Russia, America, the Bomb and the Fall of Western Europe

offers a dual approach to unilateral nuclear disarmament. While it systematically analyzes and rejects stock arguments for retaining nuclear weapons, from the supposed threat of Soviet invasion to fears of Finlandization and the loss of mineral resources, it examines the issue within the context of Western Europe's historic fall. This is described with the help from Arnold Toynbee, Plato and Marx. Brian May argues that, if West European civilization is to survive, it must find the moral strength to stand on its own feet, make its own accommodation with the USSR, and abandon dependence on its offshoot on the other side of the Atlantic, whose policies could lead to its destruction. This book will be of interest to students of geopolitics, international relations, security studies and history.

List of contents

Preface Introduction 1. Signs of war 2. The Americans 3. The Russians 4. The West Europeans 5. Economic debacle and nuclear danger 6. Helsinki, Afghanistan, Poland and morality 7. Soviet contraction 8. The worst case 9. The risks 10. The end, or a beginning? Notes Index

Product details

• Authors: Brian May
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Release: 19.01.2026
• EAN: 9781032673424
• ISBN: 978-1-032-67342-4
• No. of pages: 254
• Series: Routledge Revivals
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; USA, Russia, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Peace, HISTORY / Military / United States, HISTORY / Military / Nuclear Warfare, United States of America, USA, Peace studies and conflict resolution, Western Europe, Nuclear weapons, Peace studies & conflict resolution, Armed Conflict, Western Continental Europe, HISTORY / Wars & Conflicts / General, POLITICAL SCIENCE / World / Russian & Soviet, Russia;USSR;USA;Europe;Cold War