Description: Two of the most pressing questions facing international historians today are how and why the Cold War ended. Human Rights Activism and the End of the Cold War explores how, in the aftermath of the signing of the Helsinki Final Act in 1975, a transnational network of activists committed to human rights in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe made the topic a central element in East-West diplomacy. As a result, human rights eventually became an important element of Cold War diplomacy and a central component of détente. Sarah B. Snyder demonstrates how this network influenced both Western and Eastern governments to pursue policies that fostered the rise of organized dissent in Eastern Europe, freedom of movement for East Germans, and improved human rights practices in the Soviet Union - all factors in the end of the Cold War.
Brief description: Sarah B. Snyder is a Lecturer in International History at University College London. She has published a number of scholarly articles in journals such as Cold War History, Diplomacy and Statecraft, the Journal of Transatlantic Studies and the Journal of American Studies, as well as multiple book chapters. Dr Snyder specializes in transnational, international and diplomatic history.
Review Quotes: "An important and engaging contribution to the growing literature on 'the Helsinki effect' - how non-binding agreements may in effect punch above their weight by effecting powerful changes to the contours of international politics." - Elizabeth Borgwardt, author of A New Deal for the World: America's Vision for Human Rights, 1941-1946