Not One Inch

Not One Inch: America, Russia, and the Making of Post-Cold War Stalemate is a 2021 book by M. E. Sarotte about the tensions between NATO, the United States, and Russia during the Post–Cold War.

Not One Inch: America, Russia, and the Making of Post-Cold War Stalemate

Author	M. E. Sarotte
Genre	Post-Cold War Politics
Publisher	Yale University Press
Publication date	2021
Publication place	United States
ISBN	9780300259933

Background

The title of the book comes from an offhand mention by Secretary of State James Baker in February 1990 during a pre-preliminary discussion of possible negotiation points, as summarized in a cable to the White House. However, this was rejected by President George H. W. Bush and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev showed no interest. The negotiations were primarily concerned with German unification and the dangers posed by co-locating NATO and Warsaw Pact forces in the same country without clear lines.

Gorbachev himself has been clear that no such promise was ever made; the negotiations were with the USSR as leader of the Warsaw Pact - entities that no longer exist and therefore would not have been binding for any former members; and the matter was settled in the NATO-Russia Founding Act of 1997, which specially declared all formerly affected countries had the freedom of self-determination in choosing alliances and international agreements.

Sarotte concludes and has repeatedly stated that no such promise was ever made, but was merely a minor discussion point that was quickly abandoned, as neither party was interested in further discussion of it.^[1][2] See also Sarotte in an interview, explaining the negotiations and the treaty .

Reception

Andrew Moravcsik reviewed the book for the Council on Foreign Relations and he said the book was "engaging" and a "carefully documented account" of the diplomacy in the Post-Cold War. He said Sarotte detailed how many Western leaders gave informal assurances that NATO would not expand. Russia perceived betrayal because there was never any formal agreement.^[3] Rodric Braithwaite reviewed the book for the Financial Times. He said the book had a "great narrative and analytical flair, admirable objectivity", he praised the details and said it was a riveting account of NATO enlargement.^[2]

References

1. Sarotte, M. E. (2021). Not one inch : America, Russia, and the making of post-Cold War stalemate. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 1. ISBN 9780300259933. Archived from the original on 3 March 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
2. Braithwaite, Rodric (1 February 2022). "Ukraine through the lens of history". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
3. Moravcsik, Andrew (19 October 2021). "Not One Inch: America, Russia, and the Making of Post–Cold War Stalemate". Foreign Affairs. 100 (6). Council on Foreign Relations. Archived from the original on 2022-08-01. Retrieved 1 August 2022.