Why the Cold War Still Matters with John Lewis Gaddis | Peter Robinson | Hoover Institution

About this episode

Peter Robinson interviews John Lewis Gaddis about the significance of the Cold War and its implications for contemporary global politics.

Peter Robinson sits down at Yale University with the “dean of Cold War historians,” John Lewis Gaddis—Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer of Long Telegram author George F. Kennan and one of America’s most influential thinkers on grand strategy. From the origins of the Cold War to the nuclear age, from Vietnam to détente, and from Ronald Reagan to Mikhail Gorbachev, Gaddis offers a masterclass in how nations think, plan, and learn from history. Gaddis explains why students today often have little grasp of the Cold War, how the atomic bomb reshaped global politics, why George Kennan predicted the Soviet collapse decades before it happened, and why détente faltered in the 1970s. He revisits the debates around Vietnam, assesses Ronald Reagan’s strategic instincts, and reflects on how the Cold War ultimately ended. The discussion then turns forward: the future of American grand strategy, the challenges posed by China and Russia today, the tension between promoting democracy and maintaining global stability, and why understanding the past is essential for navigating the 21st century. Along the way, Gaddis shares stories of teaching grand strategy, the influence of the classics, his…

People in this episode

Host: Peter Robinson

Guest: John Lewis Gaddis

Topics covered

• Cold War
• grand strategy
• nuclear politics
• American history
• international relations
• democracy
• global stability

Keywords

• Cold War
• John Lewis Gaddis
• grand strategy
• nuclear age
• Vietnam
• Ronald Reagan
• China
• Russia
• democracy
• history

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Yale University, Hoover Institution

Places: Vietnam, China, Russia

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