Western European Literature and the East-West Conflict

Although Western Europe was protected from the worst violence of the Cold War, the region was shaped by the militarism, propaganda, espionage and ideological conflict that defined the era. As this chapter explores, the conflict became a central reference point in national cultures from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean, which expressed on-going anxiety about the impact that events were having on national and regional affairs. Drawing on work by Halldór Laxness, Hilde Spiel, Peter Schneider, Yánnis Rítsos, Leslie Kaplan, Ama Ata Aidoo and others, the chapter examines such key literary concerns as regional identity, continental division, decolonisation and superpower encroachment, including the increasing influence of the US on both Western Europe and the former Western European colonies.