Rethinking Cooperation in Cold War Europe: Difficult Friendships across the 'Nylon Curtain'

Studies of post-war Europe have conventionally stressed the Cold War’s ideological divisions and competing economic models.This open access book brings together historians from across Europe to explore the ways in which these political differences were circumvented, subverted, or overcome, whether in the spirit of international collaboration, solidarity or for more pragmatic reasons of national interest. Rethinking Cooperation in Cold War Europe examines the systemic divide not as an Iron Curtain but - borrowing the metaphor of the Hungarian historian György Péteri, as a ‘Nylon Curtain’ - a present and yet surmountable partition that was frequently breached in a variety of ways by ordinary citizens, artists, scientists, politicians, and other historical actors. From environmental collaboration and medical ethics to academic exchanges and peace activism, this book brings to life a complex series of ambiguous allegiances and complicated collaborations.For all of the difficulties, the mis