Stalin's Gamble : : The Search for Allies against Hitler, 1930-1936 / / Michael Jabara Carley.

• VerfasserIn: Carley, Michael Jabara,
• Place / Publishing House: Toronto : : University of Toronto Press, , [2023]; 2023
• Year of Publication: 2023
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (640 p.) :; 18 b&w illustrations, 4 b&w maps

Shedding light on the origins of the Second World War in Europe, Stalin's Gamble aims to create a historical narrative of the relations of the USSR with Britain, France, the United States, Poland, Germany, Italy, Czechoslovakia, and Romania during the 1930s. The book explores the Soviet Union's efforts to organize a defensive alliance against Nazi Germany, in effect rebuilding the anti-German Entente of the First World War. Drawing on extensive research in Soviet as well as Western archives, Michael Jabara Carley offers an in-depth account of the diplomatic manoeuvrings which surrounded the rise of Hitler and Soviet efforts to construct an alliance against future German aggression. Paying close attention to the beliefs and interactions of senior politicians and diplomats, the book seeks to replace one-sided Western histories with records from both sides. The book also offers an inside look at Soviet foreign policy making, with a focus on Stalin as a foreign policy maker as well as nd his interactions with his colleagues. Told in a fascinating narrative style, Stalin's Gamble attempts to see the European crisis of the 1930s through Soviet eyes.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Illustrations and Maps -- Acknowledgments -- List of Abbreviations and Acronyms -- Biographical Notes -- 1 Introduction: Prologue to Crisis -- 2 A Dimly Lit Night Lamp: Early Attempts at Détente in Paris and Warsaw, 1929-1932 -- 3 A Steep Hill: Te Soviet Quest for US Recognition, 1930-1933 -- 4 Setback: Te Metro-Vickers Afair, 1933 -- 5 Rapallo or Not? Soviet Relations with Germany and Poland, 1933 -- 6 "Strike while the Iron Is Hot": Strengthening Relations with France, 1933 -- 7 Shadows of Doubt over Moscow: Consolidating Collective Security, 1933-1934 -- 8 "One Step Back, Two Steps Forward": Ups and Downs in Soviet Relations in the West, 1934 -- 9 Nobody Wants "the Bolo Baby": The Failure of US-Soviet Relations, 1933-1935 -- 10 Koshmar: Te Agonizing Turn in Relations with France, 1934-1935 -- 11 Bridging the Gap: Te Anglo-Soviet Rapprochement, 1934-1935 -- 12 Showdown: Negotiating the Franco-Soviet Pact, 1935 -- 13 No Bridging the Gap: Erosion of the Anglo-Soviet Rapprochement, 1935 -- 14 The Weak Hinge: France and Its East European Allies, 1935-1936 -- 15 Collapse in London: The Failure of the Anglo-Soviet Rapprochement, 1936 -- 16 Good News, Bad News: The Fall of Laval and the Abdication of France, 1936 -- 17 Epilogue -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index