Abraham Sofaer

George Shultz Combined Cold War Pressure With Diplomacy

At a Hoover Institution memorial lecture, Condoleezza Rice, Philip Taubman, Michael Boskin and Abraham Sofaer portrayed George Shultz’s Cold War diplomacy as a combination of pressure on the Soviet Union and efforts to keep negotiations open. They argued that Shultz strengthened the U.S. position and helped Ronald Reagan pursue arms agreements, while his influence depended on persuading a president who retained the authority to decide. The panel also differed over whether the 1986 Reykjavik summit could have produced a workable deal.