After the heads of state and government of almost all European countries, the USA, and Canada signed the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe in Helsinki on August 1st, 1975, little was heard about the CSCE process. However, far away from the headline-grabbing meetings between the leading politicians of the USA and the USSR as well as the Geneva negotiations on disarmament, the Helsinki process proved to be an efficient framework for the East-West negotiations. The inconclusive Belgrade CSCE Meeting of 1977-1978 - after six months the delegations were only able to agree on a brief final document - was nevertheless a significant milestone for the CSCE process itself: negotiation rules were drawn up, interpreted, negotiated and re-negotiated. The contributions to this volume offer solid insights into the follow-up meeting in Belgrade in 1977/78, the Cold War, and in particular the CSCE process.

The definitive account of the historic diplomatic agreement that provided 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 document presented a vision for peace based on common principles and cooperation across the Iron Curtain. The Final Act is the first in-depth history of the diplomatic saga that produced this important agreement. This gripping book explains the Final Act's emergence from the parallel crises of the Soviet bloc and the West during the 1960s and the conflicting strategies that animated the negotiations. Drawing on research in eight countries and multiple languages, The Final Act shows how Helsinki provided a blueprint for ending the Cold War and building a new international order.

This book presents pieces of evidence, which ? taken together ? lead to an argument that goes against the grain of the established Cold War narrative. The argument is that a ?long d‚tente? existed between East and West from the 1950s to the 1980s, that it existed and lasted for good (economic, national security, societal) reasons, and that it had a profound impact on the outcome of the conflict between East and West and the quintessentially peaceful framework in which this ?endgame? was played. New, Euro-centered narratives are offered, including both West and East European perspectives. These contributions point to critical inconsistencies and inherent problems in the traditional U.S. dominated narrative of the ?Victory in the Cold War.? The argument of a ?long d‚tente? does not need to replace the ruling American narrative. Rather, it can and needs to be augmented with European experiences and perceptions. After all, it was Europe ? its peoples, societies, and states ? that stood both at the ideological and military frontline of the conflict between East and West, and it was here that the struggle between liberalism and communism was eventually decided.

Combining detailed analysis with a close reading of historical narratives, documentary evidence and first-hand interviews, this is the first book on conflict to look seriously at the issue of ethnic identity and what it means for future peace.

Human rights and détente inextricably intertwined during Carter’s years. By promoting human rights in the USSR, Carter sought to build a domestic consensus for détente; through bipolar dialogue, he tried to advance human rights in the USSR. But, human rights contributed to the erosion of détente without achieving a lasting domestic consensus.

This unique book examines the international law of minority rights as it has been applied in the Balkans since the First World War, contending that this region, where minority rights issues are acute and abundant, holds the promise of an enforceable regime of international minority rights that would promote both human rights law and peace in the Balkans. Published under the Transnational Publishers imprint.