The purpose of this guide is to encourage a rational understanding of the problems associated with nuclear armaments and to present a constructive approach to finding a solution. Each unit is introduced with a review of new terms, after which the topic is summarized and then is concluded with a vocabulary review and unit examination. Unit 1…

Reviews critical events in the history of relations between the United States and the Soviet Union, citing seldom-taught facts. Proposes increased emphasis on the study of the Soviet Union and U.S.-Soviet relations and suggests sources educators can use for learning more and making more information available. (PGD)

Discusses those U.S. counties that the State Department has forbidden former Soviet government personnel to enter. Includes a U.S. map indicating closed counties. Explains that the policy came in response to restrictions on foreigners' movements in the former Soviet Union. Suggests that teachers have students explore why particular U.S. regions…

According to this essay by a visiting scholar from Great Britain, there will always be a debate in democratic societies, about the proper role of morality in fashioning and articulating foreign policy. This ambivalence has been reflected in the uneven approach to the problem exhibited by successive United States administrations. There are two…

Designed to stimulate thinking about United States-Soviet relationships in terms of nuclear weapons and national security, this document presents ideas and issues that represent differing viewpoints and positions. Chapter 1, "Rethinking the U.S.-Soviet Relationship," considers attempts to achieve true national security, and chapter 2,…

Since the end of the Cold War, and more recently since September 11, 2001, relations between the United States and Russia have reached new levels of cooperation and accommodation. At the same time, many important developments in Russia remain cloaked by government intrigue or obscured by the complexity of Russia's political and cultural past. This…

Global tensions necessitate increased understanding of the Soviet Union by Americans. Educators can help by convincing their professional organizations to support activities aimed at increasing the availability of information and by making sure that local efforts to provide information to students are clearly unbiased and are purely educational in…

Designed to help teachers discuss and explore with students the many aspects of peace and security in a rapidly changing world, this teaching manual examines the issues from many different points of view. Students are encouraged to examine the issues, collect information, and present their own views and opinions based on the facts. The book…

Describes ways to teach about the role of geography on politics in high school social studies. Students study the influence of waterways and other topographical features on politics. The influence of geopolitical theory on American and Soviet foreign policies is examined. (AM)

Secondary-level history textbooks' treatments of United States-Soviet relations can be biased and misleading. Ideological treatments present the relationship as a struggle between good and evil; "real politik" treatments recognize opposing viewpoints but are usually subordinate interpretations. Neither approach discusses U.S.-Soviet…

After World War II ended in 1945, the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR) emerged as the two dominant countries in the post-war world. An arms race began, and this constant pursuit for respect and supremacy was called the Cold War. On October 4, 1957, the USSR launched the world's first intercontinental ballistic missile, with the first…

This instructional guide is intended to be used with the six-part videotape "Russia and the Other Former Soviet Republics in Transition." The guide comprises essays that provide critical background information needed to understand the issues and events under discussion, which are the new countries that have grown out of the former Soviet…

This unit of study allows students and teachers to step back from the confusing media reports of the day-to-day turmoil in the former Soviet Union (FSU) and to examine it from a more thoughtful vantage point. The unit focuses on the most important instrument of U.S. policy toward the FSU--economic assistance. At the core of the unit are four…

This teacher's guide is designed to accompany the National Issues Forums'"The Superpowers: Nuclear Weapons and National Security." Activities and ideas are provided to challenge students to debate and discuss the United States-Soviet related issues of nuclear weapons and national security. The guide is divided into sections that…

Discussed here are two schools of thought on how best to avoid nuclear war, i.e., that of (1) the Mutual Assured Destroyers who believe that the real enemy is the arms race itself, and (2) the Classical Strategists who believe that the real enemy is the Soviet Union. (RM)