The Helsinki Final Act was a watershed of the Cold War. Signed by thirty-five European and North American leaders at a summit in Finland in the summer of 1975, the agreement presented a vision for peace based on common principles and cooperation across the Iron Curtain. The Final Act is the first in-depth account of the diplomatic saga that produced this historic agreement. Drawing on research in eight countries and multiple languages, this gripping book explains the Final Act’s emergence from the parallel crises of the Soviet bloc and the West during the 1960s, the strategies of the major players, and the conflicting designs for international order that animated the negotiations.
Helsinki had originally been a Soviet idea. But after nearly three years of grinding negotiations, the Final Act reflected liberal democratic ideals more than communist ones. It rejected the Brezhnev Doctrine, provided for German reunification, endorsed human rights as a core principle of international security, committed countries to greater transparency in economic and military affairs, and promoted the freer movement of people and information across borders. Instead of restoring the legitimacy of the Soviet bloc, Helsinki established principles that undermined it.
The definitive history of the origins and legacy of this important agreement, The Final Act shows how it served as a blueprint for ending the Cold War, and how, when that conflict finally came to a close, the great powers established a new international order based on Helsinki’s enduring principles.
Awards and Recognition
- Winner of the Edgar S. Furniss Book Award, Mershon Center for International Security Studies
"[Morgan’s] account of the negotiations is hugely interesting."—Benjamin Nathans, Times Literary Supplement
"Fascinating."—Andrew Preston, London Review of Books
"Morgan . . . makes a convincing case that in terms of importance, Helsinki was on a par with Westphalia, Vienna, and Versailles. Highly recommended."—Choice
"A fine story of intrigue and manipulation worthy of the best writers. . . . An authoritative book that should be widely read."—Queensland Reviewers Collective
"Morgan has done a brilliant job. . . . The Final Act, a volume in the Princeton series ‘America in the World,’ is an essential read for anyone interested in the Cold War."—StrategyPage
"The most richly documented account of the negotiations."—Andrew Moravcsik, Foreign Affairs
"A must read for policymakers."—Jesse McIntyre III, Military Review
"Morgan’s skillful synthesis of his manifold research findings and the cultural-historical analysis of the negotiations make the book extremely worth reading."—H-Soz-Kult
"Fascinating."—David Skok, The Logic
"The Final Act debunks the many myths and simplifications about the Helsinki agreement that have surrounded it ever since 1975 and is an extremely valuable contribution to the current reevaluation of the late Cold War . . . . [Morgan] has succeeded in creating an effortless narrative of a complicated international diplomatic process while highlighting its far-reaching importance . . . . It is hard to imagine a more balanced account. This book is sure to become the standard work of reference for research focusing on topics as varied as human rights, trade relations, activist groups and international diplomacy in the 1970s and 1980s."—Rósa Magnúsdóttir, The Slavonic and East European Review
"[The Final Act] reveal[s] much about a game-changer in history. The research is exhaustive and fascinating."—Jordan Luber, New Eastern Europe
"Michael Cotey Morgan’s book greatly enriches the literature on international relations in the 1945-1991 period."—French Institute of International Relations
"The Helsinki Final Act, signed by 35 European and North American leaders in 1975, represented the signatories’ vision for a cooperative relationship between the two sides of the Cold War. This history explores the document’s origins and provisions, claiming that the act’s legacy was to establish the principles that would undermine the Soviet bloc and ultimately define the post-Cold War era."—Survival
"An instant classic. . . . Morgan expertly balances sweeping assessments with fine-grained analysis, keeping multiple actors in play with the skill of a professional juggler. He writes with verve, wit, and a keen eye for detail. . . . Ultimately, what the book offers is far more than a history of the CSCE. It provides a compelling and engrossing portrait of the Cold War in Europe in the pivotal decade of the 1970s. The Conference, Morgan makes clear, was a microcosm in which the forces shaping international relations were distilled, clarified, and partly reconfigured. The Final Act should be read and admired by anyone interested in the Cold War, the 1970s, the history of postwar Europe, or how to write compelling international history."—Barbara Keys, Diplomatic History
"Michael Cotey Morgan offers something new and exciting. The Final Act tells a detailed, rich, and engaging history of the Helsinki Accords that makes clear that the human rights provisions enshrined in the agreement were only one of many aspects that ultimately transformed the Cold War. . . . Perhaps The Final Act’s greatest strength is its clarity. Morgan manages to strike a perfect balance, covering a wide array of interrelated topics and bringing together a rich set of international sources without overwhelming the reader. It is a feat deserving of praise in any work of history, made all the more challenging by the sheer complexity of the negotiations about which he writes."—Susan Colbourn, Political Science Quarterly
"Deeply researched and beautifully written. . . . [Morgan’s] book does a great service by reclaiming an important subject with skill and panache, an accomplishment made all the more significant by the fact that we are in the throes of a 'new Cold War'."—Herman T. Salton, International Affairs
"Michael Cotey Morgan’s richly sourced, judiciously argued, and perfectly balanced treatment of the 1975 Helsinki Final Act is an outstanding contribution to [the] literature that deserves a wide readership among historians of the Cold War, members of the public, as well as contemporary policymakers."—James Cameron, H-Diplo
"The Final Act is international history at its boldest. . . . Morgan’s authoritative work will serve as a new touchstone for debates about how soft power and normative influences catalyzed the revolutionary convulsions from which a new world order would arise after 1989."—Jonathan Hunt, H-Diplo
"Masterful."—Cindy Ewing, International Journal
"A landmark. . . . Indispensable"—Nicolas Badalassi, Slavic Review
"Expect to see this book in print for five or six decades—it is that good."—Nicholas Evan Sarantakes, Naval War College Review
“The Final Act is a masterpiece. Michael Cotey Morgan tells a complex story with a novelist’s attention to narrative and a historian’s depth and scope. This will be, I am confident, the definitive work on the most important development in international relations of the postwar period.”—Philip Bobbitt, author of The Shield of Achilles: War, Peace, and the Course of History
“The Final Act offers by far the most comprehensive history of a critical turning point in modern international diplomacy.”—Thomas Borstelmann, author of The 1970s: A New Global History from Civil Rights to Economic Inequality
“Michael Cotey Morgan’s richly researched book reminds us that, in tense times when chances of improvement seem remote, sowing the seeds for long-term change is often the smartest strategy. The Final Act is a timely and essential book.”—Mary Elise Sarotte, author of The Collapse: The Accidental Opening of the Berlin Wall
“This judicious and well-researched book is perhaps as exhaustive on the origins of the Final Act as the diplomatic negotiations that created it. Morgan’s biggest surprise for readers is a story of why and how the Soviet bloc acted as halfhearted architect of a liberal-democratic European order. In a truly historical irony, the book provides a nostalgic contrast to the woes and divisions that this order is experiencing in our own day.”—Vladislav M. Zubok, author of A Failed Empire: The Soviet Union in the Cold War from Stalin to Gorbachev
