The Geopolitics of Culture - John Van Oudenaren

The Geopolitics of Culture

James Billington, the Library of Congress, and the Failed Quest for a New Russia
Buch | Hardcover
378 Seiten
2024
Northern Illinois University Press (Verlag)
978-1-5017-7576-5 (ISBN)
63,60 inkl. MwSt
Through the lens of James Billington and the institution he led as Librarian of Congress during a key period of US-Russian relations, The Geopolitics of Culture examines culture as a neglected area of US foreign policy. Billington advised presidents and members of Congress and mobilized the resources of the Library of Congress to promote reform in Russia. He believed that rather than preaching to the Russians, the United States should expose the rising generation of Russian leaders to what was best in America and encourage them to rediscover positive elements in pre-Bolshevik Russian culture.


The Geopolitics of Culture is the first book to chronicle Billington's influence on US engagement with Russia as it transitioned from communism to democracy under Gorbachev and Yeltsin and back to authoritarianism under Yeltsin and Putin. Drawing on published and archival sources (including recently released papers) and interviews with current and retired Library of Congress staff members, John Van Oudenaren casts new light on this era.


Billington's efforts led to a remarkable degree of cooperation between the Library of Congress and Russian cultural and political institutions. Yet these efforts ultimately failed as Putin turned back toward authoritarianism. The experience of the Library of Congress during this period nonetheless holds important lessons for today. Billington believed that a transition to democracy in Russia was essential if the United States was to head off the geopolitical nightmare of a Eurasia dominated by an alliance of hostile authoritarian powers. The "geopolitics of culture" thus remains a challenge for US foreign policy.

John Van Oudenaren is a Global Fellow at the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies. Previously he was Director of the World Digital Library and Chief of the European Division at the Library of Congress. He has been a Senior Researcher at RAND and was the Founding Director of RAND Europe.

Erscheinungsdatum
Reihe/Serie NIU Series in Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies
Zusatzinfo 15 Halftones, black and white
Sprache englisch
Maße 152 x 229 mm
Gewicht 907 g
Themenwelt Geschichte Allgemeine Geschichte Neuzeit (bis 1918)
Geisteswissenschaften Geschichte Regional- / Ländergeschichte
Sozialwissenschaften Politik / Verwaltung Europäische / Internationale Politik
ISBN-10 1-5017-7576-6 / 1501775766
ISBN-13 978-1-5017-7576-5 / 9781501775765
Zustand Neuware
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