10: End of the Cold War – Lecture Review

Part A: Relations Between the United States & USSR by the Late 1960s – Détente

• Definition
  • Détente = period of reduced tension / improved relations between superpowers beginning in the late 1960s.
  • Aimed to stabilise bipolar rivalry and curb the nuclear arms race.
• Key Features & Mechanisms
  • Summit Meetings – heads of state negotiated arms limits, trade, technology transfers, and crisis management.
  • Helsinki Accords (signed 1975 by 35 nations)
  • Pledged diplomatic conflict-resolution.
  • Committed signatories to respect human rights (free speech, protection from unfair arrest).
  • Significance: created moral obligation on USSR, encouraged dissident movements inside Eastern Bloc.
• Illustrative Cooperation
  • Joint US-USSR space projects; grain sales; Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT I signed 1972).
  • Fostered limited cultural exchanges and scientific collaboration.
• Review Questions
  1. Primary goal of détente?
  2. Example of super-power cooperation?
  3. How did Helsinki Accords promote stability?

Part B: Decline of Détente (Mid-1970s → Late 1970s)

• US Leadership Changes
  • Nixon → Ford → Jimmy Carter (after 1977).
  • Carter adopted tougher tone on Soviet human-rights record.
• Mutual Accusations
  • Both powers claimed the other violated promises on peaceful dispute settlement and arms limitations (SALT II never ratified).
  • US criticised Soviet dissident repression; USSR condemned US support for anti-communist forces.
• Final Trigger – Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan (1979)
  • Carter labelled it the “most serious threat to peace” & applied embargoes, Olympic boycott, rapid deployment force.
  • Widely regarded as the “final nail in détente’s coffin.”
• Review Questions
  1. Which US President is credited with abandoning détente and why?
  2. List accusations exchanged by US & USSR.
  3. Why was Afghanistan invasion pivotal?

Part C: Decline of the USSR in the 1970s & 1980s (Era of Stagnation)

• Command Economy Basics
  • State ministries set investment, prices, wages, output quotas.
  • Initially successful (1920s–1940s) in rapid industrialisation & war recovery.
• Structural Weaknesses Manifest ("Era of Stagnation")
  • Declining Growth Rates – industrial & agricultural output slowed continuously after early 1970s.
  • Over-centralised bureaucracy too slow for rising consumer demand & technological change.
• Additional Burdens
  • Satellite States / Proxy Wars – subsidies to Eastern Europe via Comecon; military aid in Afghanistan, Cuba, Angola, etc.
  • Drained hard currency reserves; diverted resources from domestic investment.
• Poor Standard of Living Indicators
  • Low wages; shortages of consumer goods (cars, TVs, telephones).
  • Excessive military spending crowding out education & R&D.
• Workforce Disillusionment
  • Corruption, fixed wages, arrests of protesters fostered apathy & low productivity.
• Review Questions
  1. How did command economy operate & what were early successes?
  2. Describe “Era of Stagnation.”
  3. How did satellite-state burden weaken economy?
  4. Evidence for low living standards?
  5. Workforce disillusionment examples?

Part D: Opposition to Communism in Eastern Europe

• Economic Weakness Linkage
  • Eastern European members relied on Soviet oil subsidies & borrowed heavily from Western banks → high debt.
• Warsaw Pact
  • Stated purpose: collective defence.
  • Unstated purpose: guarantee communist regimes against internal dissent.
• Brezhnev Doctrine (1968)
  • “Threat to one communist state = threat to all; intervention justified.”
  • Empowered hard-liners (e.g., Erich Honecker) but fuelled popular resentment.
• Crushed Uprisings’ Significance
  • Exposed inability of communism to ensure decent living standards.
  • Demonstrated latent power of mass protest & dependence of local regimes on Soviet force.
• Review Questions
  1. How were Eastern economies tied to Soviet decline?
  2. Warsaw Pact’s dual purpose?
  3. Core idea of Brezhnev Doctrine & its impact?
  4. Lessons of suppressed movements?

Part E: Return to Cold-War Tension – The Reagan Era (1981–1989)

• Ideological Rhetoric
  • Reagan labelled USSR “evil empire,” abandoning conciliatory language.
• Domestic Economic Strategy
  • Deregulation, tax cuts, promotion of capitalism & democracy → economic boom in US/Western Europe, showcasing capitalist success.
• Defence Build-Up
  • Budget surge for new systems (B1 bomber, Pershing II, cruise missiles).
  • Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI/“Star Wars”) – plan for space/ground-based missile shield to render Soviet nukes obsolete.
• Pressure on USSR
  • Forced Soviet leadership to escalate military spending despite shrinking economy, accelerating systemic strain.
• Review Questions
  1. Contrast Reagan’s approach with détente.
  2. Key domestic policies & objectives?
  3. Purpose of SDI?
  4. Effects on Soviet economy & arms race?

Part F: Gorbachev’s Reforms (1985–1991)

• Overall Vision (“New Thinking”)
  • Preserve socialism but modernise economy, democratise society, and reduce global confrontation.
• Glasnost (“Openness”)
  • Encouraged public debate, media freedom, frank acknowledgement of problems.
  • Backfired: exposed corruption, Chernobyl mishandling, and superior Western living standards, eroding legitimacy.
• Perestroika (“Restructuring”)
  • Economic Aspects – enterprise autonomy, profit incentives, co-operatives, limited private trade (1987 law).
  • Political Aspects – multi-candidate (but not multi-party) elections, rise of reformists & nationalists.
  • Outcomes: no industrial upturn; supply chains still centralised; many loss-making firms; public grew cynical.
• Foreign-Policy “New Thinking”
  • Reduced Defence Spending & downsizing Red Army.
  • Arms Treaties – INF Treaty (1987) cut intermediate missiles in Europe.
  • Afghanistan Withdrawal (completed 1989).
  • De-Ideologisation – renounced export of communism; promised non-intervention in Eastern Europe.
• Review Questions
  1. Summarise Gorbachev’s vision.
  2. Define Glasnost & unintended effects.
  3. Key economic reforms & reasons for failure.
  4. How did “New Thinking” differ from past policy?
  5. Significance of de-ideologisation for Eastern Europe?

Part G: Collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe & the USSR (1989–1991)

• Gorbachev’s Non-Intervention Doctrine
  • July 1988 & March 1989 speeches: Warsaw Pact states free to determine paths; Soviet troops withdrawn.
  • Removed psychological pillar supporting communist regimes.
• Domino Effect
  • Mass protests → negotiated transitions; Berlin Wall dismantled November 1989 (iconic symbol).
  • By 1990 all Eastern Bloc governments abandoned monopoly communist rule.
• Long-Term Factors in USSR Disintegration
  • Chronic command-economy inefficiencies & low living standards.
  • Unsustainable military burden of Cold War competition.
  • Arms race & proxy wars drained treasury.
  • Gorbachev’s reforms unintentionally destabilised Party control mechanisms.
• Review Questions
  1. How did non-intervention accelerate collapse?
  2. Symbolic event of Eastern Bloc collapse?
  3. Long-term factors behind USSR break-up?
  4. How did Cold War burden economy?

Integrated Quiz – Sample Short Answers (Condensed)

• Détente positive outcome – Helsinki Accords 1975.
• Decline of détente reason – Soviet Afghanistan invasion 1979.
• Command-economy stagnation – slow decision-making, declining growth.
• Satellite-state burden – costly subsidies & proxy wars.
• Brezhnev Doctrine effect – protected hard-liners, stifled reform.
• “Evil Empire” rhetoric linked to huge US defence spending & SDI.
• Glasnost unintended result – exposed corruption & Western superiority.
• Perestroika aim – introduce market forces & managerial autonomy.
• De-ideologisation impact – USSR ceased shoring up Eastern regimes.
• Underlying collapse factors – weak economy, Cold War overextension.

Glossary of Key Terms (Selected)

• Arms Race – competition for weapons superiority, esp. nuclear, between superpowers.
• Authoritarian Regime – strong central rule with limited personal freedoms.
• Bipolarity – global system dominated by two superpowers.
• Capitalist Economy – production & prices set by supply/demand in private market.
• Causation in History – events arise from complex mix of factors (long- & short-term).
• Censorship – suppression of unacceptable information.
• Cold War – geopolitical tension 1947–1991 between US-led West & Soviet-led East.
• Command Economy – government determines production, prices, distribution.
• Communism – ideology advocating classless, collectively owned society.
• Containment – US policy to stop spread of communism.
• Détente – 1970s easing of US-USSR tensions.
• Diplomacy – negotiation between states.
• Eastern Bloc – USSR & socialist satellites.
• Era of Stagnation – Soviet low-growth period 1970s–1980s.
• Glasnost – “openness” reform.
• Helsinki Accords (1975) – human-rights & security framework.
• Perestroika – “restructuring” reform.
• Proxy War – indirect conflict via client states.
• SDI / “Star Wars” – US missile-defence proposal 1983.
• Summit Meetings – leader-level negotiations.
• Superpower Rivalry – US-USSR competition for global influence.
• Warsaw Pact – Soviet-led military alliance 1955–1991.

(Note: Glossary also includes terms on Japanese imperial history – Mukden Incident, Meiji Restoration, etc. – which, while outside Cold-War scope, appear in transcript. They exemplify broader historiographical vocabulary.)