Dartmouth Conferences (peace)
Encyclopedia
Dartmouth Conferences on peace
process begun at Dartmouth College
in October 1960. It is one of the longest ongoing bilateral unofficial dialogues between American and Soviet (now, Russia
n) representatives.
, aiming to create a forum where leading American and Soviet intellectuals could meet and discuss peace initiatives. The meetings were restricted to American and Soviet non-governmental representatives only. Nonetheless, it was used as an unofficial channel of communication between the respective governments. The participants were in fact often briefed and debriefed by their respective state officials before and after the conference.
Funding came from the Ford Foundation
and Johnson and Kettering Foundation on the American side and from the Soviet Peace Committee
and the Institute for US and Canadian Studies
on the Soviet side.
The first conference was held in the Dartmouth College
; although the venue changed in the later years, the name of the first venue became associated with the conference series. The organizers of the conference tried to keep a yearly schedule, but the Soviet side often refused the invitation; for example, there were no conferences in the years 1965-1968, as the relations between USSR and USA cooled down and the Soviet officials protested the growing US involvement in Vietnam, ordering the invited Soviet representatives to turn down invitations to the conference.
During the Cold War
, it has been noted that the Dartmouth Conferences became a front conference
for the Soviet Union, whose agents often managed to weaken Dartmouth critique of USSR and instead concentrate on blaming the United States and the West.
Nonetheless the Darmouth Conferences continued after the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, although the large conferences of the past have been replaced by the meetings of specialized task forces (which were created in 1981). Soviet Union was replaced by Russia
, and focus would shift to issues such as peace in post-Soviet states
, like Tajikistan
.
(founder of the conference), Zbigniew Brzezinski
, Georgi Arbatov, Helmut Sonnenfeldt
, Evgeni Primakov, David Rockefeller
, Andrei Kozyrev, Charles Yost, John Kenneth Galbraith
, and Buckminster Fuller
.
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
process begun at Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
in October 1960. It is one of the longest ongoing bilateral unofficial dialogues between American and Soviet (now, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n) representatives.
History and impact
The conferences began during the height of the Cold WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, aiming to create a forum where leading American and Soviet intellectuals could meet and discuss peace initiatives. The meetings were restricted to American and Soviet non-governmental representatives only. Nonetheless, it was used as an unofficial channel of communication between the respective governments. The participants were in fact often briefed and debriefed by their respective state officials before and after the conference.
Funding came from the Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
and Johnson and Kettering Foundation on the American side and from the Soviet Peace Committee
Soviet Peace Committee
Soviet Peace Committee was a state-sponsored organization responsible for coordinating peace movements active in the Soviet Union. Soviet Peace Committee was founded in 1949 and existed until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.-History and activities:The Soviet Peace Committee was founded in...
and the Institute for US and Canadian Studies
Institute for US and Canadian Studies
Institute for US and Canadian Studies - is a Russian think tank which is part of the Russian Academy of Sciences, specializing on the comprehensive studies of the United States and Canada....
on the Soviet side.
The first conference was held in the Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
; although the venue changed in the later years, the name of the first venue became associated with the conference series. The organizers of the conference tried to keep a yearly schedule, but the Soviet side often refused the invitation; for example, there were no conferences in the years 1965-1968, as the relations between USSR and USA cooled down and the Soviet officials protested the growing US involvement in Vietnam, ordering the invited Soviet representatives to turn down invitations to the conference.
During the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, it has been noted that the Dartmouth Conferences became a front conference
Front organization
A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy groups, or corporations...
for the Soviet Union, whose agents often managed to weaken Dartmouth critique of USSR and instead concentrate on blaming the United States and the West.
Nonetheless the Darmouth Conferences continued after the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, although the large conferences of the past have been replaced by the meetings of specialized task forces (which were created in 1981). Soviet Union was replaced by Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, and focus would shift to issues such as peace in post-Soviet states
Post-Soviet states
The post-Soviet states, also commonly known as the Former Soviet Union or former Soviet republics, are the 15 independent states that split off from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in its dissolution in December 1991...
, like Tajikistan
Tajikistan
Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....
.
Notable participants
Notable participants included Norman CousinsNorman Cousins
Norman Cousins was an American political journalist, author, professor, and world peace advocate.-Early life and education:...
(founder of the conference), Zbigniew Brzezinski
Zbigniew Brzezinski
Zbigniew Kazimierz Brzezinski is a Polish American political scientist, geostrategist, and statesman who served as United States National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1981....
, Georgi Arbatov, Helmut Sonnenfeldt
Helmut Sonnenfeldt
Helmut Sonnenfeldt is an American foreign policy expert.Born in 1926 in Berlin, Germany to Drs. Walther and Gertrud Sonnenfeldt, he spent his childhood in Gardelegen, Germany, where his parents had a family medical practice. In 1938, Sonnenfeldt was sent to Anna Essinger's Bunce Court School in...
, Evgeni Primakov, David Rockefeller
David Rockefeller
David Rockefeller, Sr. is the current patriarch of the Rockefeller family. He is the youngest and only surviving child of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, and the only surviving grandchild of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, founder of Standard Oil. His five siblings were...
, Andrei Kozyrev, Charles Yost, John Kenneth Galbraith
John Kenneth Galbraith
John Kenneth "Ken" Galbraith , OC was a Canadian-American economist. He was a Keynesian and an institutionalist, a leading proponent of 20th-century American liberalism...
, and Buckminster Fuller
Buckminster Fuller
Richard Buckminster “Bucky” Fuller was an American systems theorist, author, designer, inventor, futurist and second president of Mensa International, the high IQ society....
.
Locations and times
- Dartmouth I - Hanover, New HampshireHanover, New HampshireHanover is a town along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 11,260 at the 2010 census. CNN and Money magazine rated Hanover the sixth best place to live in America in 2011, and the second best in 2007....
, USA, October 29-November 4 1960 - Dartmouth II - Nizhnaya Oreanda, CrimeaCrimean OblastThe Crimean Oblast was an oblast of the former Russian SFSR and Ukrainian SSR , which was at the time part of the Soviet Union. Its capital was the city of Simferopol....
, USSR, May 21-28, 1961 - Dartmouth III - Andover, MassachusettsAndover, MassachusettsAndover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was incorporated in 1646 and as of the 2010 census, the population was 33,201...
, USA, October 21-27, 1962 - Dartmouth IV - LeningradLeningradLeningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
, USSR, July 21-31, 1964 - Dartmouth V - Rye, New York, USA January 13-18, 1969
- Dartmouth VI - KievKievKiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Ukraine, USSR, July 12-16, 1971 - Dartmouth VII - Hanover, New Hampshire, USA, December 2-7, 1972
- Dartmouth VIII - TbilisiTbilisiTbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
, Georgian SSR, USSR, April 21-24, 1974 - Dartmouth IX - MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, USSR, June 3-5, 1975 - Dartmouth X - Rio Rico, ArizonaRio Rico, ArizonaRio Rico is a census-designated place in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 18,962 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Rio Rico is located at ....
, USA, April 30-May 2, 1976 - Dartmouth XI - JūrmalaJurmalaJūrmala is a city in Latvia, about 25 kilometers west of Riga. Jūrmala is a resort town stretching and sandwiched between the Gulf of Riga and the Lielupe River...
, Latvia, USSR, July 8-13, 1977 - Dartmouth XII - Williamsburgh, Virginia, USA, May 3-7, 1979
- Dartmouth Leadership Conference - BellagioBellagioBellagio is a comune in the Province of Como in the Italian region Lombardy, located on Lake Como. It has long been famous for its setting at the intersection of the three branches of the Y-shaped lake, which is also known as Lario....
, Italy, May 22-26, 1980 - Dartmouth XIII - Moscow, USSR, November 16-19, 1981
- Dartmouth XIV - Hanover, New Hampshire, USA, May 14-17, 1984
- Dartmouth XV - BakuBakuBaku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
, Azerbaijan, USSR, May 13-17, 1986 - Dartmouth XVI - Austin, TexasAustin, TexasAustin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, USA, April 25-29, 1989 - Dartmouth XVII - Leningrad, USSR, July 22-27, 1990
Further reading
- James Voorhees, The Dartmouth Conference: The Influence of a Transnational Community on US-Soviet Relations, 1960-1991, paper presented at the Annual Convention of the International Studies Association, 1998