Eisenhower and Kennedy: A Comparison of Confrontations at Little Rock and Ole Miss

The purpose of this study is to assess the ways in which President Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy reacted to the civil rights crises in Little Rock in 1957 and at Ole Miss in 1962. A side theme is to assess presidential learning by seeing whet Kennedy learned from the lessons taught by Eisenhower. Each president was reluctant to commit federal troops to enforcing civil rights, was concerned about the problems associated with federalism, and ended up feeling forced to commit troops nonetheless. The message is that despite the presidents' best intentions, troops ultimately had to be committed. Kennedy was unable to avoid the traps that Eisenhower had encountered, and the imposition of the national government on the enforcement of civil rights was firmly established.     

Nuclear Weapons: The Global and Popular Context of Policy

Book reviewed:
Lawrence S. Wittner. Toward Nuclear Abolition: A History of the World Nuclear Disarmament Movement , 1971 to the Present . Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2003. 491 pp. Notes, bibliography, index. $75.00 (cloth), $32.95 (paper).     

Eisenhower and Castro: US-Cuban relations, 1958-60

Books reviewed in this article:
United States Government Printing Office, Foreign Relations of the United States 1958-1960, Vol. V. American Republics
United States Government Printing Office, Foreign Relations of the United States 1958-1960, Vol. VI. Cuba     

核武器与新中国60年发展历程

从抗日战争时期的"原子弹是纸老虎"到20世纪50年代对"蘑菇云"的追逐,中国领导人对核武器态度的变化只发生在战术方面,而战略上的积极防御以及在国家安全诉求之外对民族复兴、外交独立、国际认可和尊重、追赶先进、实现现代化等多方面的诉求,才是这一过程中不变的主旋律,同时也是中国发展核武器的根本动因。从追逐"蘑菇云"的"革命国家"到积极参与防止核扩散的负责任大国,核武器对新中国60年发展历程的政治意义大于军事意义。     

Kennedy and Cuba: Then and Now

Book reviewed:
Sheldon Stern. Averting 'the Final Failure': John F. Kennedy and the Secret Cuban Missile Crisis Meetings . Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2003. 496 pp. Illus. $35.00 (cloth).
Alice L. George. Awaiting Armageddon: How Americans Faced the Cuban Missile Crisis . Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2003. Illus., notes, bibliography, index. $29.95 (cloth).     

中国战略核武器发展与美国早期ABM部署计划

1964年10月,中国爆炸了第一枚核装置,1966年10月又成功试射了第一枚带有核弹头的制导导弹,自此进入拥有战略核武器的国家行列。中国战略核武器的发展引发了美国约翰逊和尼克松两届政府任期内的ABM部署纷争,并最终在“威胁预期最大化”原则和“限制伤害”理论的指导下部署了美国早期的ABM防御体系。