detente

Detente, from the French détente meaning release or relaxation, is a policy of easing geopolitical tensions between rival states through diplomacy, arms control, and dialogue. In the Cold War, detente referred to reducing hostilities between the United States and the Soviet Union and their allies by creating predictable rules and limits.

During the late 1960s and 1970s, detente was pursued by U.S. leaders such as President Richard Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. A series of agreements sought to curb the arms race and expand cooperation. The 1972 Strategic Arms Limitation Talks produced the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and a first set of restrictions on strategic offensive arms (SALT I). SALT II, signed in 1979, was not ratified by the United States. The 1975 Helsinki Accords established a framework for security, cooperation, and human rights in Europe and the broader region.

Detente also involved China’s rapprochement with the United States, marked by Nixon’s visit in 1972 and subsequent normalization of relations, which altered global alignments and helped ease East–West competition.

Critics argued that detente sometimes compromised on human rights and allowed Soviet influence to grow. Its formal unraveling began in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with the Afghanistan invasion and renewed arms competition. The Reagan era shifted toward confrontation, though negotiations continued and laid groundwork for later reductions, including the INF Treaty of 1987. Detente shaped the diplomacy that contributed to the eventual end of the Cold War.