Xenakis examines the responses of Soviet experts in American academia--primarily political scientists, but also economists and defense scholars who specialized in the USSR--to the unfolding evidence of Soviet reform during the 1970s and 1980s and to its ultimate collapse. He concludes that American Sovietologists and other political scientists were more responsive to the Cold War consensus--to the needs of the State Department, Defense, and CIA policy makers and to the official Washington line of the moment--than to the changing face of the Soviet Union.

As Xenakis makes clear, many of the Cold War ideas and attitudes shared by Sovietologists--the notion that the USSR was an evil empire; the idea that Soviet society was irredeemably xenophobic and indolent; that the Soviet political and economic system could not be fixed or reformed; and the view that the best way for Washington to deal with MoscoW's influence was to contain the USSR through arms races, global, and proxy wars--were reminiscent of the policies and arguments of the Truman and Eisenhower administrations, not to the facts on the ground in the 1970s and 1980s. An important work for scholars, students, and researchers involved with Soviet and Russian studies, international political and military affairs, intellectual history, and the relationship between academia and the government.

World Politics and the American Quest for Super-Villains, Demons, and Bad Guys to Destroy introduces students to basic concepts in world politics to expand their cultural awareness. It addresses common misperceptions and their impact on foreign policy, explores forms of bureaucratic dysfunction in key American agencies, and encourages students to re-conceptualize their perceptions of global villains and bad guys. Readers learn about the building blocks of world politics, transitions from authoritarianism to democracy, the Middle East conflict and its widespread impact, and the long-lasting consequences of war and occupation in Iraq. The text arms readers with the conceptual tools they need to decide for themselves what they believe about vital and perplexing cultural, social, and global issues. Students can leverage these concepts to examine and analyze U.S. foreign and military policy, as well as a variety of global security crises. Highly readable and accessible, World Politics and the American Quest for Super-Villains, Demons, and Bad Guys to Destroy is ideal for introductory courses in global politics.