Henry Kissinger and the reconceptualization of European security, 1969–75

Without the Cold War in Europe, Henry Kissinger never would have become a prominent foreign policy figure. His European connections and expertise brought him to the attention of US policy-makers as early as 1952, when he was only 29 years of age.2 His sharpness of mind and iconoclasm led older distinguished analysts of European security, searching for “new ideas,” to include him in their deliberations, even if they often disagreed with his conclusions.3