MOSCOW AND THE MARSHALL PLAN: POLITICS, IDEOLOGY, AND THE ONSET OF THE COLD WAR, 1947

In: The Pacific review, Band 46, Heft 8, S. 1371-1386

Abstract

MANY HISTORIANS VIEW MOSCOW'S DECISION TO REJECT SOVIET AND EAST EUROPEAN PARTICIPATION IN THE MARSHALL PLAN AS A PIVOTAL MOMENT IN THE ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE COLD WAR. IN THIS ESSAY, THE AUTHOR CONSTRUCTS A NARRATIVE THAT EXPLAINS HOW AND WHY THE SOVIET UNION, IN A FEW WEEKS DURING THE SUMMER OF 1947, DRAMATICALLY CHANGED ITS FOREIGN POLICY FROM ONE OF COEXISTENCE, DETENTE, AND COOPERATION WITH THE WEST TO ONE OF ISOLATION, CONFLICT, AND CONFRONTATION.