Winner of the 2021 Douglas Dillon Award for a Book of Distinction on the Practice of American Diplomacy
“As advances in technology usher in a new age of weaponry, future negotiators would benefit from reading Rose Gottemoeller’s memoir of the process leading to the most significant arms control agreement of recent decades.” —Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Secretary of State
“Rose Gottemoeller’s book on the New START negotiations is the definitive book on this treaty or indeed, any of the nuclear treaties with the Soviet Union or Russia. These treaties played a key role in keeping the hostility between the United States and the Soviet Union from breaking out into a civilization-ending war. But her story of the New START negotiation is no dry academic treatise. She tells with wit and charm the human story of the negotiators, as well as the critical issues involved. Rose’s book is an important and well-told story about the last nuclear treaty negotiated between the US and Russia.” —William J. Perry, former U.S. Secretary of Defense
“This book is important, but not just because it tells you about a very significant past, but also because it helps you understand the future.” — George Shultz, former U.S. Secretary of State
“The world has entered into a new era of increased nuclear risks. Rising great power tensions, compressed decision time for leaders and new technologies like cyber are increasing the chances of war by blunder. At this moment when the need to restore skillful and creative diplomacy to reduce nuclear perils is urgent, Rose Gottemoeller’s memoir is timely and instructive. As the chief U.S. negotiator of the New START Treaty, her insights–offered with humility, candor and humor–give readers a front row and personal view of what it takes to negotiate a complex nuclear agreement. Leading the U.S. negotiating team (first time by a woman), engaging the Russians, navigating Washington politics at the highest level and laying the foundation for ratification by the Senate are all crucial parts of the job. Rose has it exactly right about the critical importance for the Congress to be engaged and consulted by the Executive Branch in its “Advice” role long before Senate “Consent” is requested. Our leaders have no more important duty than to protect our nation from nuclear catastrophe. This memoir by one of our most skilled and respected diplomats provides both inspiration and valuable lessons for those who will follow in her shoes with this enormous responsibility.” —Sam Nunn, Chairman of the Board of the Nuclear Threat Initiative
“Negotiating the New START Treaty provides a deeply informed, highly readable, and timely analysis of one of the most important nuclear treaties in recent history. Rose Gottemoeller, one of America’s foremost arms control experts, takes the reader behind closed doors in Europe and the United States. She dives into every stage of the painstaking consultations between the U.S. and Russian delegations in 2009 and 2010. Gottemoeller’s sweeping historical narrative and personal reflections, combined with her evident wisdom and political objectivity, provide unique insight into the continued threat of nuclear proliferation to global security. This book is an invaluable guide for understanding the craft of arms control negotiations, as well as the critical role and responsibility of skillful, knowledgeable, and determined negotiators.” —Fiona Hill, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Program, The Brookings Institution
“Rose Gottemoeller, one of the world’s most respected international security experts, chronicles in this remarkable book invaluable personal reflections and authoritative insights gained as a leader in America’s most important chapter in recent arms control history—the New START Treaty. What makes this such a timely offering is the wisdom born of success that can help guide Washington’s next phase of critical negotiations with Moscow. This extraordinary firsthand account is indispensable reading of arguably the most important national security issue of our time.” — Jon Huntsman, former Governor of Utah, former U.S. Ambassador to China, Russia, and Singapore
"Whether one is an arms control specialist, a generalist diplomat or an international relations scholar, Negotiating the New START Treaty is an invaluable case study in the art of negotiation with relevance for the years ahead.… While Negotiating the New START Treaty is the ultimate blow-by-blow account of arms control, it is refreshingly free of obscure technical detail that could easily turn off the nonspecialist. Gottemoeller, who went on to become under secretary of State for arms control and international security and NATO deputy secretary general, takes pains at every step to sum up the issues and make them accessible to the general reader, who is sure to appreciate both the author’s lucid expository style as well as her glossary of terms.… Since Gottemoeller has compiled a list of historic firsts as a stateswoman, women (and men also) will find her occasional musings on the role of gender in diplomacy of interest. She recalls how she sought to combine (temporary) single-parenting in Geneva with her first arms control stint in 1990, concluding it was an overreach into 'superwoman hood.'… I particularly appreciated how she highlighted the substantial role of women on the U.S. side to encourage her Russian counterparts to acknowledge the talented but few and marginalized women in their own ranks. Here too, adding to a career filled with international security achievements, Rose Gottemoeller has made a difference. Gottemoeller’s book is a major contribution to arms control history and to diplomacy, and it is likely to feature in international relations syllabi in the United States—and, I would hope, in Russia and many other countries." —The Foreign Service Journal
"Rose Gottemoeller was asked to negotiate the first comprehensive bilateral nuclear arms control treaty in more than a quarter of a century and to do so in less than a year, even though the first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) took almost a decade. Compounding the hurdles, Gottemoeller was reliant on a U.S. government whose negotiating expertise had atrophied. She had to work with a Russian government in the early grip of Putinism and well known as a difficult negotiating partner. This fascinating book is her personal account of how she met those challenges. The seniority and prestige of the six officials who provide blurbs on the back of the book demonstrate the high regard in which the author is held. Their view that the book provides unique insights is amply borne out. In addition to its policy importance, the book is a model of clear, understandable writing on a complex subject. ...No matter how the challenges of the future are ultimately resolved, those trying to shape them will benefit from reading and rereading this remarkable book." —Linton F. Brooks, Arms Control Today, Arms Control Association
"A riveting and personal behind-the-scenes account of how this treaty came to be… Gottemoeller is a pioneer in the field of arms control: she was the first female negotiator to lead an arms control negotiation and the first female to hold the title of NATO’s deputy secretary-general. … Gottemoeller has masterfully blurred the boundaries between memoir, handbook and reference volume, and provides the valuable insight needed to shed light on this epoch-making treaty. ... likely to remain one of the most significant works on the topic of arms control and negotiations in international security for years to come. … memoirs of this kind are crucial in committing the evolution of a treaty to history. As both a reflective account of the past and an instructive resource for the future, Negotiating the New START Treaty will serve as essential reading for the next generation of world negotiators and leaders at a critical time for international security.” —International Affairs
"Gottemoeller’s lucid, candid, and engaging memoir of her role in getting the Russians to agree to the 2011 New START treaty—and persuading the U.S. Senate to ratify it—is an encomium to the hard slog of diplomacy. Her account demonstrates the importance of having a strong negotiating team with good morale, allowing technical experts time to work on the details, producing agreement texts that are both clear and mean the same thing in multiple languages, forging a working relationship with interlocutors (even when this requires some performative losses of temper), dealing with unrealistic demands from bosses in Washington and dissuading them from imposing unrealistic agendas, and creating public support for an agreement to keep pressure on the Senate to ratify it. ... her book is a reminder of how hard it was to get even this far." —Sir Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs
"A compelling first-hand account ... provides critical perspective on negotiations with the Russians, as well as the U.S. government, particularly the U.S. Senate. ... offers important context of the strategic logic behind the tussles over technical issues by various actors and stakeholders. ... By explaining why Russians and Americans held different approaches to how to undertake such seemingly mundane things as “counting” warheads, the author illustrates why it is critical to understand the basics of each side’s force posture and attendant strategies. ...Another important theme of the book is the role of gender. As the first female lead negotiator for a major nuclear treaty in a male-dominated field, Gottemoeller broke new ground. Yet, this was no cakewalk. She faced a shocking amount of misogyny from the Russian delegation. ... Gottemoeller lets the reader know that these are special considerations which women in leadership positions may have to navigate. ... This very accessible book is an important read and is recommended for a variety of audiences. Those interested in international affairs will gain a better sense of the many moving parts at play during the negotiation process. Students of non-proliferation and arms control will appreciate an insider’s look at one of the most important agreements of our time. Readers interested in statecraft and leadership will find a down-to-earth account of what the daily grind looks like." —Orbis
"Rose Gottemoeller, who served as undersecretary of state for arms control in the Obama administration, was tasked with negotiating the first comprehensive bilateral nuclear-arms-control treaty between the United States and Russia in more than a quarter of a century, and to do so in less than a year – an unprecedentedly short time. Despite the enormity of this task, she successfully negotiated the 2010 New START treaty. This book is a highly readable and engaging personal account of the process... Gottemoeller enumerates several ‘gold standard treaty lessons learned’ (p.171): to have carefully defined national-security objectives when embarking on negotiations; to understand the Russians’ political imperatives and the pressures they are under; to not engage in ‘drive-by’ negotiations; and to keep the Russians informed during the Senate ratification process." —Survival: Global Politics and Strategy
"Negotiating the New START Treaty is an instant classic. This firsthand account by the treaty’s chief US negotiator is at once a memoir, case study in international negotiation, primer on arms control, guidebook for domestic government process and politics, and compendium of lessons for national security leaders at all levels. Its author, Rose Gottemoeller, writes with the authority and perspective of a deeply informed and groundbreaking stateswoman who later served as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, then Deputy Secretary General of NATO. Its pages exemplify clear and engaging writing, illuminating a complex topic with relatable personal reflection and humor. Its timeliness cannot be overstated, as Russia issues nuclear threats in the course of its war in Ukraine, and the treaty will expire in just over three years. I would highly recommend this book to arms control specialists and general readers alike... Several themes and arguments throughout Negotiating the New START Treaty are especially relevant to senior members of the defense community...This constructive, results-oriented emphasis makes Negotiating the New START Treaty itself an honorable public service. " —Parameters
