The Kremlin and the Prague Spring

The material now available on the Prague Spring makes possible a very plausible account, despite the secrecy enveloping the policymaking process and the hermetic seal on Soviet records, of what went on in the Kremlin, and also of the role of East European leaders such as Ulbricht and Kádár; and on the Czechoslovak side the story has been told and retold. Karen Dawisha puts it all together with exemplary research and great skill. She adds some observations of a theoretical nature which should be of interest to those concerned with models and the topology of crises.