Nixon's opening to China, arms control negotiations, and the era of detente. Whittle examines how pragmatism replaced ideology — briefly — as the superpowers sought to manage competition rather than win it.
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Nixon's opening to China — an anti-communist president recognizing communist China — demonstrated that strategic flexibility requires abandoning the very ideology that brought you to power.
SALT agreements didn't prevent the arms race — they managed it. The value was less in the specific treaty terms than in the ongoing relationship between adversaries required to negotiate and verify.