Hanhimäki, Jussi M. 1965–

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Hanhimäki, Jussi M. 1965–

(Jussi Markus Hanhimäki)

PERSONAL: Born February 3, 1965, in Espoo, Finland; son of Jussi Kalervo and Hilkka Doris (Uuskallio) Hanhimäki; married Holli Tina Schauber, June 17, 1990. Education: Tampere University (Tampere, Finland), B.A., 1987; Boston University, M.A., 1988, Ph.D., 1993. Hobbies and other interests: Tennis, jogging.

ADDRESSES: Office#x2014;Graduate Institute of International Studies, rue de Lausanne 132, Case post-ale 36, CH-1211 Geneva 21, Switzerland. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Researcher, historian, writer, and educator. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, lecturer, 1990–91; United States Institute of Peace, Washington, DC, researcher, 1991–92; Bishop's University, Lennoxville, Quebec, Canada, assistant professor, 1992–93; Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, research fellow, 1993–94; Ohio University, Athens, research fellow, 1994–95; London School of Economics, London, England, lecturer, 1995–2000; Institute of International Studies, Geneva, Switzerland, professor, 2000–. Nobel Institute, fellow, 1997.

MEMBER: Finnish Historical Society, American Historical Association, Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations.

WRITINGS:

NONFICTION

Rinnakkaiseloa patoamassa: Yhdysvallat ja Paasikivien linja 1948–1956, Suomen Historiallinen Seura (Helsinki, Finland), 1996.

Containing Coexistence: America, Russia, and the "Finnish Solution," Kent State University Press (Kent, OH), 1997.

Scandinavia and the United States: An Insecure Friendship, Twayne (New York, NY), 1997.

(Editor, with Odd Arne Westad) The Cold War: A History in Documents and Eyewitness Accounts, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 2003.

The Flawed Architect: Henry Kissinger and American Foreign Policy, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 2004.

Coeditor of the journal Cold War History.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Researching Henry Kissinger and triangular diplomacy, and European perceptions of McCarthyism.

SIDELIGHTS: Finnish professor Jussi M. Hanhimäki is a historian who specializes in foreign relations and Cold War history. Both topics come to the fore in Containing Coexistence: America, Russia, and the "Finnish Solution." The book examines American policy and attitude towards Finnish-Soviet relations, especially after the 1948 signing of the Soviet-Finnish Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance (FCMA). While the treaty allowed Finland to coexist independently of and peacefully with Russia, American leaders were wary of the agreement (they viewed it as a strategical move indicating Russia's intent to absorb or takeover Finland). The book's "source base is broad and up to date and includes the pertinent records in American, Finnish, and British archives," noted H. Peter Krosby in Scandinavian Studies. However, Gordon L. Shull, writing in Perspectives on Political Science, remarked upon the noticeable absence of Soviet sources. Still, both reviewers found much of the book to be of value. While Shull felt that the window of time covered in the book was too narrow, and that this led to the omission of later events that are pertinent to the topic, he did comment that "the author's close attention to U.S. perceptions and policies … are its distinguishing features." Krosby was far more enthusiastic in his summation, stating that "Hanhimäki's very well-written book is a fine addition to the history of the early Cold War."

Among Hanhimäki's other reviewed books are Scandinavia and the United States: An Insecure Friendship and The Cold War: A History in Documents and Eyewitness Accounts. The former volume picks up largely where Containing Coexistence ends; it focuses not only on America's Cold War concerns regarding Finland, but on America's concerns with the whole of Scandinavia as well. Indeed, Hanhimäki "is the first to survey this broad subject in its entirety," noted Scandinavian Studies contributor John Pederson. Likewise, a Contemporary Review critic noted that The Cold War, which Hanhimäki coedited, is also a unique volume. The critic stated that it is an "original collection [that] reflects the changing nature of Cold War studies based, in large part, on historians' new access to Communist material."

The Flawed Architect: Henry Kissinger and American Foreign Policy also relies on previously unavailable material, and it is perhaps Hanhimäki's most widely-reviewed work to date. The book is an in-depth look at Henry Kissinger, the highly controversial American diplomat who was instrumental in directing American policies in regard to the Vietnam War. Hanhimäki chronicles Kissinger's career and provides an analysis of his policies and their results. This aspect of the book is particularly relevant because of Hanhimäki's access to declassified government documents that were previously unavailable to the public. The result is "a useful if at times dense analysis of the available material," commented Foreign Affairs writer Lawrence D. Freed-man. Several critics also noted Hanhimäki's neutral discussion of Kissinger's legacy. The author gives "due credit for his [Kissinger's] very real accomplishments while not concealing unpleasant facts," Library Journal reviewer Marcia L. Sprules observed. Contemporary Review contributor Ian Jackson also felt that Hanhimäki "provides a balanced and lucid analysis."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

ERIODICALS

Biography, fall, 2005, James M. Murphy, review of The Flawed Architect: Henry Kissinger and American Foreign Policy, p. 714.

Contemporary Review, March, 2004, review of The Cold War: A History in Documents and Eyewitness Accounts, p. 191; July, 2005, Ian Jackson, review of The Flawed Architect, p. 47.

Foreign Affairs, March-April, 2005, Lawrence D. Freedman, review of The Flawed Architect, p. 156.

Library Journal, August, 2004, Marcia L. Sprules, review of The Flawed Architect, p. 99.

Perspectives on Political Science, spring, 1998, Gordon L. Shull, review of Containing Coexistence: America, Russia, and the "Finnish Solution," p. 106.

Publishers Weekly, August 9, 2004, review of The Flawed Architect, p. 241.

Scandinavian Studies, spring, 1998, H. Peter Krosby, review of Containing Coexistence, p. 143; winter, 1998, John Pederson, review of Scandinavia and the United States: An Insecure Friendship, p. 533.