This book examines the dynamic evolution of Western d�tente policies which sought to transform Europe and overcome its Cold War division through more communication and engagement. Kieninger challenges the traditional Cold War narrative that d�tente prolonged the division of Europe and precipitated America's decline in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. Rather, he argues that policymakers in the U.S. Department of State and in Western Europe envisaged the stability enabled by d�tente as a precondition for change, as Communist regimes saw a sense of security as a prerequisite for...