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Overview"Through the lens of James Billington and the institution he led as Librarian of Congress during a key period of US-Russian relations, The Geopolitics of Culture examines culture as a neglected area in US foreign policy. Billington advised presidents and members of Congress as well as mobilized the resources of the Library of Congress to promote reform in Russia. He believed that rather than preaching at the Russians, the US should expose the rising generation of Russian leaders to what was best in America and encourage them to rediscover positive elements in pre-Bolshevik Russian culture. The Geopolitics of Culture is the first book to chronicle Billington's influence on US engagement with Russia as it transitioned from communism to democracy under Gorbachev and Yeltsin and back to authoritarianism under Yeltsin and Putin. Drawing on published and archival sources (including recently released papers) and interviews with current and retired Library of Congress staff, John Van Oudenaren casts new light on this era. Billington's efforts led to a remarkable degree of cooperation between the Library of Congress and Russian cultural and political institutions. These efforts ultimately failed, however, as Putin turned back toward authoritarianism. The experience of the Library of Congress in this period nonetheless holds important lessons for today. Billington believed that a transition to democracy in Russia was essential if the US was to head off the geopolitical nightmare of a Eurasia dominated by an alliance of hostile authoritarian powers. The ""geopolitics of culture"" thus remains a challenge for US foreign policy." Full Product DetailsAuthor: John Van OudenarenPublisher: Cornell University Press Imprint: Northern Illinois University Press Dimensions: Width: 15.20cm , Height: 3.20cm , Length: 22.90cm Weight: 0.907kg ISBN: 9781501775765ISBN 10: 1501775766 Pages: 378 Publication Date: 15 June 2024 Audience: College/higher education , Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: Not yet available This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon its release. Table of ContentsReviewsAuthor InformationJohn Van Oudenaren is a Global Fellow at the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies. Previously he was Director of the World Digital Library and Chief of the European Division at the Library of Congress. He has been a Senior Researcher at RAND and was the Founding Director of RAND Europe. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |