{"id":25855,"date":"2026-07-05T09:29:59","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T13:29:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/comw.org\/pda\/?p=25855"},"modified":"2026-07-05T09:29:59","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T13:29:59","slug":"beyondpleasantlunches-blurb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/comw.org\/pda\/beyondpleasantlunches-blurb\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond pleasant lunches \u2013 How independent research and new ideas played a role in ending the Cold War:\u00a0A retrospective on the years 1987-1989"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Charles Knight, 05 July 2026.\u00a0 First published as a guest post at Van Jackson<\/a>‘s Un-Diplomatic<\/em><\/a>, \u27aa full-text of PDA version: PDF<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Gorbachev & Shevardnadze<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This retrospective focuses on the work of one researcher\/thinker from West Germany, Lutz Unterseher. \u00a0It follows the migration from West to East of his thinking and writing (and that of a network he organized) to Mikhail Gorbachev\u2019s key foreign policy advisers.\u00a0 Once there, this work likely played a role in shaping the particulars of one of the Soviet leader\u2019s most consequential foreign policy decisions.<\/p>\n

The story is told less for its historical value than for its value to all who work on the construction of new ideas.<\/p>\n

    \n
  • In what circumstances do new ideas get noticed and made use of by powerful persons and institutions?<\/li>\n
  • What types and levels of idea development are most likely to gain the attention of national leaders who tend to be relentlessly pragmatic?<\/li>\n
  • What did the author of this retrospective learn while writing this article?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    by Charles Knight, 05 July 2026.\u00a0 First published as a guest post at Van Jackson‘s Un-Diplomatic, \u27aa full-text of PDA version: PDF This retrospective focuses on the work of one researcher\/thinker from West Germany, Lutz Unterseher.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10167552604075290_133638503385018":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[18,45,22,34,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arms-control","category-confidence-building-defense","category-europe","category-featured","category-publications"],"yoast_head":"\nBeyond pleasant lunches \u2013 How 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