Topic 5: The thaw and moves towards Détente

What does MAD stand for?

Mutually assured destruction

What was MAD?

• both the Soviet Union and the USA has the capability to destroy their rival several times over

• The belief grew that MAD would keep the peace because no one wanted to risk a war that was almost certain to lead to their own countries destruction

What did the CMC show in terms of MAD?

Shows that it was quite possible for the leaders of the USA and USSR to loose control over events

When was the Hotline put into place?

1963

Key features of the hotline

a system of direct communication between the White House in Washington and the Kremlin in Moscow and o allow discussion in times of crisis

When was the Limited Test Ban Treaty put into place?

1963

Key features of the Limited Test Ban Treaty

• the USSR, USA and Britain agreed to not carry out any nuclear weapon test explosion ‘in the atmosphere, under water, or in any other environment if the explosion would cause radioactive debris to be present outside the borders of the state conducting the explosion’

• After 1963, a further 113 countries signed the treaty

When was the Outer Space Treaty put into place?

1967

Key features of the Outer Space Treaty

• the exploration and use of outer space should be carried out for the benefit of all countries

• States should not place nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in orbit or on planets

• The moon and other celestial bodies should be used only for peaceful purposes

• Drawn up by the USSR, USA and Britain

• Later signed by 12 other countries

When was the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty put into place?

1968

Key features of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

• to prevent spread of nuclear weapons

• Divided countries into 2 categories, nuclear weapon states and non nuclear weapon states

• Nuclear weapons states would work towards disarmament and play no part in helping other nations develop such weapons

Define Détente

A period of peace between 2 groups that were previously at war/ hostile to each other

Why did the USA want détente?

• best way to reduce danger of nuclear war

• US defence budget had been overstretched by Vietnam, so arms reduction would reduce pressure (Vietnam had been costly of $686 billion and 58,000 lives

• Good way of containing Soviet lower in the 3rd world

• Could play USSR off vs China making USA strategic pivot in 3-way relationship

Why did the Soviet Union want détente?

• enable concentration on growing military threat from China

• Arms control agreements with the US would confirm USSR’S power status (the USAs equal) while confirming her hard-won nuclear parity with the USA

• Greater access to us grain and technology

• Reduces spending on the arms race

What role did china play in bringing about detente?

• in 1950, the sino-Soviet treaty was signed - a military agreement and also the USSR would provide economic aid

• Relations between China and USSR now deteriorated so USA could use China against USSR

Why had relations between China and the Soviet Union deteriorated?

• mao had been offended by the treatment that Chinese delegates received in Moscow

• Khrushchev criticised mao’s policies and mao accused Khrushchev of cowardice during the CMC and also claimed that the invasion of Czech was an attack on a fellow communist state

• Mao feared invasion from the USSR

What was the relationship like between USA and China before 1969?

They disliked each other

Why were the USA and China ready to improve their relationship and how is this illustrated?

• joint suspicions of the Soviet Union

• Henry Kissinger (US Secretary of State) and Zhou En-lai (Chinese prime minister) had a series of meetings and established a relationship

• February 1972, Mao and Nixon signed the Shanghai communique and agreed that a peaceful solution would be found for the problem of Taiwan

What was Ostpolitik?

1969- Willy Brandt elected chancellor of West Germany and wanted to ease tensions in Europe by establishing links between East and West Europe

How did Ostpolitik boost detente?

When other Western European nations followed his lead, this boosted detente

What does SALT stand for?

Strategic Arms Limitation talks

Key features of the SALT talks?

• anti ballistic missiles treaty

• Interim treaty

• Basic principles agreement

When were the SALT talks?

May 1972

What was the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty?

Stated that AMB’s were allowed at only 2 sites in each country and they should have a maximum of 100 missiles each

What was the Interim Treaty?

Placed restrictions on the number of ICBM’s and SLBM’s each country could have. The USSR was allowed more ICBM’s than the USA because the USA already had more strategic bombers

However, the USA had developed ‘multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles’ (MIRV’s), but didn’t want to admit this too the Soviets

What was the Basic Principles Agreement?

Banned placing warheads on the seabed

Weaknesses of SALT 1?

• if nuclear war looked likely, it was unrealistic to expect it to be avoided just because they signed a peice of paper, especially as both countries still owned enough weapons to destroy each other many times

• Didn’t cover MIRV’s (carried multiple nuclear warheads on a single missile)