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Superpower Summitry

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Diplomacy at the Highest Level

Part of the book series: Studies in Diplomacy ((STD))

Abstract

Superpower summitry is history. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991 only one superpower remains and, like the tango, it takes two superpowers to have a superpower summit. The term superpower grew out of the cold war and the special conditions of that period. Post-war bipolarity was based on US and Soviet military dominance, especially in terms of nuclear weapons. There was a series of summit meetings between the four victorious powers after the Second World War but, by 1949, it was clear that the world had split into two blocs led by the United States and Soviet Union respectively. From then on, with the exception of a meeting in 1955, real summits were bilateral affairs.1

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Notes and References

  1. There was a summit between the United States, Soviet Union and France in Paris in 1960 but it was a wash-out as Khrushchev stormed out over the U2 affair.

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Authors
  1. Michael Andersen
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  2. Theo Farrell
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Birmingham, UK

    David H. Dunn (Lecturer in International Studies) (Lecturer in International Studies)

Copyright information

© 1996 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited

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Andersen, M., Farrell, T. (1996). Superpower Summitry. In: Dunn, D.H. (eds) Diplomacy at the Highest Level. Studies in Diplomacy. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-24915-2_5

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