From détente to the Second Cold War PDF

Preview

Summary

5HS001 The Cold War. From détente to the Second Cold War. Dr Christopher Norton....

Description

5HS001 The Cold War. From détente to the Second Cold War. Dr Christopher Norton. From détente to the Second Cold War  A new phase in the cold war  A period of ongoing negotiations and a process of exchanges between East and West  Why were the hopes and promises of a permanent shift in the Soviet/American relationship not realized? The background to détente 1. The impact of the Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1963: The Limited Test Ban Treaty) 2. Soviet nuclear parity (massive arms buildup) 3. The impact of the Vietnam War (decline in American influence) Nixon and détente  1967 – Nixon - the United States should seek rapprochement with China to weaken the communist bloc  Détente a way out of the Vietnam War - “Peace with honour”; “Vietnamisation” and the “quarantining” of the conflict - the means to this end  South Vietnamese would bear the burden of the fighting - but communists would be prevented from further expansion  As US troops returned home the US air force took part in the biggest aerial bombardment in history (B-52 carpet bombing of North Vietnam, eastern Cambodia and Laos)  Attacks coincided with talks with the North Vietnamese to bring the war to a close and to get the Chinese and Russians to reduce their support for the NLF  Nixon and Henry Kissinger were aiming at a revolution in US foreign policy - “triangular diplomacy” - the United States would be the power broker between the world’s two great communist powers  They wanted to get Russia to agree to be a great power in a conservative version, instead of a revolutionary version The Soviets and détente V. Zubok, ‘The Soviet Union and détente of the 1970s’, Cold War History, Volume 8, Number 4, November 2008.  2 interrelated motives behind Soviet support for détente – security and economic motives  Improved relations with US could: 1. Stabilize the arms race – cost spiraling out of control

5HS001 The Cold War. From détente to the Second Cold War. Dr Christopher Norton. 2. Solve economic problems by increased trade with the West 3. Achieve international recognition of the status of the Soviet Union as a global power 4. Prevent US-Chinese alliance China and Détente  China alarmed by 1968 ‘Brezhnev Doctrine’ (invasion of Czechoslovakia)  Improving relations with US was a way to deter Soviet aggression  Nixon ended the ‘two China’ policy – there was one China, the PRC, Taiwan was part of China  A normalization of relations with the PRC – US had no imperialist ambitions concerning China – US military forces kept the USSR in check  An opportunity for the US to take advantage of deteriorating Sino-Soviet relations Détente in action 1969-72  September 1971- Quadripartite Agreement (West Berlin)

 Ostpolitik - policies pursued by the West German Chancellor Willy Brandt (normalises relations with Soviet Union, reduces tensions)  July 1971: Kissinger secretly travels to communist China  February 1972: Nixon visits China  May 1972 - signing of the SALT I agreements during Nixon’s visit to Moscow. 1. ABM Treaty 2. Interim Agreement 3. The Basic Principles Agreement  Result for Soviets - improved relations with the West; access to Western goods and technology; economic assistance Détente continues  2nd Nixon/Brezhnev summit, Washington 1973 - Agreement on the Prevention of Nuclear War  3rd summit, Moscow June 1974 - Threshold Test Ban Treaty  Helsinki Agreement 1975 – principles for the conduct of relations between states  Article 7 of the Agreement - guaranteed freedoms of thought, speech, conscience, religion and faith of all citizens of the signatory states  Helsinki Watch groups established.

5HS001 The Cold War. From détente to the Second Cold War. Dr Christopher Norton. Backlash Jussi M Hanhimaki, The Rise and Fall of Détente: American Foreign Policy and the Transformation of the Cold War (2013)  détente a conservative policy designed to stabilize, and reassert, American foreign policy following the Vietnam War  A change of means (diplomacy) rather than goals (containment)  Critics (left and right) argued that it implied acceptance of the legitimacy of the Soviet system  For both - too many concessions had been given to the Soviets, too little received in return Détente in crisis  Nixon impeached in 1974  Brezhnev’s physical/mental decline after 1975 - a major problem  President Carter’s presidency (1977-81) – emphasis on human rights raised tensions with Soviets  SALT-II negotiations – impeded by concerns over Soviet dissidents  SALT-II signed in 1979 – but criticized as too favourable to the Soviets Collapse of Détente  Soviet policy in the developing world appeared provocative and expansionist - e.g. 1979 Soviet intervention in Afghanistan  US response - embargo on Soviet purchase of American grain; cuts in sale of high technology goods; postponement of implementation of SALT-II  January 1980 - ‘Carter Doctrine’ - US would defend the Persian Gulf  July 1980 - Carter approved massive arms procurement programme The Second Cold War  Reagan (1981-89)  A more confrontational stance  engaged the Soviets in an intensifying arms race  Soviets denied Western credits, currency, trade and technology The collapse of détente Olav Njølstad, The collapse of superpower detente, 1975-1980  Détente collapsed because of 5 factors: 1. Lack of mutual trust 2. An absence of common values and visions

5HS001 The Cold War. From détente to the Second Cold War. Dr Christopher Norton. 3. No real economic dependence between the West and the Soviet Union (its economy had little to offer to the West) 4. A lack of mutual restraint The arms race Soviet collapse and détente V. Zubok, ‘The Soviet Union and détente of the 1970s’, Cold War History, Volume 8, Number 4, November 2008  Détente accelerated Soviet degeneration as a result of: a) increased autonomy for Eastern Europe states b) the Soviet economy becoming increasingly dependent on capitalist trade/economic system c) The impact of consumerism in socialist bloc - Soviet goods seen as outdated, shoddy, inefficient  The result - illusion of socialist superiority shattered  Soviet Union’s role as “the vanguard nation of ‘progressive humanity’” questioned...