How to Interpret the End of the Warsaw Pact? / About the Latest Book by Mark Kramer

Viewed retrospectively from a distance of more than thirty years, the termination of the Warsaw Treaty Organization, or Warsaw Pact, after the fall of communist power in Central and Eastern Europe does not look too surprising.In the early 1990s, however, the speed with which it was dissolved overwhelmed many observers.Nevertheless, they could only speculate about the exact reasons.Over time, some direct participants began to reveal the causes in their personal accounts.These also served as an important source for the first historians who attempted to examine the end of one of the two major Cold War alliances through a more analytical lens.A turning point in this regard was the gradual declassification of the internal documentation of former member states relating to the negotiations on the Warsaw Pact's fate during the era of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.In recent years, several academic studies have been published that contribute significantly to understanding the last years of its existence and explaining its rapid demise. 1 But one can agree with Mark Kramer, the author of the book under review, The Fate of the Soviet Bloc's Military Alliance, that all the existing works have specific limitations, and thus an integrated analysis of the KRAMER, Mark:The Fate of the Soviet Bloc's Military Alliance: Reform, Adaptation, and Collapse of the Warsaw Pact, 1985-1991.