Abstract or Keywords
In The Helsinki Effect: International Norms, Human Rights, and the Demise of Communism, Daniel C. Thomas presents a powerful and compelling case for a re-examination and reinterpretation of the collapse of communism. Thomas argues that the human rights norms established in the Helsinki Final Act contributed directly to the growth of large peaceful movements for democratic change, which undermined the legitimacy of totalitarian rule. His argument is based on meticulous research on the history of this period. Thomas, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago, conducted dozens of interviews with the key officials and activists from the United States, Western Europe, the former Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, and the former Soviet Union who were active in both the Helsinki negotiations and subsequent events. From this comprehensive research, Thomas presents a convincing history of how human rights norms dramatically influenced state behavior during the Cold War.