The end of the Cold War, in particular German unification and the demise of the Soviet Empire, are among the best documented and the most thoroughly researched events in recent history. Yet, efforts to understand the end of the Cold War historically can be described, to this day, as partial. The time has come for a broader and, at the same time, more European-focused endeavor. Such an effort is made possible by the growing availability of new sources, including archives which are now beginning to open up systematically. By choosing to concentrate on Europe in its various dimensions (Western Europe, Eastern Europe as well as the pan-European dimension) this book aims at bringing to the forefront of historical research previously neglected actors or processes whose contributions to the end of the Cold War were, in our view, decisive, including key European nations, endemic evolutions in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, European integration, and the pan-European process.

This book will be of great interest to students of Cold War Studies, Contemporary European History and International Relations in general.