Diplomacy and the Legacy of the Cold War: Post-11 September
Author(s)
Mastny, Vojtech
Abstract
The terrorist attacks of 11 Sept 2001 brought into focus the Cold War’s ambivalent diplomatic legacy: the diplomacy that shaped European integration, the arms control superpower diplomacy that bred inhibitions on the use of military power because of the distorting effect of nuclear weapons, and the multilateral diplomacy of the “Helsinki process” that mitigated power politics by redefining security. The aftermath of September 11 proved the vitality of the diplomacy fostering Western cooperation and restored military power to its traditional role as an indispensable supplement of diplomacy while highlighting the primacy of multilateral diplomacy in addressing the long-term causes of international conflict.
