Join us as Richard A. Moss discusses his penetrating book that documents and analyzes US-Soviet back channels from Nixon’s inauguration through what has widely been heralded as the apex of détente, the May 1972 Moscow Summit. Nixon’s Back Channel to Moscow reveals the behind-the-scenes deliberations of Nixon, his advisors, and their Soviet counterparts and assesses the central role of confidential diplomacy in shaping America’s foreign policy during this critical era.
Over the course of his presidency, Nixon worked to achieve détente - - the relaxing of tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union - - largely through a back-channel diplomatic relationship between Henry Kissinger, Nixon’s national security advisor, and Soviet ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin. But Nixon was also wary of press leaks and distrustful of traditional channels of diplomacy, and would intentionally exclude other parts of the government, including his own secretary of state. Moss suggests that while Nixon’s back channels may have improved U.S.-Soviet relations in the short term, the Nixon-Kissinger methods provided a poor foundation for lasting policy.
Richard Moss is an Associate Research Professor at the United States Naval War College’s Center for Naval Warfare Studies, and specializes in U.S.-Soviet relations during the Cold War and is an expert on the Nixon presidential recordings.
Free Admission. Free Parking. Book sales/signing and reception follow program.