National Security and Repression

This chapter examines the means of repression that each side applied during the Cold War. The Eastern Bloc created an elaborate system of secret policing, concentration camps, and executions. Most Western nations did not resort to such means, but some nations allied to the Western Bloc did, including Greece, Spain, and Turkey. Western powers were also extremely repressive in colonial and Global South settings. The anti-Communist policies within Western nations are sometimes collectively known as a “Red Scare” or even witch hunts, but these labels are misleading to the extent that they ignore the actual threat of Communist activism during successive crises.