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Voorhees, James. Dialogue Sustained: The Multilevel Peace Process and the Dartmouth Conference. Washington, D.C.: United States Institute of Peace Press, 2002. 470pp. $24.95
For over thirty years, the Dartmouth Conference has been a multifaceted arena for sustained dialogue between the United States and the Soviet Union (later the Russian Federation). The conference, structured in plenary meetings and task forces, enabled the two superpower adversaries to edge slowly toward greater understanding. It was one of the earliest efforts to engage the Soviets outside of official channels, and it succeeded, although sometimes in Cold War fits and starts, by bringing together a consistent group of experts.
In his detailed history of the Dartmouth Conference, James Voorhees connects first-person reflections and memories of the participants with documentation of Dartmouth planning and reporting. he also undertakes a thorough review of the literature and engages two long-time conference participants, Harold Saunders and Vitaly Zhurkin, to analyze the lessons learned.
All three are well placed to reflect upon the value of the Dartmouth process. Voorhees is an associate of, and Saunders is the director of international affairs at, the Kettering Foundation, the institution that funded the conference for many years and served as...