The CIA and the Soviet Bloc ― Political Warfare, the Origins of the CIA and Countering Communism in Europe

The Central Intelligence Agency was established by Harry S. Truman immediately after World War II to provide covert political and military support to further US foreign policy. Strengthened by President Eisenhower, by the early 1950s, under the command of Allen Dulles, the CIA was actively overthrowing governments - Prime Minister Mossadegh in Iran in 1953, and President Arbenz Guzman in Guatemala in 1954. The Agency was less involved in Eastern Europe, however, where the Soviet Union had established control – despite opportunities for US interference such as the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and the Czechoslovak revolt in 1968. Here, Stephen Long challenges the accepted view that the US accepted a post-World War II ordering of Europe which placed the East outside an American 'sphere of influence'. He argues instead that 'disorder prevailed over design' in the planning and organization of espionage during the early stages of the Cold War. Featuring new archival material, and unpicking the relationship between the CIA, the US government and the Soviet Union, The CIA and the Soviet Bloc sheds new light on espionage, the Cold War, US diplomatic history and the history of 20th century Europe.

Stephen Long is Lecturer in American History and Foreign Relations at the University of Nottingham.