Humanities & Social Sciences
September 2021
A precarious equilibrium
Human rights and détente in Jimmy Carter's Soviet policy
by Umberto Tulli
Human rights and détente inextricably intertwined during Carter's years. By promoting human rights in the USSR, Carter sought to build a domestic consensus for détente; through bipolar dialogue, he tried to advance human rights in the USSR. But, human rights contributed to the erosion of détente without achieving a lasting domestic consensus.