The Long Détente: Changing Concepts of Security and Cooperation in Europe 1950s-1980s

The present volume presents a collection of 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 détente 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 eventual outcome of the conflict between East and West and the quintessentially peaceful framework in which this endgame was played. By offering new, Euro-centered narratives that include both West and East European perspectives, the combined contributions of this volume point to critical inconsistencies and inherent problems in the traditional U.S.-dominated narrative of the Victory in the Cold War. Yet, rather than aiming at replacing this understanding entirely, the argument of a long détente demonstrates that this superpower narrative can, and needs to be, augmented with the plentitude of 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.