Breaking the Mould: Europe in the 1980’s

Abstract

The sending of Soviet troops into Afghanistan to prop up a shaky communist régime in the best British imperial tradition would seem to be a very unprepossessing start to the decade. The continued fighting in Afghanistan has cast a constant shadow over international relations. The decade has also been marked by a series of events which have signalled the possibility of dramatic changes within Western Europe and the Soviet empire and also in the diplomatic relationship between East and West. Yet there does come a point when the study of history develops into conjecturing about the future and only time will tell whether these events will have truly long-lasting consequences.