Disillusioned Disciples: Self-Technology in the Autobiographical Writings of Ex-Communists

Abstract

This article contributes to our understanding of East-West relations during the Cold War by looking at a previously under-examined factor – the self. Focusing on the autobiographies of three former Communist’s, this article argues that we need to pay more attention to competing understandings of selfhood. Taking evidence from both published texts and previously classified government files, it shows how these author’s autobiographies played a key role in Britain’s anti-communist propaganda effort. Finally, this paper demonstrates the manifold ways that individuals negotiated with, and contributed to, these competing discourses about selfhood when trying to make sense of their own existence during these turbulent times.