Page 169 - Encyclopedia Of World History

détente 519

Men make history and not the other way ’round. In periods where there is no leadership,
society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the
opportunity to change things for the better. • Harry S Truman (1884–1972)

regions during the past five centuries. Journal of Arid Environments, to resolve outstanding grievances. A prime example can
1, 3–24. be found in the successful détente that took place be-
Rapp, A. (1974). A review of desertification in Africa—water, vegetation
and man. Stockholm, Sweden: Secretariat for International Ecology. tween Britain and France during the years from 1898 to
Sabadell, J. E., Risley, E. M., Jorgensen, H.T., & Thornton, B. S. (1982). 1904. Historically France and Britain had been bitter
Desertification in the United States: Status and issues. Washington,
DC: Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior. rivals and had fought many wars, most notably the
Thomas, D. S. G., & Middleton, N. J. (1994). Desertification: Exploding French revolutionary and Napoleonic wars of 1792 to
the myth. Chichester, UK: Wiley. 1815. Imperial rivalry between the two countries con-
Tiffen, M., Mortimore, M., & Gichuki, F. (1994). More people, less ero-
sion: Environmental recovery in Kenya. Chichester, UK: Wiley. tinued throughout the nineteenth century. In 1898 France
Tolba, M. K., & El-Kholy O. A. (Eds.). (1992). The world environment and Britain came close to war during the Fashoda inci-
1972–1992. London: UNEP Chapman and Hall.
Warren,A., & Maizels, J. K. (1976). Ecological change and desertification. dent, a confrontation over possession of the African ter-
London: University College Press. ritory of Sudan. The crisis was resolved only when the
Wilshire, H. G., Nakata, J. K., & Hallet, B. (1981). Field observations of French decided that war with Britain was not in their
the December 1977 wind storm, San Joaquin Valley, California. In
T. L. Pewe (Ed.), Desert dust: Origin, characteristics and effects on man national interest. Soon after the crisis the French indicated
(pp. 233–251). Boulder, CO: Geological Society of America. their desire for improved relations to the British. Progress
was very slow, and the next step was taken only in May
of 1903, when King Edward VII of Britain visited Paris.
Soon after, the president of France, Émile Loubet, paid a
Détente return visit to London. Behind the scenes diplomats had

been negotiating to resolve outstanding disputes between
étente, in the field of international relations and the two countries.The efforts of the diplomats culminated
Ddiplomacy, means relaxation of tensions between on 8 April 1904 when France and Britain signed the
two or more hostile powers. Détente may lead to further Entente Cordiale, which marked a new beginning in re-
rapprochement, or improved relations, and may culmi- lations between the two historic rivals. Between 1904
nate in an entente, or understanding, and possibly even and 1914 Britain and France drew steadily closer to-
an alliance. In French the word détente means relaxation gether, primarily because of the perceived threat from
or slackening. During the classical period of European Germany.The British were reluctant to enter into a formal
diplomacy, usually seen as the nineteenth and early twen- alliance with the French, but military staffs from the two
tieth centuries, détente had a very specific and exact tech- countries held secret talks and discussed war plans. By
nical meaning. However, during the period from 1963 1914 Britain and France were effectively allies. But the
until the late 1980s the term entered into the mainstream first step had been taken during the long process of
of public debate and was used in the context of relations détente from 1898 to 1904.
between the Cold War superpowers, the Soviet Union
and the United States. Détente and the Cold War
During the Cold War the term détente was used to
Détente and Classic describe a policy pursued by President Richard Nixon
Diplomacy (1913–1994), first elected in 1968, and his chief foreign
Diplomats of the nineteenth century saw détente as the policy adviser Henry Kissinger (b. 1923) toward the
first stage in improvement of relations between states. Soviet Union. The détente advocated by Nixon and
Détente usually implied informal or formal contacts Kissinger had earlier echoes.The 1963 Cuban missile cri-
between statesmen and diplomats of rival countries with sis convinced many in both the USSR and the United
the objective of gaining preliminary agreement on ways States that tensions between the two superpowers had to