Cold War: The End of The Cold War 1970-91

Who were the superpower leaders during the period of Detente?

USSR- Brezhnev

USA-Nixon (1969-1974) Ford (1974-1977), Carter(1977-1881)

What were the collective Superpower’s motives for detente?

-Wanted to avoid the risk of nuclear confrontation

What were the Soviet’s motives for detente?

-Brezhnev wanted to concentrate resources on economy to raise living standrads

-USSR needed western technology to improve production

-USSR had caught up in the arms race, US had lost its advantage

What were the USA’s motives for detente?

-USA wanted to reduce military expenditure

-Nixon wanted to focus political/financial resources on domestic issues

-USA wanted soviet political assistance in vietnam

What were the features of Detente?

-Sharing of technology (including a shared space mission)

-Increase of superpower trade

-Arms control

-Visits and talks between leaders

-Series of international agreements

When was SALT I

May 1972

What were the agreements made at SALT I?

-Anti Ballistic Missiles were only allowed at 2 sities and each site could have a maximum of 100 missiles

-Interim (temporary) treaty restricted number of millies each country could have, US allowed 1045 ICBMs and 740 SLMBs compared the USSR who was allowed 1618 ICBMs and 740 SLMBs

-Rules laid down for conduct of nuclear warfare (such as banning placing of warheads on the seabed)

What were the weaknesses of SALT 1?

-Treaty did not cover the latest technological development

-It was unrealistic to think nuclear war could be avoided becos countries had signed a peice of paper

What were the consequences of SALT I?

-US and USSR could demonstrate their better relations publicly

-Negotiations began for SALT 2

When were the Helsinki Accords?

August 1975

What were the three baskets of the Helsinki Accords?

-European Borders

-International Cooperation

-Human Rights

What was the European Boarders agreement in the Helsinki Accords?

Borders and inviolable (unchangeable), they cannot be altered by force

What was the International Cooperation agreement in the Helsinki Accords?

We will continue to work for closer relations between the west and soviet controlled countries which will include trade agreements, technology exchanged and a joint space mission

What was the Human Rights agreement in the Helsinki Accords?

We will respect human rights and individual freedoms such as free speech, rekigion and free movement across europe

When was SALT 2?

18 June 1979

What were the agreements made at SALT 2?

-Restrictions on missile launches and strategic bombers

-Ban on testing or deploying new types of ICBM

Why did the period of detente end?

-Growing US belief among democrats that republicans and soviet governemnt could not be trusted

-Increase in soviet support in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Angola

-Nov 1979 islamic militants captured the american embassy in Tehran, American diplomats were publically humiliated and over 60 of them were held hostage for 444 days (which caused many angry americans to want to end detend and america to restore its position as a powerful nation)

-December 1979 USSR invaded Afghanistan which caused detente to finally end

Why did the USSR invade Afghanistan?

-Afghanistan was viewed as an important neighbour

-1979 Iranian revolution overthrew the Shah (king) and was replaced by a muslim fundamentalist government

-Moscow was determined to not let muslim fundamentalism spread across boearders

-To protect USSR interests, it was important to ensure that there was a pro soviet government in Afghanistan

What were the events of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan?

-April 1978 pro-soviet government took control in Afghanistan and received economic assistance from Moscow

-Government fell in September 1979 when Amin staged a popular overthrow

-24 December Soviet forces invaded Afghanistan

-Amin assisinated on December 27 (almost certainly by Soviets)

-Soviets remained in Afghanistan for almost 10 years fighting oponents

What was the american reaction to the soviet invasion?

-Americans belived USSR invasion was an example of them attempting to spread communism abroad

-Carter therefore withdrew SALT 2 proposal and increased spending on arms

-He made a speech to the American people in JAnuary 1980 saying that the US would repel by force if there was any threat to american interests on the Persian Gulf

-Carter imposed economic sanctions on the USSR and began sending weaponds and funds to Afghanistan

What was the Carter Doctrine?

Carter made a speech to the American people in January 1980 saying that the US would repel by force if there was any threat to american interests on the Persian Gulf

What were the consequences of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan?

-Officially ended the period of detente

-Second cold war begins

-SALT 2 abandoned

-War in afghanistan lasts 10 years

-US boycott of Moscow olympics/USSR boycott of soviet olympics

-Carter doctrine announced

-1.5million civilian deaths

Why were the olympic boycotts significant?

-The olympic games are a global event, which the USSR was hoping to use to promote communism to the huge television audience who would watch the olympics globally

-Over 60 nations supported the US boycott which meant may of the best athletes did not attend, causing the games to look ‘second rate’

-Relations were so poor that even four years later (1984) the USSR led a boycott of the LA olympics which was joined by 15 communist countries

What were Reagans policies under the ‘second cold war’?

-He persuaded the US congress to boost USA’s armed forces by increasing spending (1982= 13% more spent, further 8% in 1983 and 84)

-’Reagan doctrine’ stating that the US would not only support anti-communist governments, but anti-communist groups trying to overthrow communist governments, support was then given to El Salvador and Nicaragua and toppled communist government in Grenaada

What was the Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI)?

Reagan new policy in 1983 that stated a series of satellites would be plavced in orbit that would carry powerful lasers that could shoot down soviet missiles and prevent them from harming the US

Why was SDI a significant turning point in the arms race/cold war?

Soviet leaders knew that they would have to invest large sums to develop equipment similar to SDI but the soviet economy was not strong enough to place funding into it.

What was Gorbachev’s ‘new thinking’?

-He proposed that the soviet states and economy should be reformed to include some of the practices that made capitalism sucsessful

-Openness and less corruption the government, people should not need to fear the state or fear expressing their opinions

-Brezhnev doctrine dropped

-USSR would reduce arms spending and withdraw from Afghanistan

What was the American response to Gorbachev’s new polices?

Reagan began to see that there was an opportunity to end the cold war and adopt a more open approach to the USSR while still sticking to his overall aim

What were the 5 Summit meetings in the 1980’s and when were they?

-Geneva Summit: November 1985

-Reykjavik Summit: October 1986

-Washington Summit: December 1987

-Moscow Summit: 1988

Malta Summit: 1989

What were the details of the Geneva Summit?

-Gorbachev just appointed a new foreign minister to replace the old hardliner

-Gorbachev and Reagan met for the first time

What was the outcome of the Geneva Summit?

No formal agreements made but establishment of a good working relationship and a mutual desire to improve relations

What were the details of the Reykjavik Summit?

-Gorbachev worried about danger of nuclear weapons and wanted to reduce world stockpile (beliefs strengthened when the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded in April 1986)

-He proposed phasing out nuclear weapons if the USA gave up SDI

What was the outcome of the Reykjavik Summit?

Both leaders knew the US could not give up SDI, no formal agreements but an improvement in relations

What were the details of the Washington Summit?

-Gorbachev had accepted the US would not scrap SDI and his country’s best interest lay on disarmament, reducing weaponry speding and better western relations

What was the outcome of the Washington Summit?

First summit leading to a formal treaty- The INF (intermediate range nuclear force) treaty stated that both countries would abolish all land based missiles with a range of 500-5500 km

What were the details of the Moscow summit?

Complex detail related to INF treaty was resolved, later in the year Gorbachev traveled to the US and made a speech at the UN announcing a reduction in Warsaw pact troops and USSR leaving Afghanistan

What were the details of the Malta summit?

Gorbachev met new US president, George Bush

What was the outcome of the Malta Summit?

-No new agreements made, but this meeting was seen as marking the end of the cold war

When was the fall of the Berlin Wall

9 November 1989

What was the significance of the fall of the Berlin Wall?

-Citizens of east/west germany could be reunited with family/friends who they had not seen for almost 30 years

-Wall was mainly a symbolic event as it became a symbol of the end of soviet control and the end of the cold war

How did Gorbachev fall from power?

-He lost control in all satellite states

-Hard-line communists blamed him for loosing control over eastern europe and threatening USSR secyrity

-Baltics declared themselves independent

-August 1991 communist hardliners set up a coup against Gorbachev which damaged his authority

-25 December 1991 Gorbachev announced his resignation which was followed by the break-up of the Soviet Union