Békés Csaba, intézetünk kutató professor emeritusa 2022-ben kiadott angol nyelvű monográfiájáról 37 oldalas könyvfórum jelent meg a Harvardon szerkesztett Journal of Cold War Studies folyóiratban. (Hungary’s Cold War: International Relations from the End of World War II to the Fall of the Soviet Union. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press). Az itt közölt négy recenzióval együtt eddig összesen 11 ismertetésben méltatták a könyvet. 

Részletek a recenziókból:

Editor’s Introduction (Mark Kramer):

 „Over the past 35 years, Csaba Békés has been one of Hungary’s most innovative and prominent scholars of 20th-century European history. In his latest book, Hungary’s ColdWar, he brings together various strands of his previous scholarship, providing a full survey of Hungary’s role in the Cold War.”

Balázs Szalontai:

„Békés’s monograph transcends its predecessors not only in a chronological sense (tracing the evolution of Hungary’s international relations from the wartime Soviet occupation until the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact) but also in thematic scope and theoretical implications.”

[He] „places Hungarian foreign policy into a broader and occasionally comparative East European context to help provide insight into the key questions of the Cold War as such.”

„Békés masterfully elaborates how the conditions of de-Stalinization and détente transformed the patterns of interactions within Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe.”

„Békés’s monograph is an indispensable work not only for readers focused on post-1945 Hungarian history but also for scholars interested in the Cold War in general and its East European theater in particular.”

 “the overall quality of the book is truly excellent, in content, structure, and style alike.”

Aleksandr Stykalin:

“Csaba Békés is well-known for his pathbreaking works concerning the role of Hungary in the international system during the Cold War, especially the international aspects of the 1956 revolution in Hungary, which was a serious challenge for Moscow, requiring urgent measures to save the Communist regime in a key country of the Soviet sphere of influence. These problems are meticulously analyzed in his new book.”

„Békés’s broad knowledge enables him to draw historical parallels, comparing Moscow’s responses to various challenges in its sphere of influence” (…)

Miklós Mitrovits:

„The historiography of the history of the Cold War has been enriched by a new seminal work, which brings together nearly 30 years of research by the Hungarian scholar Csaba Békés. He is well known among scholars of the subject, and his previous works serve as a point of reference for historians. He is among the few scholars who have courageously devised new concepts and formulated new theses, even at the risk of stirring controversy. This approach has greatly helped to deepen our knowledge of the Cold War era.”

„Békés’s monograph is a foundational work that will be indispensable in the future for international readers who want to understand the history of the Cold War.”

Robert C. Austin:

“a superb book from a real expert on East-Central Europe and the Cold War.”

“this multi-archival book provides a readable, nuanced, and accessible account of East-Central Europe and the role of the great powers at a time when the region really mattered. It is a must-read for scholars and students and can also be assigned as a text for university classes.”

[The book presents ] “new research on the workings of the Warsaw Pact and the Council of Mutual Economic Assistance. Many readers will be surprised to learn just how much dialogue went on inside the Warsaw Pact especially.”

“Békés’s book is a great achievement. There are all kinds of other revelations—too many to list.”

A teljes könyvfórum ITT érhető el.