Case 142 - The Second Berlin Crisis, 1958-1959

by ISD - Georgetown University
$ 4.50

Moermond, Kim Ian and Jack Snyder

Twice during the postwar period, the West countered Soviet threats against Berlin--a fact that makes these episodes perfect material for case studies of crisis diplomacy. The second clash, the subject of this case study, began in 1958, when Soviet General Secretary Nikita Khrushchev renounced the agreements his government had made with the Allies on Berlin a decade earlier and threatened to take further measures if Western forces did not pull out. The study analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of both options for the West, before revealing the path Washington took.