaping the history and politics of other regions.

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