Browderism refers to the variant of

Marxism–Leninism Marxism–Leninism () is a communist ideology that became the largest faction of the History of communism, communist movement in the world in the years following the October Revolution. It was the predominant ideology of most communist gov ...

developed in the 1940s by American communist politician

Earl Browder Earl Russell Browder (May 20, 1891 – June 27, 1973) was an American politician, spy for the Soviet Union, communist activist and leader of the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA). Browder was the General Secretary of the CP ...

, who led the

Communist Party USA The Communist Party USA (CPUSA), officially the Communist Party of the United States of America, also referred to as the American Communist Party mainly during the 20th century, is a communist party in the United States. It was established ...

(CPUSA) from 1930 to 1945. Characterized by deviations from orthodox Marxist–Leninist policies and principles, it sought to revise

Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...

to align the party with mainstream

American politics In the United States, politics functions within a framework of a constitutional federal republic, federal democratic republic with a presidential system. The three distinct branches Separation of powers, share powers: United States Congress, C ...

and present events; this involved incorporating Americanism and its

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

values into the party's message, shifting away from the

revolutionary socialism Revolutionary socialism is a political philosophy, doctrine, and tradition within socialism that stresses the idea that a social revolution is necessary to bring about structural changes in society. More specifically, it is the view that revo ...

previously touted by the CPUSA. Moreover, Browderism rejected

class conflict In political science, the term class conflict, class struggle, or class war refers to the economic antagonism and political tension that exist among social classes because of clashing interests, competition for limited resources, and inequali ...

entirely, instead advocating for

class collaboration Class collaboration is a principle of social organization based upon the belief that the division of society into a hierarchy of social classes is a positive and essential aspect of civilization. Fascist support Class collaboration is one of ...

with the bourgeosie under a popular front. Browderism served as the ideological line of the CPUSA's platform from 1942 until Browder's expulsion from the party in 1945. It was controversial for its revisionism in the communist world, both domestically within the party, and internationally following the publication of the Duclos letter attacking the ideology. Following Browder's expulsion, a snap election held in July re-elected William Z. Foster as party leader. As a

Stalinist Stalinism (, ) is the totalitarian means of governing and Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1927 to 1953 by dictator Joseph Stalin and in Soviet satellite states between 1944 and 1953. Stalinism in ...

, Foster reverted the party back to traditional Marxism–Leninism. The influence of Browderism waned in the party's ideology, as under the leadership of Gus Hall, attempts to recreate a new popular front and align its aims with American circumstances under Bill of Rights socialism; however, these efforts were removed from Browderism, which has since been scrutinized by anti-revisionists.

History

Beginning of Browder's leadership

Browder became

General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

of the

in 1930Ryan, ''Earl Browder'', pg. 46. and served as the party's unilateral leader and public face throughout his leadership, coinciding with the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

and

presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt For the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the United States presidential administration from 1933 to 1945, see: * Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1941), first and second terms * Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt (1941–1945), thi ...

, which informed the development of Browderism. During the interval of the

Third Period The Third Period is an ideological concept adopted by the Communist International (Comintern) at its Sixth World Congress, held in Moscow in the summer of 1928. It set policy until reversed when the Nazis took over Germany in 1933. The Cominte ...

and following

Adolf Hitler's rise to power The rise to power of Adolf Hitler, dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919, when Hitler joined the ''German Workers' Party, Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Par ...

, Comintern officials reversed the theory of " social fascism" after the failure of the

Communist Party of Germany The Communist Party of Germany (, ; KPD ) was a major Far-left politics, far-left political party in the Weimar Republic during the interwar period, German resistance to Nazism, underground resistance movement in Nazi Germany, and minor party ...

(one of the most ardent supporters of the theory) to unite with the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together w ...

in opposing the rise of

Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...

. The necessity of a popular front to ally against

fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

massively influenced Browder's thinking and strategy. On January 6, 1935, Browder gave a public speech outlining an alliance with the

Socialist Party of America The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a socialist political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of America ...

(of whom Browder was a former member from 1907 to 1912). The Socialist Party was skeptical of such an alliance due to vilification over the past decade, though their leader

Norman Thomas Norman Mattoon Thomas (November 20, 1884 – December 19, 1968) was an American Presbyterian religious minister, minister, political activist, and perennial candidate for president. He achieved fame as a socialism, socialist and pacifism, pacifis ...

admitted specific areas where the two parties could work together. Browder also sought to form new mass organizations such as the American League Against War and Fascism in 1933 and the American Youth Congress and League of American Writers, both in 1935. At the same time, the party's stance towards the Roosevelt administration was modified from hostility to mutual cooperation, influencing Roosevelt's

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

policies while Browder continued to serve as the Communist nominee for the

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

and

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *Janu ...

presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The ...

. This served as a revision of the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

model of

communist revolution A communist revolution is a proletarian revolution inspired by the ideas of Marxism that aims to replace capitalism with communism. Depending on the type of government, the term socialism can be used to indicate an intermediate stage between ...

the party embraced in its early years, seeking a pragmatic approach to present issues.

Americanism and World War II

As this popular front strategy progressed leading up to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Browder further de-emphasized Marxist rhetoric in an appeal to American patriotism in order to appeal to a broader audience in U.S. politics. In June 1936, at the 9th National Convention of the CPUSA in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, Browder's report proclaimed, quoting his earlier essay "What is Communism?" earlier that year, "We Communists claim the revolutionary traditions of Americanism! ..We are the Americans and Communism in the Americanism of the twentieth century." This shift coincided with Comintern policy under

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

, which still supported the popular front strategy worldwide up until the

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, officially the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and also known as the Hitler–Stalin Pact and the Nazi–Soviet Pact, was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Ge ...

and the beginning of World War II. Due to the undermining of the Soviet Union's

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

reputation, the CPUSA's ranks and recruitment numbers diminished.Ottanelli, ''The Communist Party of the United States'', pg. 198. Browder was imprisoned in 1941; following his early release a year later, he returned to the general secretary position strongly in support of the American war effort, contrasted by the accusations of "imperialist war" the party previously made. This led to the brief end of

and beginning of

in Browder prioritizing the popular front in the party's appeal above all else. These tendencies of Browderism, emphasizing an uncompromising popular front and aim to popularise the party with Americans culminated in 1944, when the CPUSA was officially dissolved for a short time and was restructured into the Communist Political Association. This decision from Browder, though receiving unanimous support from the National Committee as a constitutional convention for the new organization was planned for May 1944,Maurice Isserman, ''Which Side Were You On? The American Communist Party During the Second World War''. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1982; pg. 191. there was bitter opposition to this change in the form of the Foster-Darcy letter, co-signed by CPUSA factional rival William Z. Foster and Philadelphia District Organizer Samuel Adams Darcy. Limited circulation of the letter was tolerated within the party leadership, but later would lead to Darcy's expulsion by a CPA committee headed by Foster, who submitted to party discipline as emphasized by Browder.

Fallout and decline

Following the

Tehran Conference The Tehran Conference (codenamed Eureka) was a strategy meeting of the Allies of World War II, held between Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill from 28 November to 1 December 1943. It was the first of the Allied World Wa ...

in 1943, Browder hoped for the alliance between the Allied powers to continue after the war in

peaceful coexistence Peaceful coexistence () was a theory, developed and applied by the Soviet Union at various points during the Cold War in the context of primarily Marxist–Leninist foreign policy and adopted by Soviet-dependent socialist states, according to wh ...

, yet with the beginning of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

and

McCarthyism McCarthyism is a political practice defined by the political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals and a Fear mongering, campaign spreading fear of communist and Soviet influence on American institutions and of Soviet espionage i ...

, Browderism became open to scrutiny.

Jacques Duclos Jacques Duclos (; 2 October 189625 April 1975) was a French Communist politician and member of Communist International (Comintern) who played a key role in French politics from 1926, when he entered the French National Assembly after defeating ...

, Comintern member and leader of the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (, , PCF) is a Communism, communist list of political parties in France, party in France. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its Member of the European Parliament, MEPs sit with The Left in the ...

(PCF) published an article in the party's theoretical magazine, ''Les Cahiers du communisme'', attacking Browder's positions in what became known as the "Duclos letter". Quoting the Foster-Darcy letter, Duclos criticized Browder's beliefs about a harmonious post-war world as "erroneous conclusions in no wise flowing from a Marxist analysis of the situation", and that liquidating the CPUSA constituted a "notorious revision of Marxism". In retrospect, the article was found by historians

Harvey Klehr Harvey Elliott Klehr (born December 25, 1945) is a professor of politics and history at Emory University. Klehr is known for his books on the subject of the American Communist movement, and on Soviet espionage in America (many written jointly with ...

, John Earl Haynes and Kyrill Anderson to have already been written in Russian and initiated by Moscow, after they determined post-war relations would become hostile. With the end of the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

, Duclos was instructed to publish the article under his own name. The article had major consequences for Browderism (sealing Browder's fate within the party) and the American communist movement, as the article had circulated worldwide among Comintern officials. The Communist Party USA was re-established at a snap election in July 1945, and Browder was removed from his position as general secretary, with Foster, who led the effort against Browderism, appointed as chairman and

Eugene Dennis Francis Xavier Waldron (August 10, 1905 – January 31, 1961), best known by the pseudonym Eugene Dennis and Tim Ryan, was an American communist politician and union organizer, best remembered as the long-time leader of the Communist Party USA ...

appointed as general secretary. Browder remained in the party continuing to espouse Browderism in the form of ''Distributors Guide: Economic Analysis: A Service for Policy Makers'', a weekly newsletter outlining his own vision for Soviet–American relations in contrast to the unfolding Cold War. Philip J. Jaffe, ''The Rise and Fall of American Communism''. New York: Horizon Press, 1975; pg. 138. On February 5, 1946, Browder was fully expelled from the party altogether; outside of a brief effort during the

20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union The 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union () was held during the period 14–25 February 1956. It is known especially for First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev's " Secret Speech", which denounced the personality cult and dictator ...

(which marked a period of

de-Stalinization De-Stalinization () comprised a series of political reforms in the Soviet Union after Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, the death of long-time leader Joseph Stalin in 1953, and Khrushchev Thaw, the thaw brought about by ascension of Nik ...

) to reintegrate Browder back into the party, he would never rejoin.

Legacy within the CPUSA

By the time Browder died in June 1973 while the Communist Party USA was under the leadership of Gus Hall, Browderism was fully removed from the party platform, as the party remained committed to orthodox Marxism–Leninism. However, within Hall's policies, there were similarities with Browderism. This included a brief attempt to forge a "broad people's political movement", aligning the CPUSA in a new popular front with the civil rights movement and

anti-Vietnam War movement Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War began in 1965 with demonstrations against the escalating role of the United States in the war. Over the next several years, these demonstrations grew into a social movement which was ...

to amass support among

baby boomers Baby boomers, often shortened to boomers, are the demographic cohort preceded by the Silent Generation and followed by Generation X. The generation is often defined as people born from 1946 to 1964 during the mid-20th century baby boom that ...

. This would've tied the CPUSA, a by-product of the

Old Left The Old Left is an informal umbrella term used to describe the various left-wing political movements in the Western world prior to the 1960s. Many of these movements were Marxist movements that often took a more vanguardist approach to social ...

, with the

New Left The New Left was a broad political movement that emerged from the counterculture of the 1960s and continued through the 1970s. It consisted of activists in the Western world who, in reaction to the era's liberal establishment, campaigned for freer ...

, yet was unsuccessful. Hall also coined the term " Bill of Rights socialism", advocating for socialist ideals to be incorporated into the

U.S. Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally including seven articles, the Constituti ...

. However, Hall did not cite Browderism as inspiration for these policies, as there are notable differences which reflect a different era, particularly as Hall was more restrained when deviating from orthodoxy, being a committed Soviet ally. Joseph C. Mouledous noted how Hall advocated in 1961 for a

united front A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political and/ ...

policy, outlining "a process of joining hands, of uniting forces in struggle around specific issues. That means unity with trade unions, liberals, socialists, Catholics, people of diverse political opinions or none at all." Moreover, Hall stressed elsewhere the party's necessity not to take over such organizations, which Mouledous accredited to how " e dangers of the united-front policy were made manifest during the Browder period, when the Party dissolved itself." Additionally, the Browderist approach to

race relations Race relations is a sociological concept that emerged in Chicago in connection with the work of sociologist Robert E. Park and the Chicago race riot of 1919. Race relations designates a paradigm or field in sociology and a legal concept in th ...

was unique within the CPUSA's history of strong relations with African Americans. According to Joseph C. Mouledous, the CPA diverged from the

Leninist Leninism (, ) is a political ideology developed by Russian Marxist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin that proposes the establishment of the Dictatorship of the proletariat#Vladimir Lenin, dictatorship of the proletariat led by a revolutionary Vangu ...

principle of

self-determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...

for African Americans, instead advocating for

social integration Social integration is the process during which newcomers or minorities are incorporated into the social structure of the host society. Social integration, together with economic integration and identity integration, are three main dimensions o ...

; Browder cited World War II as the opportunity, writing in 1944 for the ''Communist'' that " e immediate achievement in this period, under the present American system, of complete equality for the Negroes, has been made possible by the war as a peoples' war of national liberation." Mouledous argues that Browder's approach was characterized by "cooperation with the progressive elements of the American capitalist class".

Components

Popular front

Browderism supports the organization of a popular front, an alliance of socialists with liberals and progressives in opposition to

. This strategy was adopted by the Comintern from 1934 until the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact in 1939, and popular front governments briefly held power in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

during the 1930s. Browder's push for such a broad

coalition was due to the rise of

fascism in Europe Fascist movements in Europe were the set of various fascist ideologies which were practiced by governments and political organizations in Europe during the 20th century. Fascism was born in Italy following World War I, and other fascist move ...

and the popularity of the

, which Browder was initially hostile to, but then came to seek an alliance with the New Dealers, despite orders from Moscow in September 1939 to oppose Roosevelt leading to conflict within the CPUSA.

Americanism and internationalism

A crucial deviation in Browderism from Marxism–Leninism was in its rhetoric to appeal to a wider American audience, adopting more patriotic language. Traditionally, Americanism espouses beliefs such as

freedom Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" i ...

liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

and

republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology that encompasses a range of ideas from civic virtue, political participation, harms of corruption, positives of mixed constitution, rule of law, and others. Historically, it emphasizes the idea of self ...

, all encapsulated in a collective national identity. Browderism aligning communism with Americanism, a popular quote from ''What is Communism?'' being "Communism is the Americanism of the 20th Century", contrasts with other interpretations of the nationalist identity. In retrospect, American historian Wendy L. Wall argues in her 2008 book '' Inventing the "American Way"'' that Americanism was used during the Cold War as a contrasting ideology to communism along with fascism. Nonetheless, Browderism sought to incorporate the symbology of mainstream, patriotic culture in order to present communism as a compatible ideology which fits into ideals of freedom and republicanism. Despite this nationalist alignment, Browderism continued to support internationalism and active participation in

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

. This informed its rejection of

non-interventionism Non-interventionism or non-intervention is commonly understood as "a foreign policy of political or military non-involvement in foreign relations or in other countries' internal affairs". This is based on the grounds that a state should not inter ...

during World War II, with Browder supporting Roosevelt moving away from isolationism in the wake of increasing tensions amid the rise of fascism in Europe. However, due to Browderism's pragmatic and reformist character, its form of internationalism differed from the

proletarian internationalism Proletarian internationalism, sometimes referred to as international socialism, is the perception of all proletarian revolutions as being part of a single global class struggle rather than separate localized events. It is based on the theory th ...

espoused by Marxist–Leninists.

Class conflict and collaboration

Under Browderism, the need for

against the bourgeosie by the

proletariat The proletariat (; ) is the social class of wage-earners, those members of a society whose possession of significant economic value is their labour power (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a proletarian or a . Marxist ph ...

was de-prioritized and downplayed by the necessity for as broad a popular front as possible. This evolved into

, where distinctions between socioeconomic classes were put aside in favor of cooperation for an underlying goal, feeding into the need to resist fascism during World War II, as Browder justified in his 1942 book ''Victory and After''.Isserman, ''Which Side Were You On?'' pg. 145. Browder's leadership made use of softer rhetoric more in line with terms used by the Roosevelt administration such as "economic royalism".

Criticism

Unlike other variants of Marxism–Leninism like

Maoism Maoism, officially Mao Zedong Thought, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed while trying to realize a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic o ...

and

Hoxhaism Hoxhaism ( , ) is a variant of Marxism–Leninism developed in the late 1970s as a result of a schism in the anti-revisionist movement, namely between the Chinese Communist Party and the Party of Labour of Albania. The ideological dispute be ...

, Browderism has not retained relevance within American communist politics, and did not amass international influence. It has in retrospect been criticized by anti-revisionists as indicative of

American exceptionalism American exceptionalism is the belief that the United States is either distinctive, unique, or exemplary compared to other nations. Proponents argue that the Culture of the United States, values, Politics of the United States, political system ...

, viewing the circumstances of class struggle and conflict with the bourgeosie as not applying to the United States. Anti-revisionists also argue that the broad popular front Browderism envisioned subordinated the CPUSA to the interests of the bourgeosie via the Democratic Party, and that the threat of fascism used as justification was non-existent. Communist Party USA member John Gates called Browderism "a valuable instrument in the hands of U.S. imperialism in its plans for world war and counter-revolution."

Claudia Jones Claudia Vera Jones (; 21 February 1915 – 24 December 1964) was a Trinidad and Tobago-born journalist and activist. As a child, she migrated with her family to the United States, where she became a Communist political activist, feminist and bla ...

was critical of the Browderist political line on race relations as "strengthening ..

bourgeois nationalism In Marxist theory, bourgeois nationalism is the ideology of the ruling capitalist class which aims to overcome class antagonism between proletariat and bourgeoisie by appealing to national unity. It is seen as a distraction from engaging in class ...

among the Negro people and ..undue reliance on the Negro reformist leadership." Today, the CPUSA has remained critical of Browderism, calling its ideas "opportunistic", the result of communist parties' "theoretical confusion and their abandonment of core principles and core working-class constituencies" along with

Eurocommunism Eurocommunism was a trend in the 1970s and 1980s within various Western European communist parties, which said they had developed a theory and practice of social transformation more relevant for Western Europe. During the Cold War, they sough ...