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Detente Quotes

Quotes on Cold War diplomacy and its critics.

These detente quotes revisit a contested chapter of Cold War diplomacy, weighing the opening to China and improved Soviet relations against critics who argued detente only encouraged further expansion.

I believe that detente was having almost the opposite effect of what was intended. What was intended was to sort of end the contest for power and to stop Soviet expansion, especially by military means and the military build-up, the...

Quotes by Jeane Kirkpatrick

And I think detente had manifestly failed, and that the pursuit of it was encouraging Soviet expansion and rendering the world more dangerous, and especially rendering the Western world in greater peril.

Quotes by Jeane Kirkpatrick

Kissinger celebrants inevitably point to two things to justify their admiration: an opening to China - 'rapprochement' - and improved relations with the Soviet Union - detente - which included SALT, a historic arms-limitation treaty.

Quotes by Greg Grandin

I don't know why you use a fancy French word like detente when there's a good English phrase for it - cold war.

Quotes by Golda Meir

Admiration Quotes

Following the missile crisis, detente started to gain ground between the United States and the Soviet Union, so the international political climate improved after that.

Quotes by Fidel Castro

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Frequently Asked Questions

What's the main criticism of detente in these quotes?
Critics argue it manifestly failed and, rather than easing tensions, actually encouraged further Soviet expansion.
What positive outcomes are credited to the detente era?
Kissinger's defenders point to the opening with China and improved Soviet relations, including arms agreements, as real achievements.
Is the word detente itself criticized?
Yes, one quote calls it an unnecessarily fancy French term for what English already calls cold war.
What did detente's intended goal supposedly fail to achieve?
It was meant to end the contest for power and stop Soviet military expansion, but critics say it had close to the opposite effect.
How divided are opinions on detente in this set?
Sharply divided, some voices genuinely Believe in its diplomatic value while others see it as a dangerous miscalculation.

Skeptics here plainly Believe the policy failed at its stated goal, while one line dismisses the term itself as a fancy French label for plain old cold war. Kissinger's defenders still hold real Admiration for the era's diplomacy.