Unarmed forces : the transnational movement to end the Cold War / Matthew Evangelista.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Pt. I. Transnational Relations and the Cold War. 1. Taming the Bear. 2. Structure, Opportunity, and Change -- Pt. II. The Khrushchev Era. 3. The Birth of Transnationalism. 4. "A Battle on Two Fronts": Khrushchev's Test Ban. 5. "Why Keep Such an Army?" Khrushchev's Troop Reductions. 6. "Hitting a Fly in Outer Space": Khrushchev and Missile Defenses -- Pt. III. The Brezhnev Era. 7. Success, Stagnation, and Revival. 8. "Nothing More to Talk About": Nuclear Testing under Brezhnev. 9. "A Train without a Locomotive": Brezhnev's Army. 10. "Not a Fool": Brezhnev and the ABM Treaty. 11. The "Reckless Star Wars Scheme": A New Challenge -- Pt. IV. The Gorbachev Era. 12. Transnational Renaissance. 13. "Silence Reigned on Our Nuclear Test Ranges": Gorbachev and the Moratorium. 14. "We Are Not Floating above Reality": Gorbachev's Revolution in European Security Policy. 15. "If There Were No Nuclear Missiles": Gorbachev's Answer to Star Wars -- Pt. V. The Post-Soviet Era. --16. The Paradox of State Strength. --17. Power, Persuasion, and Norms.

Matthew Evangelista examines the work of transnational peace movements throughout the Khrushchev, Brezhnev, and Gorbachev eras and into the first years of Boris Yeltsin's leadership. Drawing on extensive research in Russian archives and on interviews with Russian and Western activists and policymakers, he investigates the sources of Soviet policy on nuclear testing, strategic defense, and conventional forces.

Evangelista concludes that transnational actors at times played a crucial role in influencing Soviet policy - specifically in encouraging moderate as opposed to hard-line responses - for they supplied both information and ideas to that closed society.