- Hardcover: 336 pages
- Publisher: Random House Canada; 1 edition (April 17 2007)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0679314466
- ISBN-13: 978-0679314462
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15.5 x 3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 567 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #189,944 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
MacKinnon, a former Moscow bureau chief for Toronto's Globe and Mail, explores the theory and practice of managed democracy in this well-researched and engrossing investigation into post-Soviet politics. While Putin cements power in Russia by co-opting now independent neighboring countries, pro-democracy advocates—including the likes of George Soros, as well as familiar organizations like Freedom House—work with the American government to support Western-oriented movements and political parties in the region. Focusing on the Commonwealth of Independent States and other formerly Soviet-influenced states such as Serbia and Slovakia, MacKinnon chastises both democrats and authoritarians for their actions. While officially nonpartisan, Western organizations make no secret of their allegiances and goals, he shows. For example, the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation, which received extensive support from U.S. taxpayer-funded USAID during the Orange Revolution of 2004, is run by the wife of Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko. In a recent Ukrainian election, he notes, a number of foreign (mostly Canadian) poll watchers had to be asked to remove orange Yushchenko scarves so as to at least maintain the appearance of neutrality. MacKinnon's provocative book will interest anyone concerned about the possibilities and shortcomings of democratic change and popular revolution. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
Review
“The New Cold War wonderfully documents the conflicting interests and policies of Russia and the West in an engaging, easy-to-read style.”
—The Globe and Mail
“A nuanced study that demonstrates the continuity of conflict between the US and Russia.”
—Winnipeg Free Press
“A necessary tale for those who would understand the troubled path taken by Russia and its neighbours since the fall of the Iron Curtain.”
—Alexandre Trudeau
“A real-life political drama, a non-fiction page-turner that will keep you up at night. . . . Beautifully written and compelling, a truly fascinating book.”
—The Gazette (Montreal)
From the Trade Paperback edition.
—The Globe and Mail
“A nuanced study that demonstrates the continuity of conflict between the US and Russia.”
—Winnipeg Free Press
“A necessary tale for those who would understand the troubled path taken by Russia and its neighbours since the fall of the Iron Curtain.”
—Alexandre Trudeau
“A real-life political drama, a non-fiction page-turner that will keep you up at night. . . . Beautifully written and compelling, a truly fascinating book.”
—The Gazette (Montreal)
From the Trade Paperback edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a must-read,
This review is from: The New Cold War: Revolutions, Rigged Elections and Pipeline Politics in the Former Soviet Union (Hardcover)
Wondering what Vladimir Putin is up to in these days of murky political machinations? Look no further than The New Cold War, a fascinating read from prominent Canadian journalist Mark MacKinnon, who has deconstructed the various revolutions in the former Soviet bloc to show them for what they are: a modern-day Cold War struggle for influence between Russia and the United States involving the people of Ukraine, Georgia, Belarus and other past and present Russian satellite nations. His ground-breaking research is interwoven with tales from his own reportage in the region, sometimes funny, sometimes heart-breaking, but always deeply insightful.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book, still timely,
This review is from: The New Cold War: Revolutions, Rigged Elections and Pipeline Politics in the Former Soviet Union (Hardcover)
This is a lucidly written, well paced, easy-to-read book providing an "inside" look (a-la investigative journalist) of several former Soviet states and some of the darker intricacies that make them tick. The author was the Moscow Bureau Chief for the Globe and Mail (Canadian) newspaper from 2002-05. This gives the whole book a much more balanced approach and leaves the reader with less of a black/white or good vs. evil-type of feeling at the end of the text.
The book starts with a 7-page annotated list of some of the key regional players (ours, theirs and local; individuals and organizations) in each of the countries he looks at. This alone is quite a useful list or research starting point if you are heading into this book with zero knowledge of the region. Although covering several countries, the stories feed very well into one another and ultimately paint a clear (though complex) picture of contemporary Russian and US influences throughout these regions. His sometimes humorous coverage also includes personal, and more sobering, interviews and experiences, and also provides insights into some of the work done by "democratizing" NGOs in the area. If you are looking for a one-stop-shop overview or are just trying to catch up on the region, or may be traveling or deploying to Serbia, the Ukraine, Georgia, Belarus, Russia or the Caucasus, or if you want an overview of Caucasus pipeline politics, this is a great primer at the right journalistic level to read before heading over. On the whole, I really enjoyed the book and found it to be informative and easy to read. It came across as welcoming to those with minimal or introductory knowledge of the area, while still providing adequate breadth and depth for those more familiar with the region. On the product itself (paperback): The pages are ok as is the binding, it should be able to handle typical travel abuse, but the font is somewhat smaller than average (~size 10 font). Amazon lists it as 336 pages, but the text goes to 277, (292 with acknowledgments and endnotes + index).
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.7 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews) 5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Foreign Invasion by the Ballotbox,
By R. L. Huff "An old reader" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The New Cold War: Revolutions, Rigged Elections, and Pipeline Politics in the Former Soviet Union (Hardcover)
It could only have been written by a Canadian! No mainstream Brit or American journalist would hold up the dirty underwear of the East European "democratic transition" in broad daylight - if only because so many of the stains orginated in London and Washington.
Mark MacKinnon has done an excellent investigative job in portraying the packaged "democracy" of the color-coded pseudo-revolutions that swept through the former Soviet bloc (and, later, targeted other sites from Lebanon to Venezuela) within the last decade: how they were spawned in "think tanks" funded by Western governments, and their agendas formulated to serve strategic Western agendas. Ironically, MacKinnon sees no difference between this subsidized subversion and the Putin-style "managed democracies" they target. And of course he's right. Promoting "democratic revolution" has become the surrogate for direct armed invasion - though, as in Iraq, both can work well together. The strategies these ersatz movements pursue are no different from Communist Popular Front tactics in the same region after World War Two - in fact, the Ukraine's "Orange Revolution" resembles nothing so much as the Czechoslovak "Communist coup" of 1948: a great betrayal of democracy when committed by Them, a flowering of the democratic spirit when choreographed by Us. Of course there is real frustration and disappointment in the targeted nations, and the revolutionaries of color can find fertile fields for sowing. But the end result does not serve the people whose anger has been manipulated, but invariably the economic and "security" interests of major Western powers, principally but not exclusively the United States. The danger of raising false hopes in these client regimes has been all too plainly illustrated in the case of Georgia, whose US-installed president launched an armed quarrel with Russia banking on the broad American support he'd grown used to, hoping to force his country's inclusion into NATO. When the US didn't "come through" pro-US feeling quickly turned sour, the disillusioned backlash inevitable after starry-eyed adolescent puppy-love meets the real world. Beyond doubt more such knee-jerk little wars and subsequent bad feeling await other "successful" color-coded regimes described in MacKinnon's book. 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book, still timely,
By hungarianjedi - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The New Cold War: Revolutions, Rigged Elections, and Pipeline Politics in the Former Soviet Union (Hardcover)
This is a lucidly written, well paced, easy-to-read book providing an "inside" look (a-la investigative journalist) of several former Soviet states and some of the darker intricacies that make them tick. The author was the Moscow Bureau Chief for the Globe and Mail (Canadian) newspaper from 2002-05. This gives the whole book a much more balanced approach and leaves the reader with less of a black/white or good vs. evil-type of feeling at the end of the text.
The book starts with a 7-page annotated list of some of the key regional players (ours, theirs and local; individuals and organizations) in each of the countries he looks at. This alone is quite a useful list or research starting point if you are heading into this book with zero knowledge of the region and players involved. Although covering several countries, the stories feed very well into one another and ultimately paint a clear (though complex) picture of contemporary Russian and US influences throughout these regions. His sometimes humorous coverage also includes personal, and more sobering, interviews and experiences, and also provides insights into some of the work done by "democratizing" NGOs in the area. If you are looking for a one-stop-shop overview or are just trying to catch up on the region, or may be traveling or deploying to Serbia, the Ukraine, Georgia, Belarus, Russia or the Caucasus, or if you want an overview of Caucasus pipeline politics, this is a great primer at the right journalistic level to read before heading over. On the whole, I really enjoyed the book and found it to be informative and easy to read. It came across as welcoming to those with minimal or introductory knowledge of the area, while still providing adequate breadth and depth for those more familiar with the region. On the product itself (paperback): The pages are ok as is the binding, it should be able to handle typical travel abuse, but the font is somewhat smaller than average (~size 10 font). Amazon lists it as 336 pages, but the text goes to 277, (292 with acknowledgments and endnotes + index). 2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Was this book financed by George Soros?,
By California Reader - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The New Cold War: Revolutions, Rigged Elections, and Pipeline Politics in the Former Soviet Union (Hardcover)
From the start until I gave up early in chapter 4, Mark MacKinnon fawns over George Soros as if he is the only champion of democracy in the free world. The inside cover states: "..and George Soros, the idealistic American billionaire behind {the democratic revolutions}". Chapter 3 gives us this gem: "Coincidentally, that...was exactly where George Soros would also soon be turning his attention." From the title of the book, I thought the topic was the cold war, not George Soros. I was sadly disappointed, and bored.
If you want to know that George Soros has spent money on something other than Move on; now you know. But you can skip the book by this author who hates George Bush, likes Bill Clinton and Madelyn Albright, and loves, loves, loves George Soros. |
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