Superpower Detente A Reappraisal

Published for the Royal Institute of International Affairs As the superpowers move once again toward a more open and cooperative relationship, supporters as well as skeptics of detente question its efficacy and durability. Have the superpowers learned from the failure of detente in the 1970s? Is detente possible in the nuclear age? The early 1970s had seen the most far-reaching moves toward detente since the inception of the Cold War. But, Bowker and Williams suggest that the coincidence of interests between the superpowers hid divergent conceptions of what detente was and what kind of behavior it required. Superpower Detente: A Reappraisal first examines the superpowers' differing interpretations of detente and the history of their interests in detente. After considering the impact of events in the Middle East, the volume goes on to discuss the competition in Angola and the Horn of Africa and concludes that it was not the competition but Soviet success in the competition which helped to sour detente. Bowker and Williams analyze the Soviet and American domestic debates over detente and conclude that the major shift in attitude occurred in Washington rather than Moscow. Finally, the authors suggest that the detente experience of the 1970s has some lessons for the future success of the new detente of the 1980s. "This book could not be better timed. As superpower relations improve once again, it is extremely welcome to have such a scholarly and thoughtful analysis of what went wrong with the previous detente." --Lawrence Freedman, King's College, London "Could not be more timely. . . . Highly recommended for upper-division undergraduates and general readers." --Choice "A timely work, deserving of a wide readership. . . . Well written, well-structured and well-judged." --Millenium "The authors of this book have succeeded in producing a concise and admirably objective appraisal of the origins, context, dynamics of development, and collapse of the detente in relations between the United States and the Soviet Union in the early 1970s. --Raymond L. Garthoff, Brookings Institution, Washington, DCBowker, Michael is the author of 'Superpower Detente A Reappraisal' with ISBN 9780803980419 and ISBN 0803980418.