The essays included in Between East and South: Spaces of Interaction in the Globalizing Economy of the Cold War ably demonstrate the variety and complexity of global economic relations in the final decades of the Cold War. Focusing, as the title suggests, on the relationship between countries in the Cold War East and the Global South, they greatly expand our empirical knowledge of the diverse forms and motivations for joint ventures, traveling experts, and construction projects. One of the most valuable aspects of the book is the way it so effectively illuminates the range of subjects and players, looking well beyond the most famous aid and trade connections of the Cold War.
Although the essays range over a substantial geography, a few broad generalizations are possible. First, the South in this book is tilted toward former European colonies in Africa, though Syria, Iraq, and to a lesser degree Cuba also...