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Helsinki Process: Historic American Achievement in “Relentless Diplomacy”
“Helsinki ” A Major Contribution to Cold War Diplomatic History
In August 1975 President Ford signed the Accords reached by the Helsinki Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE). The Accords’ human rights provisions spurred dissidents in Eastern Europe to launch democracy movements that helped end Soviet domination. The Accords
• Served de facto as the long-delayed World War II peace conference. • Represented a durable settlement of the Cold War in Europe. • Defined collaborative relations in every sphere of international life in Europe. • Became the accepted international order in the Euro Atlantic region until Putin violated its provisions.
Two senior American diplomats, Jim Goodby and Leo Reddy, who served as architects of the strong U.S. and NATO positions for CSCE, have written an insightful, succinct history of the behind-the-scenes process that helped the State Department overcome the profound obstacles to this successful outcome. Those obstacles
• A clear initial tendency from the White House to minimize expectations from a European Security Conference.
• Strong domestic political opposition to President Ford’s support for the Accords.
• Doubts that the Soviets would ever agree to far-reaching human rights provisions.
• Conviction that the Allies were too weak to withstand Soviet pressure.
“Helsinki Process” – Not just must-reading by current and future diplomats and historians, but by all Americans who favor strong American foreign policy support for human rights.
In August 1975 President Ford signed the Accords reached by the Helsinki Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE). The Accords’ human rights provisions spurred dissidents in Eastern Europe to launch democracy movements that helped end Soviet domination. The Accords
• Served de facto as the long-delayed World War II peace conference. • Represented a durable settlement of the Cold War in Europe. • Defined collaborative relations in every sphere of international life in Europe. • Became the accepted international order in the Euro Atlantic region until Putin violated its provisions.
Two senior American diplomats, Jim Goodby and Leo Reddy, who served as architects of the strong U.S. and NATO positions for CSCE, have written an insightful, succinct history of the behind-the-scenes process that helped the State Department overcome the profound obstacles to this successful outcome. Those obstacles
• A clear initial tendency from the White House to minimize expectations from a European Security Conference.
• Strong domestic political opposition to President Ford’s support for the Accords.
• Doubts that the Soviets would ever agree to far-reaching human rights provisions.
• Conviction that the Allies were too weak to withstand Soviet pressure.
“Helsinki Process” – Not just must-reading by current and future diplomats and historians, but by all Americans who favor strong American foreign policy support for human rights.
77 pages, Paperback
Published November 23, 2023
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