Final Act - The Helsinki Accords and the Transformation of the Cold War

The Helsinki Final Act was a watershed of the Cold War. Signed by thirty-five European and North American leaders at a summit in Finland in the summer of 1975, the agreement presented a vision for peace based on common principles and cooperation across the Iron Curtain. The Final Act is the first in-depth account of the diplomatic saga that produced this historic agreement. Drawing on research in eight countries and multiple languages, this gripping book explains the Final Act's emergence from the parallel crises of the Soviet bloc and the West during the 1960s, the strategies of the major players, and the conflicting designs for international order that animated the negotiations. Helsinki had originally been a Soviet idea. But after nearly three years of grinding negotiations, the Final Act reflected liberal democratic ideals more than communist ones. It rejected the Brezhnev Doctrine, provided for German reunification, endorsed human rights as a core principle of international security, committed countries to greater transparency in economic and military affairs, and promoted the freer movement of people and information across borders. Instead of restoring the legitimacy of the Soviet bloc, Helsinki established principles that undermined it.

About the author

Michael Cotey Morgan is associate professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Summary

The first in-depth account of the historic diplomatic agreement that served as a blueprint for ending the Cold War The Helsinki Final Act was a watershed of the Cold War. Signed by thirty-five European and North American leaders at a summit in Finland in the summer of 1975, the agreement presented a vision for peace based on common principles and

Additional text

"Expect to see this book in print for five or six decades—it is that good."---Nicholas Evan Sarantakes, Naval War College Review

Report

"The Final Act offers by far the most comprehensive history of a critical turning point in modern international diplomacy."--Thomas Borstelmann, author of The 1970s: A New Global History from Civil Rights to Economic Inequality

Product details

• Authors: Michael Cotey Morgan, Morgan Michael Cotey
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.01.2018
• EAN: 9780691176062
• ISBN: 978-0-691-17606-2
• No. of pages: 424
• Series: America in the World; America in the World
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Regional and national histories; Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Comparative and international political science; Postwar 20th century history, from c 1945 to c 2000, European History, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / General, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Ideologies / Democracy, POLITICAL SCIENCE / International Relations / Diplomacy, Finland, POLITICAL SCIENCE / International Relations / Treaties, Diplomacy, c 1970 to c 1979, c 1970 to c 1980, The Cold War, Cold wars and proxy conflicts, Treaties & Other Sources Of International Law, Public international law: treaties and other sources, HISTORY / Russia / General, POLITICAL SCIENCE / World / Russian & Soviet