During the late sixties, informal groups began to challenge Cold War certainties. Not simply in universities – ‘Down with the Pedagogic Gerontocracy’ – but also in the wider society, a post-war generation began to articulate a new critique. The moral authority of political systems and war machines, as well as academic institutions run by middle-aged, middle-class white males, came under serious scrutiny. Not only was the ability of political leaders to deliver on promises questioned, but also the values which they maintained were contested. The interaction between social movements and diplomacy brought new patterns of relations between peoples, cultures and governments.

In order to contain dissent at home, governments frequently resorted to force against their own populations. The result was to radicalise the people rather than to legitimise government rule. Thus ‘Rudi’ Dutschke, who escaped from East Germany to study at the Free University in West Berlin, called for a ‘third front’ to challenge both capitalist and communist hegemonies. He invoked a new gallery of inspirational figures – such as Che Guevara – to symbolise the revolution against existing institutions. Paradoxically, as super-power relations began to stabilise in the aftermath of Cuba, the societies they sought to govern became more disruptive. In the United States, the main driver was Vietnam.

Herbert Marcuse was an emblematic figure for these young radicals. Abandoning the analytic rigour of the Frankfurt School of critical theorists, he addressed a manifesto to the forces of liberation.