Who were the British MPs sympathetic to the Soviets - the 'crypto-communists' 'left-wing gadflys', the 'neo-Stalinist left' so derided by fellow politicians, journalists, historians and the public? These Labour MPs, fingered as 'Soviet spies' who developed links with post-war Russia, were seen as potentially anti-Western actors in the Cold War. "Against the Cold War" examines the careers and motives of MPs like Tom Driberg and Ian Mikardo who developed ideological links with the Soviet Union and whose ideas influenced Labour's left-wing. Although radical and sympathetic to Communist ideals, they remained principled socialists, and were ready to exercise Trotsky's 'right to alight'- to oppose and even abandon Soviet links for democratic socialism.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Introduction
1. Building a Pro-Soviet Fifth Column
2. From Emancipatory Revolution to Grand Alliance
3. Konni Zilliacus and Labour's Adversarial Voices from the Left
4. Victory for Socialism
5. Beneath Detente
6. Raising the Stakes
7. The perspectives of pro-Sovietism
Conclusion
Appendix: Biographical Details
