Cold War Broadcasting
Impact on the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe
Edited by
A. Ross Johnson,
former director of Radio Free Europe and the Radio Free
Europe / Radio Liberty Research Institute. Research
fellow at the Hoover Institution and senior scholar
at the Woodrow Wilson International Institute for Scholars.
R. Eugene Parta, retired Director
of Audience Research and Program Evaluation for Radio
Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Prague.
"In recent years, Cold War studies have undergone
a modest revolution. In addition to the
many political, diplomatic, and military books and articles
on the Cold War, a few scholars
have begun to focus on the importance of soft power
in the confl ict. Cold War Broadcasting
is a welcome addition to that small but growing body
of scholarship... the articles and documents provide
a wealth of new information that lays the foundation
for a critical analysis of RFE/RL’s and other western
broadcasters’ impact on the Soviet Union and its
satellites in eastern Europe." - Slavic Review
"One would not expect a scrupulously researched
academic tome to read like a spy novel, but Cold War
Broadcasting manages in places to do just that. Based
to a very large extent on files from Soviet-era intelligence
and security establishments, this book examines the
impact of government-sponsored Western broadcasting
on societies behind the Iron Curtain and the efforts
made to counter that impact.
The most fascinating study in the book, by István
Rév of Budapest, is an introspecitve and philosophical
tract. Rév alludes to the fact that both Washington
and Moscow intently studied one another's messages and
modified thier own messages accordingly - a subtle example
of international meta-broadcasting.
As pointed out in this intriguing study and attested
to in the words of the political elites most adversely
impacted by Western radio, funding for these efforts
constituted the best imaginable bargain in combating
Communism, given the pervasive effect such broadcasts
had on the course of history. Even CIA analysts relied
on information that could be provided only by the radio
stations". - Slavic and East European Journal
"Now we have this wonderful book to explain to
us how the Voices functioned, what their problems and
successes were, how jamming worked, and what the authorities
were worried about. Here, in one thick volume, we have
the inside story of so many issues that surfaced during
the Cold War, when information beamed to this part of
the world was arguably the West’s most dangerous
weapon. Cold War Broadcasting does not read like
a novel, although the material is dramatic and exciting
enough for many novels." - Russian Review
"This collection of documents and scholarly analysis
marks a major advance in the discussion, and furthers
understanding the role of propaganda and reliable information
in shaping the complex dynamics of the Cold War. Summing
up: Highly recommended." - Choice
In addition, Choice designated the book as an Outstanding
Academic Title.
The book examines the role of Western broadcasting
to the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe during the Cold
War, with a focus on Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty.
It includes chapters by radio veterans and by scholars
who have conducted research on the subject in once-secret
Soviet bloc archives and in Western records. It also
contains a selection of translated documents from formerly
secret Soviet and East European archives, most of them
published here for the first time.
Previous studies have examined the history and organization
of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty, and their place
in American national security strategy. What has been
lacking until now are studies of the impact of Western
Cold War broadcasting, on both societies and Communist
regimes, that draw on archival material from the other
side of the former Iron Curtain.
Contents
Preface; Foreword by Timothy
Garton Ash; Introduction;
PART ONE: GOALS OF THE BROADCASTS Chapter One: RFE’s
Early Years: Evolution of Broadcast Policy and Evidence
of Broadcast Impact Chapter Two: Goals of Radio Liberty
Chapter Three: The Voice of America: A Brief Cold War
History
PART TWO: JAMMING AND AUDIENCES Chapter Four: Cold War
Radio Jamming Appendix A: Types of Jamming Appendix
B: An Example of a Shortwave Broadcasting Station During
the Cold War Chapter Five: The Audience to Western Broadcasts
to the USSR During the Cold War: An External Perspective
Chapter Six: The Foreign Radio Audience in the USSR
During the Cold War: An Internal Perspective Chapter
Seven: The Audience to Western Broadcasts to Poland
During the Cold War Appendix C: Weekly Listening Rates
for Major Western Broadcasters to Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia,
Romania, Bulgaria and the USSR During the Cold War
PART THREE: IMPACT OF WESTERN BROADCASTS IN EASTERN
EUROPE Chapter Eight: Radio Free Europe in the Eyes
of the Polish Communist Elite Chapter Nine: Polish Regime
Countermeasures Against Radio Free Europe Chapter Ten:
Radio Free Europe’s Impact in Romania During the
Cold War Chapter Eleven: Ceauşescu’s War
Against Our Ears Chapter Twelve: Just Noise? Impact
of Radio Free Europe in Hungary Chapter Thirteen: Bulgarian
Regime Countermeasures Against Radio Free Europe
PART FOUR: IMPACT OF WESTERN BROADCASTS IN THE USSR
Chapter Fourteen: Soviet Reactions to Foreign Broadcasting
in the 1950s; Chapter Fifteen: Foreign Media, the Soviet
Western Frontier, and the Hungarian and Czechoslovak
Crises Chapter Sixteen: Water Shaping the Rock: Cold
War Broadcasting Impact in Latvia
PART FIVE: CONCLUSIONS Chapter Seventeen: Cold War International
Broadcasting and the Road to Democracy
PART SIX: DOCUMENTS FROM EAST EUROPEAN AND SOVIET ARCHIVES
I. Regime Perceptions of Western Broadcasters II. Regime
Countermeasures Against Western Broadcasters
Contributors; Glossary; Index
2010
596 pages
ISBN 978-963-9776-80-7 cloth $55.00 / €44.95 /
£40.00
ISBN 978-615-5225-07-9 paperback $35.00 /
€32.50 / £27.99
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