A differentiated détente : the United States and Romania in the 1970s

Abstract

This thesis examines the relations between the United States and Romania through the prism of the interaction of détente in the ‘long seventies’ with the US policy of differentiation towards Eastern Europe. It deals with the dynamics that shaped the evolution of their bilateral relations after Bucharest’s opening towards the West and the subsequent embrace of this initiative by Washington as an instrument to undermine the unity of the Soviet bloc. The focus of this dissertation is on the progress of the relationship between the two countries from 1969 to 1980 during the presidencies of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter. Based on multi-archival research from both US and Romanian sources, it aims to provide an analytical account of the exceptionally close relationship between Washington and Bucharest through a chronological narrative. In this way, the variations and the fluctuations in attitudes, atmosphere and expectations from both sides are highlighted to facilitate an evaluation of the connection between the initial goals and the actual results that this partnership produced. I argue that the examination of US policy in Eastern Europe through the prism of the interrelation between détente and differentiation allows us to shed new light on the substance and the scope of US objectives towards the communist bloc in the seventies.