ABSTRACT
The improvement of the international situation that followed the October 1962 Cuban missile crisis, whose aftermath coincided with the terminal stages of both the Kennedy and the Khrushchev leaderships, has generally been regarded as the formative period of East—West détente. As with other such sweeping generalizations, however, this observation raises more questions than it answers. What was the nature of the détente that took place? Was it intentional or incidental? Did it occur despite, because, or regardless of the incipient crisis in the relations between the superpowers and their allies? Did the outcome have the effect of precipitating the eventual end of the Cold War or delaying it?
