Nuclear Freeze in a Cold War

Knoblauch, William M.

doi:10.2307/j.ctv346v1z

Cited by 61 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…While there has been a fair number of publications on the period of the so-called Second Cold War and the final phase of the Cold War generally (e.g.,Conze, Klimke, & Varon, 2017;Njølstad, 2004;Nuti et al, 2015), this historiography has often marginalized Britain, focusing instead on the two superpowers, especially the United States(Rossinow, 2015;Knoblauch, 2017a;Martin, 2011;Rubinson, 2014; Shaw, 2007, pp. 267-300; Shaw & Youngblood, 2010, pp.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The politics of the unknown: Uncertainty and the nuclear threat in Britain, 1979–1985

Laucht

2018

History Compass

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This article seeks to map out possibilities for conducting a microhistorical study of the socio‐political and cultural roles that uncertainty, as a consequence of a lack of verifiable knowledge, played in political debates over the nuclear threat in Britain in the Second Cold War. Focusing on this politics of the unknown in the period from 1979 to 1985 when Britain witnessed resurging fears of nuclear war, this exploratory essay sets out to make three main interventions: First, it conceptualizes “uncertainty” as a subjective social and cultural construct with fluid meanings that does not necessarily have to hold exclusively negative connotations but might offer opportunities for historical actors. Second, this essay proposes an examination of the politics of the unknown about the anticipated effects of a nuclear war within a wider synchronic economy of non‐nuclear‐weapons‐related concerns such as de‐industrialization or unemployment. Finally, the article introduces the periodization of “Britain's long nuclear 1980s” to allow for a consideration of relevant diachronic aspects of this politics of the unknown, thereby adding further depth to the microhistory. Throughout, this exploratory study draws on historical examples to illustrate its key theoretical points.

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confidence: 99%

The politics of the unknown: Uncertainty and the nuclear threat in Britain, 1979–1985

Laucht

2018

History Compass

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“…Reagan was a stark critic of the Soviet Union and of all policies that included aspects of negotiation, which he often and readily labelled as appeasement. William Knoblauch (2017) argues that Reagan believed the majority of world issues stemmed from the USSR, while Beth Fischer (2000) labelled Reagan's administration the most anti-communist in US history. In his announcement, Reagan stated that:…”

Section: Cold War Swan Songmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…21 At first, not much attention was paid to the NWFC, but by 1982, the movement grew to the point of requiring action from the White House. In response, Reagan created the Nuclear Arms Control Information Policy Group to check the influence the NWFC had on the population and to reshape the debate in favour of the administration (Knoblauch, 2017;Santese, 2017).…”

Section: Cold War Swan Songmentioning

confidence: 99%