Detente

Detente was the word President Richard M. Nixon used to describe his eoreign policy for the relaxing of tension in Soviet-American relations. The word has varied and interesting meanings. It is French and normally means “calm,” “relaxation,” or “easing,” but it can also mean “the trigger of a gun.” Detente policy was a U. S. invention that policymakers hoped the Soviet Union would understand and emulate. There is not a word in Russian that exactly means, “detente.” The closest equivalent is razriadka, which can mean “lessening” or “reduction,” but it can also mean “discharging” or “unloading.” The diversity of the various meanings of the name of President Nixon’s policy adequately fits the policy, which had an unexpected diversity of outcomes.

Richard M. Nixon’s ascendancy to the presidency in 1969 brought about a marked change in U. S. policy regarding the Soviet Union—one that in many ways relaxed the tension between the two superpowers. As early as February 1969 on a trip to West Berlin, President Nixon called for an end to the tension surrounding that city. Since the end of the cold war, Berlin had been a hot spot of contention, a city divided between the communist-controlled East and the allied-controlled West. Although Nixon’s speech did not call for a reduction of U. S. forces stationed in West Germany, it indicated that his administration wanted to pursue a more concerted effort to bring Soviet and U. S. leaders together to discuss their differences and minimize direct military competition. Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger stated in 1974 to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee: “Detente encourages an environment in which competitors can regulate and restrain their differences and ultimately move from competition to cooperation.”

The difference between detente and the previous policy of “containment” became evident when President Nixon and Soviet premier Leonid Brezhnev signed a series of treaties allowing cultural and trade exchanges, and the selling of U. S. wheat to the Soviet Union. More important, the two leaders signed the first Strategic Arms Limitation (SALT I) Treaty in May 1972. This policy became the cornerstone of detente.

SALT I comprised an Interim Agreement on Strategic Offensive Arms and an Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty.

The Interim Agreement was set to expire five years after it was adopted. The Anti-Eallistic Missile Treaty, which placed limits on ballistic missile defense deployment, development, and testing, was to last indefinitely, with reviews every five years. It limited the defense strategies of both sides in an attempt to guarantee deterrence through Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD).

Further evidence of Nixon’s new approach to foreign affairs was seen when, in 1972, he visited the People’s Republic of China in February and then the Soviet Union three months later. The following year, the Paris Accord was signed, calling for a cease-fire in the Vietnam War, thus demonstrating once again the relaxation of tensions.

Detente continued into Gerald R. Ford’s presidency as well. In his “State of the Union” message to Congress on April 12, 1975, President Ford stated: “[T]he United States and the Soviet Union share an interest in lessening tensions and building a more stable relationship. . . . But we cannot expect the Soviet Union to show restraint in the face of United States weakness or irresolution. As long as I am president, we will not permit detente to become a license to fish in troubled waters. Detente must be and I trust will be a two-way street.” President Ford followed up on this idea of detente later the same year in Helsinki, when he joined 34 other world leaders in accepting the post-World War II boundaries in Europe and affirming the spirit of detente.

In the Carter administration (1977-81) detente came under serious criticism, as hawks within both the Republican and Democratic Parties alleged that the Soviet Union was violating human rights in its country by suppressing dissidents and not allowing its Jewish citizens to emigrate; by its arms buildup; by its unwillingness to relax its control in Eastern-bloc satellite nations; and its active support of revolutionary movements in Africa and Central America. These charges called for U. S. policy to take a harder stance toward the Soviet Union. One consequence of this stiffening became evident when the Senate refused to vote on a Carter-negotiated SALT II agreement, which would have further limited the arms race. Following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, relations between the Soviet Union and the United States became further strained.

These tensions followed into Ronald W. Reagan’s administration, which rejected a policy of detente with the Soviet Union. Indeed, when Reagan denounced the USSR as an “evil empire,” relations deteriorated so seriously that arms control talks between the two countries stalled. In his second term, however, Reagan swung back toward a policy of detente and was able to negotiate new arms treaties with the Soviets that radically reduced both nations’ nuclear arsenals and withdrew medium-sized missiles from Europe. The final breakup of the Soviet Union led to the end of the cold war and called for new diplomatic initiatives in the post-cold war world.

See also arms race; Strategic Arms Limitation Treaties.

Further reading: Paul Y. Hammond, Cold War and Detente: The American Foreign Policy Process since 1945 (New York: Harcourt Brace, 1975); George Schwab and Henry Friedlander, eds., Detente in Historical Perspective (New York: Cyrco, 1975).

—Leah Elakey

Dole, Robert (1 923- ) congressman, candidate for president

Robert Dole was one of the most prominent Republican politicians during the latter half of the 20th century. Under the Republican banner, he ran as a vice presidential candidate with Gerald Ford in 1976, made a serious race for the presidential nomination in 1980 and 1988, and won the Republican presidential nomination in 1996, only to lose the general race to incumbent William J. Clinton that year. He served in the U. S. Senate from 1969 through 1996, emerging as a leader of the party. Although initially aligned with the conservative wing of the party, he proved to be a pragmatic politician. As the Republican Party moved to the right, Dole faced opposition from conservatives and would be challenged in the Republican primaries in 1986 by Patrick Buchanan.

Born in Russell, Kansas, in 1923, Dole received a public education before entering the University of Kansas. In June 1943, after finishing his sophomore year, he enlisted in the U. S. Army to serve in the 10th Mountain Division in the liberation of northern Italy. He was wounded twice in battle, for which he received two commendations, including a Purple Heart. A German artillery shell left him disabled for life. He was discharged from military service in July 1948, after convalescing for three years for his wounds.

He returned to Russell, Kansas, to complete his E. A. degree at the University of Kansas, and an LL. E. from Washburn Municipal University. He married his first wife, Phyllis Holden, in 1948. A staunch Republican, Dole began his political career in 1951 as a member of the Kansas House of Representatives and served in this body until 1953. He was elected to four consecutive terms as Russell County attorney from 1952 to 1960. He entered the U. S. house of representatives in 1961, winning reelection in 1964 and 1966. In 1968 he won election to the U. S. Senate and was reelected in 1974, 1980, 1986, and 1992. He left his seat in 1996 to become the Republican nominee for president.