Was Kissinger's pursuit of détente criticized?
Indeed, any attempt to manage great power competition and to forge agreements with adversaries will inevitably draw criticism. Détente, while aimed at de-escalating tensions and preventing nuclear catastrophe, was perceived by some as a concession or an endorsement of the status quo. However, the objective was never to achieve a moral transformation of other states, but to manage the realities of power and to secure American interests within a framework that reduced the immediate risk of conflict. The alternative, an unrelenting ideological confrontation, carried a far greater danger to global peace.
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