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13 - Detente

from Part III - Decline

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 May 2024

Sergey Radchenko
Affiliation:
Johns Hopkins University SAIS Europe
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Summary

In the late 1960s, Brezhnev aimed to downplay the East–West ideological divide, prioritizing practical relationships over ideology. Worsening relations with China, demonstrated by the 1969 border clashes, heightened Moscow's fears of China. The prospect of an economic bonanza tempted the Soviets to reach out to France and West Germany in search of trade deals and access to markets. However, as this chapter shows, it was Nixon's visit to Beijing in February 1972 that awakened Brezhnev to the imperative of engaging with the United States. Despite America's ongoing war in Vietnam, he went out on a limb to host Nixon in Moscow. Brezhnev subsequently discovered that he and Nixon had much in common. He then strove to end the Cold War on terms that would approximate a Soviet–American condominium. This chapter argues, however, that the contradictions between the Soviet desire for American recognition and the Soviet quest for revolutionary legitimacy weakened the prospects for genuine superpower detente.

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To Run the World
The Kremlin's Cold War Bid for Global Power
, pp. 359 - 391
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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  • Detente
  • Sergey Radchenko, Johns Hopkins University SAIS Europe
  • Book: To Run the World
  • Online publication: 30 May 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108769679.017
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Detente
  • Sergey Radchenko, Johns Hopkins University SAIS Europe
  • Book: To Run the World
  • Online publication: 30 May 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108769679.017
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Detente
  • Sergey Radchenko, Johns Hopkins University SAIS Europe
  • Book: To Run the World
  • Online publication: 30 May 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108769679.017
Available formats
×