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Human rights norms do matter. Those established by the Helsinki Final Act contributed directly to the demise of communism in the former East bloc, contends Daniel Thomas. This book counters those skeptics who doubt that such international norms substantially affect domestic political change, while explaining why, when, and how they matter most. Thomas argues that the Final Act, signed in 1975, transformed the agenda of East-West relations and provided a common platform around which opposition forces could mobilize. Without downplaying other factors, Thomas shows that the norms established at Helsinki undermined the viability of one-party Communist rule and thereby contributed significantly to the largely peaceful and democratic changes of 1989, as well as the end of the Cold War. Drawing on both governmental and nongovernmental sources, he offers a powerful Constructivist alternative to Realist theory's failure to anticipate or explain these crucial events. This study will fundamentally influence ongoing debates about the politics of international institutions, the socialization of states, the spread of democracy, and, not least, about the balance of factors that felled the Iron Curtain. It casts new light on Solidarity, Charter 77, and other democratic movements in Eastern Europe, the sources of Gorbachev's reforms, the evolution of the European Union, U.S. foreign policy, and East-West relations in the final decades of the Cold War. The Helsinki Effect will be essential reading for scholars and students of international relations, international law, European politics, human rights, and social movements.
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 volume tells the story of the Helsinki Process from the immediate post-war period through the signing of the Helsinki Final Act in 1975 to the collapse of the Soviet empire and up to the present day. Treating it as a single narrative in the search for a just and stable order in Europe adds significantly to the copious but mostly narrowly focused academic literature on the subject. Divided into 26 chapters, it can also serve as a handy reference book for different phases of the story. Chapter 22 examines the continuing debate over whether the West is responsible for the breakdown of relations with Russia and why the Helsinki Process failed to avert it. Chapter 26 asks whether the remarkable multilateral diplomacy that produced the Final Act could be replicated in other troubled areas today. It then offers 12 lessons that may be drawn from that experience. Defrosting the Cold War and Beyond: An Introduction to the Helsinki Process, 1954–2022 will help students and others understand the long arc of the Helsinki process, its place in European history and its continuing relevance today. Drawing on the first-hand experience of the author and other sources, the book corrects common errors and identifies some of the key people involved.
Based on newly declassified documents, this edited volume explores the significance of the earlyHelsinki process as a means of redefining and broadening the concept of security during the latter half of the Cold War.