As the most populous country in Eastern Europe as well as the birthplace of the largest anticommunist dissident movement, Poland is crucial in understanding the end of the Cold War. During the 1980s, both the United States and the Soviet Union vied for influence over Poland's politically tumultuous steps toward democratic revolution. In this groundbreaking history, Gregory F. Domber examines American policy toward Poland and its promotion of moderate voices within the opposition, while simultaneously addressing the Soviet and European influences on Poland's revolution in 1989. With a cast including Reagan, Gorbachev, and Pope John Paul II, Domber charts American support of anticommunist opposition groups--particularly Solidarity, the underground movement led by future president Lech Wa??sa-and highlights the transnational network of Polish emigres and trade unionists that kept the opposition alive. Utilizing archival research and interviews with Polish and American government officials and opposition leaders, Domber argues that the United States empowered a specific segment of the Polish opposition and illustrates how Soviet leaders unwittingly fostered radical, pro-democratic change through their policies. The result is fresh insight into the global impact of the Polish pro-democracy movement.
Gregory F. Domber is an assistant professor of history at University of North Florida, USA.
"[Empowering Revolution] is beyond a doubt the single best work on the subject currently available in English, and it is among the best new studies of international politics behind the Iron Curtain to appear in years." -- Jeff Engel, Passport "[A] richly detailed work of history." -- International Affairs "A fine book which shall ignite controversy regarding where the credit lay for the overthrow of Communism." -- American Historical Review "A subtle and thoroughly researched analysis of the U.S. part in Poland's path to freedom." -- Slavic Review "A tour de force of new diplomatic history." -- Journal of Slavic Military Studies "An absorbing account...based on meticulous research." -- Journal of American History "Domber properly places in context the respective roles of the reform policies of the Reagan administration and the Gorbachev government." -- CHOICE "Domber's overall argument for "empowering" is crisp and nuanced, while his intervention in the ongoing discussions of the US role in 1980s Poland is incisive." -- H-Net Reviews "This important book will be of interest to historians and social scientists of Eastern Europe, social movements, and revolutions, and to political scientists and diplomatic historians as a case study and cautionary tale of the limits of diplomatic power." -- Journal of American History
