Pub Date : 2025-04-01Epub Date: 2025-03-02DOI: 10.1177/00220094251322187
Vassily Klimentov
This article examines the ambivalence of the Soviet authorities' attitude to and policy toward Soviet Muslims in the 1970s and 1980s. Soviet Muslims were an asset for Soviet foreign policy in Muslim countries, serving as KGB operatives and as diplomats in the Middle East, Iran, South Asia, and Afghanistan and proved generally loyal to the Soviet state. However, some Soviet officials, notably in the KGB, did not fully trust Soviet Muslims. They kept them in junior positions abroad, suspected them of foreign sympathies, and continued to monitor their activities at home. This dichotomy was incarnated in Soviet Muslim border regions such as Azerbaijan. Azerbaijanis were key to Soviet intelligence operations in Iran, but the KGB suspected them of sympathies for the Iranian Islamic Revolution. Some Soviet Muslims, including those in Azerbaijan, did root their opposition to the Soviet state in Islam.
{"title":"Between the Domestic and the Foreign: The KGB and Soviet Muslims in the Late USSR.","authors":"Vassily Klimentov","doi":"10.1177/00220094251322187","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00220094251322187","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This article examines the ambivalence of the Soviet authorities' attitude to and policy toward Soviet Muslims in the 1970s and 1980s. Soviet Muslims were an asset for Soviet foreign policy in Muslim countries, serving as KGB operatives and as diplomats in the Middle East, Iran, South Asia, and Afghanistan and proved generally loyal to the Soviet state. However, some Soviet officials, notably in the KGB, did not fully trust Soviet Muslims. They kept them in junior positions abroad, suspected them of foreign sympathies, and continued to monitor their activities at home. This dichotomy was incarnated in Soviet Muslim border regions such as Azerbaijan. Azerbaijanis were key to Soviet intelligence operations in Iran, but the KGB suspected them of sympathies for the Iranian Islamic Revolution. Some Soviet Muslims, including those in Azerbaijan, did root their opposition to the Soviet state in Islam.</p>","PeriodicalId":51640,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Contemporary History","volume":"60 2","pages":"318-337"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12005589/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144065290","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-03-13eCollection Date: 2025-07-01DOI: 10.1177/00220094251323798
Ariane Knüsel
This article discusses the experiences of Western European companies during China's opening to Western trade and investment in the late 1970s and 1980s. While much has been written about the Chinese policies that led to the introduction of capitalist measures in China, the experiences of European companies have not been covered in detail so far. Using records from several Swiss company archives as well as additional Chinese and Swiss archives and oral history interviews with business representatives and diplomats who were in China during this period, the article analyzes the Swiss experiences in China to discuss how and why European companies tried - and often failed - to take advantage of China's opening, and how European governments and business organizations tried to assist companies in China. It shows how cultural ignorance, international competition, bilateral political and economic relations, the Chinese Communist Party's control over the economy, Chinese industrial espionage and China's lack of knowledge of capitalist terminology and processes affected European attempts to set up shop in China.
{"title":"'No Ski Shoes, Chocolate or Hairsprays': The (Mis)Adventures of European Companies in China, 1978-88.","authors":"Ariane Knüsel","doi":"10.1177/00220094251323798","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00220094251323798","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This article discusses the experiences of Western European companies during China's opening to Western trade and investment in the late 1970s and 1980s. While much has been written about the Chinese policies that led to the introduction of capitalist measures in China, the experiences of European companies have not been covered in detail so far. Using records from several Swiss company archives as well as additional Chinese and Swiss archives and oral history interviews with business representatives and diplomats who were in China during this period, the article analyzes the Swiss experiences in China to discuss how and why European companies tried - and often failed - to take advantage of China's opening, and how European governments and business organizations tried to assist companies in China. It shows how cultural ignorance, international competition, bilateral political and economic relations, the Chinese Communist Party's control over the economy, Chinese industrial espionage and China's lack of knowledge of capitalist terminology and processes affected European attempts to set up shop in China.</p>","PeriodicalId":51640,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Contemporary History","volume":"60 3","pages":"508-530"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12240485/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144610288","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-01Epub Date: 2025-02-08DOI: 10.1177/00220094241306985
Ludo Groen
It is widely believed that banks in Switzerland keep their hoards of gold safely in vaults in the city, but during the Second World War, the banks discovered a more efficient, secure, and spacious place for their gold: the Alps. Using built objects as evidence, this article describes how, in 1939, a military ammunition depot in the Bernese Alps was converted into a mountain vault, for the Swiss National Bank to store its domestic gold reserves. What started as an evacuation site, along the way changed purpose from protection against the enemy to catering to them. As the gold reserves of the National Bank grew, its vaults in Bern and Zurich were no longer large enough to store all the incoming precious metals. Only by its decentralization to the Alps could Switzerland keep up the gold trade with, amongst others, Nazi Germany. Based on extensive research in the Swiss National Bank's archives, the article discloses, for the first time, evidence of the wide-ranging infrastructures and bureaucracies that facilitated the storage of gold in the Alps - a history that until today has been dominated by popular myths rather than critical historical inquiry.
{"title":"Mountains of Gold: The Alpine Vaults of the Swiss National Bank, 1939-46.","authors":"Ludo Groen","doi":"10.1177/00220094241306985","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00220094241306985","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>It is widely believed that banks in Switzerland keep their hoards of gold safely in vaults in the city, but during the Second World War, the banks discovered a more efficient, secure, and spacious place for their gold: the Alps. Using built objects as evidence, this article describes how, in 1939, a military ammunition depot in the Bernese Alps was converted into a mountain vault, for the Swiss National Bank to store its domestic gold reserves. What started as an evacuation site, along the way changed purpose from protection against the enemy to catering to them. As the gold reserves of the National Bank grew, its vaults in Bern and Zurich were no longer large enough to store all the incoming precious metals. Only by its decentralization to the Alps could Switzerland keep up the gold trade with, amongst others, Nazi Germany. Based on extensive research in the Swiss National Bank's archives, the article discloses, for the first time, evidence of the wide-ranging infrastructures and bureaucracies that facilitated the storage of gold in the Alps - a history that until today has been dominated by popular myths rather than critical historical inquiry.</p>","PeriodicalId":51640,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Contemporary History","volume":"60 1","pages":"27-44"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11806985/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143391956","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-29DOI: 10.1177/00220094231210074g
Samir Saul
{"title":"Book Review: Markets of Civilization: Islam and Racial Capitalism in Algeria by Muriam Haleh Davis","authors":"Samir Saul","doi":"10.1177/00220094231210074g","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00220094231210074g","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51640,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Contemporary History","volume":"9 1","pages":"214 - 216"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2023-12-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139146251","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-29DOI: 10.1177/00220094231210074i
Carolien Stolte
{"title":"Book Review: Non-Aligned Movement Summits: A History by Jovan Čavoški","authors":"Carolien Stolte","doi":"10.1177/00220094231210074i","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00220094231210074i","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51640,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Contemporary History","volume":"85 8","pages":"218 - 219"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2023-12-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139147188","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-29DOI: 10.1177/00220094231210074
Brigid O’Keeffe
{"title":"Book Review: The Shortest History of the Soviet Union by Sheila Fitzpatrick","authors":"Brigid O’Keeffe","doi":"10.1177/00220094231210074","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00220094231210074","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51640,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Contemporary History","volume":" 50","pages":"202 - 203"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2023-12-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139144518","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-29DOI: 10.1177/00220094231210074f
Emma Rosengren
{"title":"Book Review: Personal Politics in the Postwar World: Western Diplomacy Behind the Scenes by Susanna ErlandssonBreaking Protocol. America’s First Female Ambassadors, 1933–1964 by Philip Nash","authors":"Emma Rosengren","doi":"10.1177/00220094231210074f","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00220094231210074f","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51640,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Contemporary History","volume":"27 7","pages":"212 - 214"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2023-12-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139147930","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-29DOI: 10.1177/00220094231210074a
Julia Håkansson
{"title":"Book Review: Historical Understanding: Past, Present, and Future by Zoltán Boldizsár Simon and Lars Deile (eds)","authors":"Julia Håkansson","doi":"10.1177/00220094231210074a","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00220094231210074a","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51640,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Contemporary History","volume":" 9","pages":"203 - 205"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2023-12-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139142043","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-29DOI: 10.1177/00220094231210074c
Michael Mcculloch
{"title":"Book Review: Designs on Democracy: Architecture and the Public in Interwar London by Neal Shasore","authors":"Michael Mcculloch","doi":"10.1177/00220094231210074c","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00220094231210074c","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51640,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Contemporary History","volume":" 5","pages":"207 - 208"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2023-12-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139142909","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-29DOI: 10.1177/00220094231210074d
Hugh Macmillan
{"title":"Book Review: White Mineworkers on Zambia’s Copperbelt, 1926–74: In a Class of Their Own by Duncan Money","authors":"Hugh Macmillan","doi":"10.1177/00220094231210074d","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00220094231210074d","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51640,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Contemporary History","volume":"65 s250","pages":"209 - 210"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2023-12-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139146147","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
京公网安备 11010802042870号