Rethinking Diplomatic and Strategic History

Fifty years after the Korean War ended with the 1953 armistice, its legacy still shapes international relations. The war substantially contributed to the diplomatic and strategic pattern of the Cold War that persisted over the next four decades. Even with the collapse of communism and the end of the Cold War elsewhere, Korea remained a divided country. The danger that war might resume on the Korean peninsula and might engulf the region in another tragedy has endured. Now, as in 1950, global implications of even a "limited war" in Korea are potentially quite serious. Rethinking the Korean War is therefore a major contribution to understanding current affairs as well as international history.