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Henry Kissinger and the Whirl of Detente
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11653 |
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Section : |
MODERN THOUGHT
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| Issue
Date : |
9 / 1986 |
7,107 Words |
| Author
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Donald J. Senese
Donald J. Senese has traveled extensively throughout Asia and
has authored four books and numerous articles on the area. His
most recent works are Sweet and Sour Capitalism: An Analysis
of 'Socialism with Chinese Chinese Characteristics' (1985) and
Democracy in Mainland China: The Myth and the Reality(1986).
He traveled to the People's Republic of China in March of 1986
studying China's educational system. |
ACCESS TO POWER
Henry A. Kissinger's dominance over United States foreign policy occurred at a critical period, and his influence and policy initiatives in U.S.-Soviet relations, Middle East negotiations, arms-limitation agreements, and relations with the People's Republic of China carried considerable weight. He is likely to remain one of the epochal figures of twentieth-century American foreign policy because of his role as theorist, strategist, teacher, author, and policymaker. Though commonly viewed as secretive and mysterious, this former Harvard professor has produced an amazing amount of written material, which provides a great resource for examining what can now be called the Kissinger legacy to foreign policy.
Kissinger assumed the role of scholarly participant in foreign-policy deliberations and implementation, but he was also an entertaining public figure who could dominate the news page and the social pages with his personal camaraderie and sense of humor. "Henry the K" used his celebrity status to exercise a dominant role in foreign affairs. He wielded power during three critical and different periods: serving a new president who viewed himself as a foreign-policy expert during a time the nation was torn asunder by the war in Vietnam; presiding over international affairs under a weakened executive preoccupied with the Watergate turmoil and confronted by congressional bids for a stronger foreign-policy role; and ministering to an "accidental president" in the wake of national division and spirited challenges to his party and national leadership. His skill was required to assist two administrations in managing internationally while surviving domestically.
There was Kissinger as he appeared on the surface - dating beautiful women (before his marriage), the scholarly comments, the good humor, the heavy German accent, the distinctive profile - which made him newsworthy. A more profound Kissinger is discovered by analyzing his background, the presuppositions influencing his policy views, and the circumstances of his rise to power. After all, he had followed an unconventional route; from professor to assistant to the president for national security affairs to secretary of state. He had been a refugee from Europe who became the first foreign-born secretary of state (discounting early secretaries of state who had been born when the United States was still a British colony).
Kissinger, it may be said, made the most of his opportunities. Seldom had a national security advisor and secretary of state been so well-versed in
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