Case 132 - SALT 1: Getting from "Nyet" to "Yes"

Kates, Nancy D. [case] and Richard Haass [teaching notes]

On May 26, 1972, President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev signed the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and the Interim Agreement on Offensive Weapons, bringing to a close more than two years of negotiations. Part A focuses on the May 21, 1971, breakthrough National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger and the Soviet ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Dobrynin, achieved in secret talks. Part B presents the task of formalizing their understanding in a set of international agreements and follows SALT I from May 1971 to its conclusion a year later. This case study can be used to teach negotiating styles and strategies in the context of superpower arms control; as a basic introduction to strategic issues or U.S.-Soviet relations; or to elucidate the importance of key variables in the conduct of international negotiations.