We Now Know Rethink Cold War Analysis

John Lewis Gaddis. “We Now Know: Rethinking Cold War History.”

Gladdis highlights the meaning of containment and explains what would be necessary to “keep peace while preserving the balance of power.” In addition, Gladdis really goes into deep detail about the Marshall Plan and what it did. Gaddis states that the Marshall Plan had a purpose of, “creating an American sphere of influence… one that would allow those within it considerable freedom. Gaddis discusses that the United States seemed to fall short when it came to running a big empire, and that the “idea of autonomy was implicit in the task of restoring European self confidence.” Furthermore, Gaddis describes how the Soviet Union did not have good control over its empire well. He provides

Stalin said that because of that, he thought that The Soviet Union and its East European allies should join in the plan; however, Stalin began to rethink that when, Nikolai Novikov warned him that the American offer of the Marshall Plan to the Soviet Union was not “sincere.” Gaddis continues by saying that after the Marshall Plan, Stalin saw it necessary to augment his forms of “imperial management.” By this action, Stalin called a meeting for the purpose of talking about collaboration in Poland with the Soviets, East European Communist parties, and the French and Italian communists. However, after the meeting, Stalin said the real reason, which was to organize an agency for international communism. Moreover, Gaddis expresses the task of the Soviets to control over already communist areas and how in the year of 1948, proved to be a turning point because as Gaddis explains it, “it was the first time this process provoked resistance.” In addition, the author includes how the Red- army abused Yugoslav civilians and how those civilians tried to “defer” the Soviets. As these tensions rose, the actions between Stalin and the Yugoslavs concluded to the East