Conclusions

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the consistency between Kissinger’s West European policy and the conceptions advanced in his academic writings. Consistency was examined in the context of the linkage between Kissinger’s Soviet policy and Alliance policy. The policies Kissinger formulated and implemented derived from his models of stable and revolutionary international systems and the notion of limits. Kissinger’s world view was dominated by his conception of peace which he defined as stability based on an equilibrium of forces within a legitimate international order. Intellectually, the notion of limits was the touchstone of Kissinger’s conservatism, and emanated from the cool calculation of power upon which US-Soviet detente and US-West European relations rested. The consistency between those conceptions and Kissinger’s policies has been demonstrated throughout this study.