No / At the end of the Cold War, the Balkan states of South East Europe were in crisis. They had emerged from two decades of hardline communism with their economies in disarray and authoritarian leaders poised to whip up nationalist feelings so as to cling on to power. The break up of Yugoslavia followed in 1991 along with prolonged instability in Romania, Bulgaria and Albania. The Balkans After The Cold War analyses these turbulent events, which led to violence on a scale not seen in Europe for nearly 50 years and offers a detailed critique of Western policy towards the region. This volume follows on from the recently published Outcast Europe: The Balkans, 1789 - 1989 - from the Ottomans to Milosevic, also by Tom Gallagher.

Thesis (M.A.)--Bowling Green State University, 2006. / Document formatted into pages; contains vi, 132 p. Includes bibliographical references.

The Swedish civil defense during the Cold War Era was a well-developed and well-planned organization in comparison to many other countries. This caused civil defense ideas to come closer to individual citizens’ everyday lives and influence how they should adapt to the threat of nuclear war, thus creating a culture of civil defense. The purpose of this thesis is to elucidate what this militarization of everyday life looked like in Sweden during the Cold War and how it affected people’s everyday life. This is done through studying a civil defense journal between 1945-1975. The articles in the journal are analyzed by how they are portraying the day-to-day life in the context of civil defense. Partly through articles about propaganda and various civil defense courses and exercises, and partly through articles portraying the physical militarization of society, primarily fallout shelters and bunkers. Of particular interest is the contrast between the dark Cold War narrative and the narrative concerning the security and comfort provided by the welfare state. Finally, the thesis argues that the journal and its work can be seen in the context of militarization of everyday life. It tried to spread its militarizing vision in society, and did – incomparison to other countries – succeed in that pursuit. Militarization played a vital role in reaching out to the public, and in disseminating the idea of a welfare state that takes good care of its citizens, even during the hardest of times.

“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” ― Albert Einstein Today we live in very interesting times for researchers but at the same time very dangerous for the whole human existence and our planet. Today we mostly consume information from big news companies controlled by huge corporations whose actions threaten the population’s misleading due to the simplified and one-sided narratives. Unfortunately, most of them are becoming very mainstream and even propagandistic. Nowadays it can be said not only about traditionally propagandist Russian ones but also about previously rather neutral and quite independent media in the USA, EU, and other Western countries. Today’s mainstream media outlets more and more often provide us (news consumers) with simplified and not objective information which is often based on somebody’s opinion-based evaluations or judgments and less on original data and documents. This extremely dangerous tendency in the modern world should be researched and analyzed to prevent further backsliding into a militaristic and war-oriented agenda and propaganda.  We already live in extremely dangerous times according to the doomsday clock which was established by the father of nuclear weapons Albert Einstein. The world is currently 90 seconds apart from Armageddon. It is the closest it has ever been. To prevent misleading and understand the full complexity of the problems we face today we must investigate the primary sources such as original documents of post-Cold War in order to follow the sequence of events that led us to the new ongoing Cold War 2.0. Only by doing so can it be possible to get a more complex but completer and more logical picture of today’s reality as well as to understand how those reasons, events, and people listed in this thesis led us to the current state of unprecedented crisis. Everything has a reason, thus those prerequisites will be analyzed and discovered with the aim of understanding how the soft, smart, and hard powers with the combination of a realist theory have influenced post-Cold War policies and developments which led humanity to the verge of a nuclear catastrophe once again but with even more dangerous and unpredictable variables than couple decades before. Regardless of all the information presented in this thesis, the Russian war in Ukraine is criminal and has no justification as well as those responsible individuals.

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During the Cold War, approximately 36,000 persons claimed Czechoslovakia as their country of citizenship upon entering Canada. A defining characteristic of this postwar migration of predominantly ethnic Czechs and Slovaks was the prevalence of anti-communist and democratic values. This dissertation follows Czech and Slovak refugees through the German invasion of the Czech lands and Slovakia’s independence in 1939, the Second World War, the Communist takeover of Czechoslovakia in 1948, and the Warsaw Pact Invasion of 1968. Diplomats, industrialists, workers, democratic politicians, professionals, and students fled to the West in search of freedom, security, and economic opportunity. Many of these individuals sought to return home after Czechoslovakia was liberated from communism. This dissertation examines the interwar, wartime, and postwar immigration experiences of Czech and Slovak refugees through the lens of Canadian Czechoslovak institutions. In Canada, Czechs and Slovaks who professed a belief in a Czechoslovak identity formed their own organizations. In the Cold War era, the two most prominent Canadian Czechoslovak institutions were the Czechoslovak National Alliance and the Masaryk Hall. Both were later incorporated and renamed as the Czechoslovak National Association of Canada and the Masaryk Memorial Institute. Czechoslovak institutions in Canada faced opposition from nationalist Slovaks who opposed a common Czechoslovak identity. By focusing on political and institutional history, this study contributes to our understanding of Cold War immigration, and its influence on ethnic organizations and Canadian society. Although the admission, settlement, and integration of Cold War refugees was heavily influenced by federal and provincial authorities, Czech and Slovak newcomers joined Czechoslovak organizations and continued in their attempts to affect developments in Communist Czechoslovakia and Canadian foreign policy towards their homeland. During the Cold War, Canadian authorities further legitimized the Czech and Slovak refugees’ anti-communist agenda and increased their influence in Czechoslovak institutions. Similarly, Canadian Czechoslovak organizations supported Canada’s Cold War agenda of securing the state from Communist infiltration. Ultimately, an adherence to anti-communism, the promotion of Canadian citizenship, and the preservation of a Czechoslovak ethnocultural heritage accelerated Czech and Slovak refugees’ socioeconomic and political integration in Cold War Canada. As a result, Canadian Czechoslovak organizations were instrumental in helping to shape a democratic culture in Cold War Canada.

This thesis evaluates Japanese geopolitical change in the post-Cold War era. It does so by analyzing Japan's history, its foreign policy since 1945, its reasons for becoming a normal country, and the impact of its normalization. This thesis makes three arguments. First, Japan, although its history is replete with internal rivalry and conflict, never displayed an aggressive foreign policy with expansionist and adventurist characteristics*with the exception of an insignificant expedition to Korea in the 1590s*before the Meiji Restoration. Second, Japan should become a normal country because it would advance Japan's regional leadership, increase the likelihood of Japan's accession to the United Nations Security Council as a permanent member, and improve its economy in both the short and the long run. Finally, no significant barrier stands against Japanese normalization; however, Japan must follow cautious and amicable relations with China and the two Koreas in order to achieve normalcy. In conclusion, the thesis makes policy recommendations for Japan and the United States regarding Japanese normalization.

This study treats the character of French nuclear policy since September 11, 2001; as such this work adds the most recent episode to a theme that, since the late-1950s, has concerned alliance statecraft faced with French â exceptionalismâ in trans-Atlantic relations. In the post-Cold War era, the changes in the strategic environment have led to a further evolution in French nuclear deterrent policy which forms the heart of this study. In 2001 and 2006, French President Chirac made policy speeches which specifically discussed nuclear strategy and clarified the shift in French thought and the justification for deterrence. In 2001, the most important element addressed dissuasion of regional powers and â rogueâ states with WMD that may attack France. The 2006 speech incorporated the threat of statesponsored terrorism into the nuclear dissuasion strategy. The thesis investigates past and present developments in French nuclear strategy, with chief emphasis on the period from the end of the Cold War to the beginning of the twenty-first century; it highlights the forces that have shaped French doctrine and analyzes the viability of the nuclear strategy as seen by a U.S. observer. A review of French Cold War doctrine provides the necessary backdrop for an evaluation of new elements in French nuclear strategy and should act as a guide to students of same in U.S. and NATO policy circles.