Human rights activism and the end of the Cold War : a transnational history of the Helsinki network /

This well-written, effectively argued study is a welcome addition to the growing literature on the end of the Cold War. While Snyder (international history, Univ. College London) does not deny the primary role of economic stagnation, the international arms race, and the rise of a new generation in the collapse of the Soviet empire and communism in Europe, she reclaims a vital and ultimately indispensable role for the tireless efforts of largely idealist advocates for basic for human rights in the West who took up the cause of dissidents in Eastern Europe and Jewish refuseniks in the Soviet Union. Basing her work on an impressively full range of documents, from the organizational records of Helsinki Watch and its widespread international subsidiaries to participants' papers and memoirs and published government documents, Snyder makes a convincing case for the growth and impact of the increasingly transnational network on the successive follow-up conferences, American presidents (both Reagan and Carter), and, ultimately, Gorbachev. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Most levels/libraries. D. Prowe emeritus, Carleton College