Abstract:
Did women really play an important role in the political theater of the Cold War? In
short, yes. This thesis explores not only the question of whether women impacted the politics of
the Cold War, but also how they did so and to what extent their activities were able to
fundamentally alter the tensions and relations between countries in the West and in the East.
Rather than act as a general study of the impacts women across the world had during the Cold
War, this thesis studies the lives and contributions of five individual women—Margaret
Thatcher, Nancy Reagan, Yekaterina Furtseva, Ethel Gee, and Samantha Smith. These women
served in a variety of roles and capacities during the Cold War; from venerated politicians to
supportive wives/lovers, to spies, and even ambassadors of goodwill; both for the Democratic
West and the Communist East. As a conclusion to the five mini-histories for each woman, their
individual stories are synthesized together to compare and contrast their actions and their
abilities to enact lasting historical change.
