Seattle's Cold War(m); foreign policy, 1957-1990: Citizen diplomats and grass roots diplomacy, sister cities and international exchange

"Can cities have a foreign policy?" From its first sister city relationship in 1957 to the Goodwill Games of 1990, Seattle citizens and their municipal leadership used local mechanisms to engage in major international developments such as the Cold War, detente, and Central American leftist movements. Such local measures, moreover, exerted a measured yet discernible influence on the nation's foreign policy. This project examines Seattle and its residents as participants in U.S. foreign relations over a span of four decades and documents the evolution of the city, its officials and citizens, as makers of a municipal foreign policy.; Seattle's sister city movement has not been without controversy, conflict and tension at both the national and local levels. Reflecting a variety of community impulses including missionary, peace activism and human rights, civic leaders and their organizations dominated Seattle's sister city program for nearly three decades. Finally deciding to abandon the idea of allowing private citizens to define local policy overseas, Seattle officials established bureaucratic structures to assert a greater measure of control over the city's international relations.; Sources for this project reside in municipal, state and civic archives, local newspapers, and the records of various civic organizations and their members. Until now, much of this material has not been under examination in the field of U.S. diplomatic history, and some has yet to be seen by any historian. This study not only brings some of these records to light, but also documents their existence for future use. Since many of the actual participants in these events remain active in the community, interviews and oral histories add to this collection, and provide further insight into the relatively obscure realm of personal relationships and their effect on diplomatic exchange. Finally, this project illustrates the plausibility of local actors and urban forces in shaping international dialogue.