The Course of Détente

• What gave Nixon the reason and the possibility to start Détente?

• The Vietnam War was hugely expensive and politically damaging → US needed to reduce Cold War tensions to cut costs.

• Economic pressures in the USA (inflation + need to focus on domestic issues) made confrontation unsustainable.

• Nixon and his adviser Henry Kissinger believed in Realpolitik → practical cooperation over ideology.

• The USSR had achieved nuclear parity with the USA by late 1960s → neither side could win a nuclear war, so talks made sense.

• Growing public pressure in the US to avoid more confrontation.

 

How did China help?

• Nixon’s 1972 visit to China created a “triangular diplomacy” situation.

• Improved US–China relations put pressure on the USSR (they feared isolation).

• The Soviets felt compelled to negotiate with the US to avoid being outmanoeuvred → helped push them into SALT and further détente.

• China acted as a counterweight, giving the US more leverage in negotiations.

 

In what ways did the two sides share a similar approach?

• Both wanted to avoid nuclear war and the costs of an arms race.

• Both faced economic pressures and needed to redirect money to domestic issues (US: Vietnam + inflation; USSR: poor economy, need for Western tech and grain).

• Leadership on both sides (Nixon/Brezhnev) favoured pragmatic, negotiated stability over open confrontation.

• Both wanted predictable relations and reduced risk of miscalculation.

 

• Why were the Soviets shocked at Nixon's downfall?

• They saw Nixon as a reliable partner who supported détente.

• The Watergate scandal seemed trivial to them compared to the scale of political crises they'd experienced — they didn’t expect it to end a presidency.

• They feared détente might collapse without Nixon, since he personally drove much of it.

• They misunderstood how domestic political accountability worked in the US system.

 

• Apollo- Soyuz 1975 showed what about relations?

• Demonstrated high point of détente: real cooperation in space, not just diplomacy.

• Symbolised trust and scientific collaboration between the superpowers.

• Showed both sides were willing to work together in peaceful, non-military areas.

• Acted as a public display that relations were thawing and tensions were easing.