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Cold War Civil Defence in Western Europe

Sociotechnical Imaginaries of Survival and Preparedness

Casper Sylvest editor Marie Cronqvist editor Rosanna Farbol editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Springer Nature Switzerland AG

Published:7th Dec '21

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Cold War Civil Defence in Western Europe cover

This open access edited collection brings together established and new perspectives on Cold War civil defence in Western Europe within a common analytical framework that also facilitates comparative and transnational dimensions. The current interest in creating disaster-resilient societies demands new histories of civil defence. Historical contextualization is essential in order to understand what is at stake in preparing, devising, and implementing forms of preparedness, protection, and security that are specifically targeted at societies and citizens. Applying the concept of sociotechnical imaginaries to civil defence history, the chapters of this volume cover a range of new themes, from technology and materiality to media, memory, and everyday experience. The book underlines the social embeddedness of civil defence by detailing how it both prompted new forms of social interaction and reflected norms and visions of the ‘good society’ in an age where nuclear technology seemedto hold the key to both doom and salvation.

“Cold War Civil Defence in Western Europe is a timely, highly recommendable, conceptually, and analytically inspiring contribution to our understanding of the Cold War, emergency planning, and civilian preparedness. Readers well beyond those specializing in the history of science and technology will appreciate it.” (Victoria Harms, Technology and Culture, Vol. 64 (1), January, 2023)

ISBN: 9783030842802

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

250 pages

1st ed. 2022