Détente & Treaties

Détente:

A change in superpower relations

• Because the Cuban missile crisis brought the two superpowers to the brink of war, some steps were taken to reduce the tension between the two nations.

• The period of reduced tensions, from the late 1960s to 1979 (when the soviet union invaded afghanistan), was called the détente.

Reasons for detente

Both sides realized how dangerous the situation had become

• US fighting in vietnam- needed to slow arms race to reduce burden on economy

• USSR concerned about communist china

• Both sides wanted to reduce economic expenditure.

Timeline of the aspects of détente between the USA and the USSR

• 1963: Hot-line between the white house and the kremlin is established; Nuclear test ban treaty restricting nuclear tests to underground explosions

• 1969: Strategic arms limitation talks (SALT) begin

• 1972: Richard Nixon, first USA president to visit the soviet union

• 1973: Leonid Brezhnev, USSR leader visits washington

1975: Helsinki agreement- USA, USSR, Canada and eastern and western european powers agree to European frontiers set up after world war two and to work at protecting human rights.

Salt I and II

SALT is the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty

• Limited or decreased ICBM’s (intercontinental ballistic missiles) which could be armed with nuclear warheads.

Proxy wars & liberation movements

The US and USSR never did descend into a direct “hot war” but they did have what are called proxy wars, substitute wars in which one super power might fight in another land or provide support. (economic and military)

• In the postwar recovery years were opportunities for the superpowers to advance their interests in regions around the world, each side was willing to provide economic or military support to a side that was sympathetic to its ideology.

Domino Theory:

 Once one falls to communism they’ll all fall in a ripple, like dominos.