3.4 - Stalemate and Détente: Stability through SALT and diplomatic agreements

How did the Vietnam War and US economic exhaustion lead to the policy of Détente?

The war cost billions and fueled inflation, making it impossible for the US to maintain a massive military presence in Europe while fighting in Asia; Détente was a way to "manage" the USSR through diplomacy rather than expensive wars.

How did Nixon use "Triangular Diplomacy" to exploit the 1969 Sino-Soviet Border War?

By visiting China in 1972, Nixon played on Soviet fears of isolation, forcing Brezhnev to the negotiating table in Moscow just months later to ensure the USSR wasn't "left out" of a new global balance.

How did the "Agricultural Crisis" and "Technology Gap" make the USSR dependent on the West?

Inefficient collective farming led to the "Great Grain Robbery" (1972) where the USSR became dependent on US wheat to prevent bread riots, while needing Western computers to modernize their stagnant economy.

What were the two primary components of the SALT I Treaty (1972)?

The ABM Treaty limited missile shields to preserve MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction), and the Interim Agreement froze the number of strategic missile launchers for five years.

Why was the Apollo-Soyuz Mission (1975) a significant symbol of Détente?

When the US and Soviet spacecraft docked in orbit and crews shook hands, it served as a powerful symbolic end to the Space Race and signaled unprecedented "non-military" cooperation.

What was the "Grand Bargain" of the 1975 Helsinki Accords?

In Basket 1, the West officially recognized the post-WWII borders of Eastern Europe (Soviet legitimacy); in Basket 3, the USSR promised to respect human rights and freedom of movement.

How did "Basket 3" of the Helsinki Accords unknowingly plant the seeds for the collapse of Communism?

It gave Eastern European dissidents a legal basis to challenge their governments, forcing the USSR to choose between domestic repression and international legitimacy.

Why did SALT II (1979) face massive opposition and fail to be ratified by the US Senate?

Critics argued it was "appeasement" that allowed the Soviets an advantage in heavy missiles, while Soviet expansionism in Africa and Central America convinced the US that Détente was a "one-way street."

How did the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan deliver the "final blow" to Détente?

It prompted President Jimmy Carter to withdraw SALT II from the Senate and impose a grain embargo, officially ending the "thaw" and starting the "Second Cold War."

Was Détente a success or a failure?

It was a success for preventing nuclear war during a decade of economic turmoil, but a failure because it never resolved fundamental ideological differences, providing only a temporary "pause" in the conflict.