US-NATO at the final stage of the detente, 1977–1980

Abstract

The article is devoted to identifying the place and role of the NATO military bloc in the US foreign policy during the presidency of J. Carter. The correlation of confrontation and cooperation trends in the US-Soviet relations at the final stage of the detente is examined. The issue of the arms race, which took place against the backdrop of the discussion of disarmament agreements, is touched upon. The reasons for the occurrence and the process of overcoming the crisis of confidence that arose in the US-NATO relations in the second half of the 1970s are considered. The Carter administration’s position on the prospects for detente, development trends of the US-Soviet relations and cooperation between the United States and European allies in the NATO bloc is examined. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the unity and divergence of interests of Washington and European NATO members on the problem of the relations with the USSR. The reaction of leaders of states and ordinary citizens to the proposal to deploy new types of weapons in Western Europe is analyzed. The article identifies the basic principles and priority areas of the United States policy towards European members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, identifies the factors that have most influenced the formation of the American foreign policy. The author concludes that by the end of the 1970s, there was a deep crisis in the policy of detente of international tension and a real return to an open bipolar confrontation.