Containing 122 essential documents by Mikhail Gorbachev, Margaret Thatcher, Eduard Shevardnadze, Francois Mitterand, James Baker, and others, this book analyzes and interprets the remarkable progress of the "Helsinki process" during the course of the late 1980s and early 1990s.As the only international organization that brings all European states together with the US and Canada on an equal basis, the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) is widely regarded as the most promising foundation of Europe's "new architecture." Through its promotion of human rights as a factor of international security, the CSCE contributed decisively to the erosion of barriers between East and West in Europe. It led to both the acceptance of Western standards of human rights throughout the continent and the expansion of the idea that security can extend beyond strictly military matters.The author, an internationally renowned scholar of European politics, traces the vital influence of the process, presenting the most critical documents together with an analytical and interpretive introduction, and questioning the future goals and effectiveness of the CSCE. Read Less