Why the superpowers attempted to manage the Cold War, 1962-1979

What are the five factors for why the superpowers attempted to manage the Cold War essay?

1. Danger of mutually assured destruction

2. Dangers of military conflict as seen in the Cuban Missile Crisis

3. Economic cost of the arms race

4. Development of surveillance technology

5. Development of détente

What is the most important factor being argued throughout the why the superpowers attempted to manage the Cold War essay?

Dangers of military conflict as seen in the Cuban Missile Crisis

What is the main argument being made throughout the why the superpowers attempted to manage the Cold War essay?

How each factor forced/persuaded/pressured the key decision makers (the USA and the USSR) to manage the tensions involved in the Cold War

What is the context and background knowledge for why the superpowers attempted to manage the Cold War introduction?

After 1962, the USA and the USSR tried to manage the Cold War through a policy called détente; a French word meaning ‘easing’ or ‘relaxation’, relating to the tensions of the conflict. It was a time of co-operation as both sides attempted to thaw the tensions between them, deescalating any threats they deemed significant. To do so, they arranged official state visits between the US and the USSR leaders, signed treaties, and had sporting matches nicknamed ‘Ping Pong Diplomacy’

What is the first piece of knowledge and analysis for the factor - danger of mutually assured destruction?

In the 1950s, intelligence agencies estimated that a nuclear attack would cause 20 million deaths and 22 million casualties… This was an important factor in attempting to manage the Cold War because this terrified the US government and so they were persuaded to adopt new policies that would help to avoid this from happening

What is the second piece of knowledge and analysis for the factor - danger of mutually assured destruction?

By 1981, the USA had 8,000 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and the USSR had 7,000… This was an important factor in attempting to manage the Cold War because this made both sides fear for their nations and so both sides were persuaded to work together to avoid these missiles from being used

What is the counter analysis for the factor - danger of mutually assured destruction?

However, if the USA and the USSR were really that worried then they would have kept to their agreements about reducing the number of nuclear weapons they had, yet they kept increasing their stockpiles instead

What is the first piece of knowledge and analysis for the factor - dangers of military conflict as seen in the Cuban Missile Crisis?

Both sides removed their nuclear weapons after the Cuban Missile Crisis as the USA removed their missiles from Türkiye and the USSR removed theirs from Cuba… This was an important factor in attempting to manage the Cold War because the Cuban Missile Crisis had terrified both governments enough to force them to negotiate over their nuclear weapons, which was a major issue

What is the second piece of knowledge and analysis for the factor - dangers of military conflict as seen in the Cuban Missile Crisis?

The USA and the USSR installed the ‘Hot Line’ which was a phone line between the White House and the Kremlin, so the two leaders could talk together whenever they needed too… This was an important factor in attempting to manage the Cold War because they took the Cuban Missile Crisis so seriously that they were immediately persuaded to install an easier method of communications and so both sides were more likely to talk and compromise over any future military issues

What is the counter analysis for the factor - dangers of military conflict as seen in the Cuban Missile Crisis?

However, there were negotiations before the Cuban Missile Crisis, so it could not have just been down to the Cuban Missile Crisis, ie Khrushchev’s concept of ‘peaceful coexistence’ and Eisenhower’s proposal of a ‘thaw’

What is the first piece of knowledge and analysis for the factor - economic cost of the arms race?

The USA was struggling financially due to an oil crisis causing stagnation and the cost of the Vietnam War which was $120 billion… This was an important factor in attempting to manage the Cold War because the USA needed to reduce their spending on the arms race but could not do so without the guarantee that the USSR would do so too, thus the US government was persuaded to adopt new policies as it was the best way to reduce spending while also not falling behind in the arms race

What is the second piece of knowledge and analysis for the factor - economic cost of the arms race?

The USSR spent 20% of their budget on defence and also suffered an oil crisis… This was an important factor in attempting to manage the Cold War because the USSR needed to reduce their spending on the arms race but could not do so without the guarantee that the USA would do so too, thus the USSR government was persuaded to adopt new policies as it was the best way to reduce spending while also not falling behind in the arms race

What is the counter analysis for the factor - economic cost of the arms race?

However, both governments continued to divert their spending’s into the arms race which they would not have done if their economies were so bad

What is the first piece of knowledge and analysis for the factor - development of surveillance technology?

The USA used U2 spy planes to track movement and spy on their opponents and in 1962, US air force officer Rudolf Anderson spotted missiles in Cuba… This was an important factor in attempting to manage the Cold War because the US government could verify that the USSR were sticking to treaty agreements on weapons, thus persuading them to sign up for other treaties, as long as they could check that the USSR were being adhered to them

What is the second piece of knowledge and analysis for the factor - development of surveillance technology?

The Space Race had led to an increase in the use of satellites, which increasingly made it more accurate for both sides to track the developments of one another… This was an important factor in attempting to manage the Cold War because both sides realised it would be harder to get first strike capability, which in turn meant the situation would need to be carefully managed as in the event of a war it would be deadly for both sides, thus persuading the governments to work together

What is the counter analysis for the factor - development of surveillance technology?

However, some of the spying made things worse, for example, Cuban photos led to a crisis and Gary Power, a U2 spy pilot, was shot down over Russia in 1961, which also led to a crisis

What is the first piece of knowledge and analysis for the factor - development of détente?

SALT 1 in 1972 and SALT 2 in 1979 both aimed to freeze the number of nuclear weapons in the USA and the USSR… This was an important factor in attempting to manage the Cold War because these examples of the two superpowers successfully negotiating, relaxed tensions, which persuaded further treaties and the management of the Cold War

What is the second piece of knowledge and analysis for the factor - development of détente?

The Ostpolitik policy of Willy Brandt successfully showed that the capitalist West Germany and the communist East Germany could work together for the benefit of both sides… This was an important factor in attempting to manage the Cold War because this softened the tensions in Europe and showed that the détente policies were effective, meaning that the USA and the USSR governments were persuaded to also give it a go

What is the counter analysis for the factor - development of détente?

However, an issue with this was that many of the treaties were not effective, for example, SALT 1 and SALT 2, thus this did not inspire any further negotiations