Turning Points in Ending the Cold War

by Kiron K. Skinner

The expert contributors examine the end of détente and the beginning of the new phase of the cold war in the early 1980s, Reagan's radical new strategies aimed at changing Soviet behavior, the peaceful democratic revolutions in Poland and Hungary, the events that brought about the reunification of Germany, the role of events in Third World countries, the critical contributions of Gorbachev and Yeltsin, and more.

334 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Kiron Kanina Skinner is an American political scientist. She was Director of Policy Planning at the United States Department of State in the first Trump administration. Skinner is presently the Taube Professor of International Relations and Politics at the Pepperdine University School of Public Policy, where she teaches graduate courses in national security and public leadership. Prior to that, she was the Taube Professor of International Relations and Politics at Carnegie Mellon University, and the founding director of the Institute for Politics and Strategy and associated centers at the university. She is also the W. Glenn Campbell Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University. After leaving the Department of State, she returned to her position at Carnegie Mellon University until stepping down in 2021.
She co-authored two books on Ronald Reagan: In His Own Hand (2001) and Reagan, a Life in Letters (2003), which were New York Times bestsellers. In 2005, Skinner was appointed by President George W. Bush to a term on the National Security Education Board.