An Uneasy Truce: John F. Kennedy and Soviet-American Détente, 1963

Abstract

Recent scholarship on the Cold War has drawn attention to the importance of 1963, during which the superpowers appear to have moved toward a relaxation of tensions. This article closely examines this critical year from an international perspective, exploring calculations on both sides of the superpower rivalry. It argues that Kennedy played a central role in these events and highlights an often overlooked element in the Cold War: the influence of American domestic politics. The détente of 1963 resulted from a complex combination of developments at all levels of the international system. A close look at 1963 reveals a highly fluid period in which the superpower relationship altered noticeably. In the end these changes though significant proved fleeting and the détente short-lived.