Negotiating with the Russians on Nuclear Arms: Lawyers Making A Difference

This is a fascinating story about private lawyers successfully negotiating with Russian professionals about critical nuclear arms problems during the Cold War from 1983 to 1991. The lawyers demonstrated that committed citizen diplomats could have an influence on official policies when governments were unable or unwilling to negotiate. These delegates produced and distributed scholarly, technically accurate joint papers recommending approaches and solutions to nuclear arms problems which the governments had not resolved because of relations poisoned by fear and distrust. The book describes the extensive efforts of these Track II citizen-diplomats to offset anti-American propaganda permeating Soviet society. It is a ‘how to’ manual for non-governmental organizations concerned with funding, organizing and managing international conferences on complicated, urgent problems.