1st Session INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATION EXCHANGES OF SCHOLARS WITH THE SOVIET UNION: ADVANTAGES AND DILEMMAS MEMORANDUM PREPARED AT THE REQUEST OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY AND INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS (Pursuant to S. Res. 24, 91st Cong.) OF THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE Printed for the use of the Committee on Government Operations INTRODUCTORY NOTE The subcommittee is pleased to be able to publish this original paper by Professor Robert F. Byrnes in the record of its inquiry on international negotiation. We invited Professor Byrnes to prepare a memorandum covering the main issues in negotiating exchanges of scholars with the Soviet Union which he thought should be considered and reflected upon, and he has responded with this discerning contribution to our record. Now Distinguished Professor of History at Indiana University, Dr. Byrnes was from 1959 to 1962 Director of the University's Russian and East European Institute. For nine years, from 1960 to 1969, he served as Chairman of the Inter-University Committee which, until this past summer, had the major responsibility for U.S. scholar exchange programs with the Soviet Union. HENRY M. JACKSON, Chairman, Subcommittee on National Security OCTOBER 17, 1969. III EXCHANGES OF SCHOLARS WITH THE SOVIET UNION: ADVANTAGES AND DILEMMAS By Robert F. Byrnes INTRODUCTION During the last quarter century, the role of the American university and of the American scholar have quietly and gradually changed almost beyond the comprehension of even those who have participated actively in the revolution. Expansion of higher education and of access to it in every part of the country has brought more than seven million students to American campuses in the fall of 1969. These students, their faculties, the libraries which serve them both, and the entire college and university complex all face a continuing "knowledge explosion," an increase of information in most fields of study so rapid that most of what is now taught in some fields was not known as recently as ten years ago. The role of the university in American life has so changed that the ivory tower has been demolished. Many Americans instead believe that the university, while continuing its usual functions for the rapidly growing student body, should also be the principal instrument for resolving our social problems. Indeed, many are now convinced that new knowledge generated and spread by the university is the most important factor in social and economic change. The appearance of new fields of study, of new knowledge, especially in the sciences, and of new responsibilities is matched by growing interest in the rest of the world, especially the so-called non-Western areas, which were neglected before the Second World War. The technical revolutions in communication and in transportation, the growing appreciation by Americans of the position their country occupies in international affairs, and the general shrinking of the world have all contributed to an increase of research and instruction in areas as different as the Soviet Union and Africa. This revolution in our view of the rest of the world has been especially reflected in the increased emphasis devoted by the American educational system to the Soviet Union, largely because of the growth and outward thrust of Soviet power. As a consequence, thousands of Americans have learned Russian, have become interested in Russian history, literature and government, and have sought to analyze Soviet power and policy. Inevitably, just as American libraries have increased their resources to enable all to study the newly-discovered universe, so American universities have attempted to enable those interested in the Soviet Union to study there. This effort to encourage study within the Soviet Union has |