Topic #12 – Superpower Tensions & Rivalries: Cold War Crises & Detente (Year 2, Units 4 & 6)

Victoria Vaca

Cold War Divisions in Europe

Berlin Crisis 1948 (blockade & airlift)
The Soviet blockade of West Berlin prompted a Western airlift; symbolized deep Cold War division.

London Conference (June 1948)
Western Allies agreed to unify their zones, angering the USSR and triggering the Berlin Blockade.

Federal Republic of Germany (FRG)
The Western-aligned state of West Germany established after the Berlin Crisis.

German Democratic Republic (GDR)
The Soviet-aligned communist state of East Germany formed in response to the creation of the FRG.

Deutschland vs. Ostmark
Terms referring to the ideological divide and physical separation between East and West Germany.

China & Cold War Alignments

Chinese Civil War
Conflict between the CCP (Communist Party of China) and the KMT (Nationalists) under Chiang Kai-shek, ending with a communist victory.

Taiwan
Island where the KMT retreated after losing the Chinese Civil War, backed by the US.

PRC (People’s Republic of China)
Established in 1949 by Mao Zedong after the CCP's victory in the civil war.

Mao Zedong
Leader of the Chinese Communist Revolution and later key figure in Sino-Soviet and Sino-US relations.

Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship (1950)
Alliance between the PRC and USSR during early Cold War cooperation.

Sino-Soviet Pact (1950)
Formal agreement between Stalin and Mao; marked early Cold War solidarity between the two powers.

Sino-US rapprochement
Effort to improve US-China relations, especially under Nixon; included the US-PRC agreement (1978).

Deng Xiaoping
Chinese leader post-Mao; promoted economic reform and played a role in Cold War diplomacy.

Tiananmen Square
1989 protests in Beijing for democratic reform violently suppressed by the Chinese government

The Korean War & Its Impact

The Korean War (1950–53)
First major Cold War conflict; North Korea (DPRK) invaded South Korea (ROK), prompting U.S. and UN intervention.

Kim Il-sung
Leader of communist North Korea (DPRK) during the Korean War.

Syngman Rhee
Anti-communist leader of South Korea (ROK), supported by the U.S.

38th parallel
Dividing line between North and South Korea before and after the war.

Inchon landing
A major amphibious assault by U.S. forces that turned the tide of the Korean War.

Yalu River
Boundary with China that U.S./UN forces neared, prompting Chinese intervention.

Stalemate & Armistice
The war ended in 1953 with no clear victory, maintaining the status quo at the 38th parallel.

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)
North Korea, communist and backed by the USSR and China.

Republic of Korea (ROK)
South Korea, capitalist and backed by the U.S. and UN.

Dwight D. Eisenhower
President during the Korean War’s final phase; helped negotiate the armistice.

Impacts of the Korean War
Increased military spending and rearmament of West Germany, setting the stage for future Cold War escalation.

Cold War Alliances & Global Strategies

SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization)
U.S.-led alliance aimed at containing communism in Southeast Asia.

CENTO (Central Treaty Organization)
Alliance of Middle Eastern and Western powers to counter Soviet influence.

NSC-68
1950 U.S. policy document calling for massive military buildup to confront communism globally.

Domino Theory
Belief that if one country fell to communism, neighboring nations would follow.

Red Scare
Widespread U.S. fear of communist infiltration and subversion in the late 1940s and 1950s.

Senator McCarthy / McCarthyism
Led the charge during the Red Scare, accusing individuals of communist sympathies without strong evidence.

Mutually Assured Destruction (M.A.D.)
Nuclear doctrine that assumed any attack would result in total destruction for both sides, preventing war.

Cuban Missile Crisis & Global Leaders

Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
Standoff between the U.S. and USSR over Soviet missiles in Cuba; closest the Cold War came to nuclear war.

John F. Kennedy
U.S. President during the Cuban Missile Crisis; chose a naval blockade to pressure the Soviets.

Nikita Khrushchev
Soviet leader who placed missiles in Cuba and negotiated their withdrawal with Kennedy.

Cold War Leaders (Impact on the Course)

Harry Truman
Led the U.S. into the Cold War with the Truman Doctrine and policy of containment.

Joseph Stalin
Soviet leader whose aggressive postwar policies helped spark the Cold War.

Mao Zedong
Led the PRC; initially allied with the USSR, later distanced in the Sino-Soviet split.

Fidel Castro
Cuban revolutionary whose alliance with the USSR led to the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Richard Nixon
Promoted détente and improved U.S.-China relations through the Moscow Summit and SALT talks.

Ronald Reagan
Revived Cold War tensions with the ‘Star Wars’ (SDI) defense plan and harsh rhetoric, then supported arms reduction later.

Mikhail Gorbachev
Soviet leader who introduced glasnost & perestroika and helped end the Cold War.

Detente: Cold War Easing (Mini-Unit)

Reasons for détente
Driven by the arms race, economic problems, and ideological dissent in both superpowers.

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (1963)
First step in arms control, banning nuclear tests in the atmosphere.

Lyndon B. Johnson
Continued détente through limited diplomatic engagement and arms control efforts.

Brezhnev Doctrine
Soviet policy stating that any threat to socialism in the Eastern bloc would warrant Soviet intervention.

Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia (1968)
Crushed the Prague Spring; justified by the Brezhnev Doctrine.

Ostpolitik
West German policy of engagement with East Germany and Eastern Europe to reduce Cold War tensions.

Gorbachev’s glasnost & perestroika
Policies of openness and restructuring that weakened the Soviet Union and led to Cold War’s end.

Solidarity in Poland
Worker movement that challenged communist rule and eventually contributed to the fall of Soviet influence.

‘Star Wars’ (SDI)
Reagan’s missile defense proposal; intensified arms competition but also pressured USSR economically.

SALT I and II
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks between the US and USSR to control nuclear weapons.

Moscow Summit (1972)
Meeting between Nixon and Brezhnev that advanced détente through arms control and diplomacy.

Helsinki Accords (1975)
Agreement on human rights and borders, a milestone in détente.

Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1979)
Ended détente; the U.S. responded with sanctions and support for Afghan resistance.

Final Cold War Events

Korean Airlines Flight 007 (1983)
Soviets shot down a civilian airliner near its airspace, increasing Cold War tensions.

Fall of the Soviet Union (1991)
Marked the official end of the Cold War; caused by internal economic collapse and reform movements.