Following the death of Henry Kissinger A Monash University expert is available to speak about the former US Secretary of State’s life and lasting legacy in foreign policy.
Daniel Steedman, PhD candidate, Politics and International Relations, Faculty of Arts
Contact: +61 413 530 153 or daniel.steedman@monash.edu
Read more of Mr Steedman’s commentary at Monash Lens
The following comments can be attributed to Mr Steedman:
“Henry Kissinger was one of the most important figures in the history of US foreign policy. With a prodigious intellect, his realpolitik approach to international relations propelled him to the positions of National Security Adviser then Secretary of State, and placed him at the heart of global affairs for over a decade. He was instrumental in key, often controversial, American policy initiatives in Vietnam, the Middle East, Europe and China.
“Kissinger, with President Nixon, was a principal architect of détente which saw a thaw in US – Soviet relations and a curbing of the nuclear arms race that had been escalating for much of the 1950s and 1960s. The pinnacle achievement being the Strategic Arms Limitations treaty (SALT) followed by the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty and the 1975 Helsinki Accord.
“Even after he left office, Kissinger remained intellectually engaged with global politics. He wrote voraciously about world affairs and often counselled world leaders and successive American presidents, from Reagan to Trump.”
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