Was Détente a Success of Failure?
What was Détente?
Success
Failure
- French word for the 'relaxing of tension'
- 1968 - 1980 USA, USSR, the PRC and European Nations - Pursued policies designed to establish stable relations to reduce the threat of nuclear war
- Didn't alter the fundamental nature of the conflict between the nations
- Both sides were still competing for a power influence over the world - Especially in the Middle East and Africa
- 1979 Détente collapsed after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
Success
- Reduced tensions - Nuclear arms reductions, necessary strategy to managing Cold War competition
- Better relations with China, stability in Europe
Failure
- Allowed USSR to strengthen the economy to achieve nuclear parity with the US
- Cold War moved to the Middle East / Africa
- Arms race continued
Soviet Reasons for Détente
- 1960s USSR's economy was stagnating
- Centrally planned economy prioritised arms production over consumer goods - Resulted in low living standards which fuelled discontent
- 1969 Sino-Soviet relationship was ruined after the short border war - USSR sought to isolate China, also a way to enable better relationships with the West
- 1969 USSR had also achieved nuclear parity with the USA - Now in a position to negotiate from a position of strength
American Reasons for Détente
- Vietnam War had isolated the US internationally - Caused tensions amongst allies
- War also took billions of US dollars and appeared to do nothing when it came to the prevention of spreading Communism
- US was desperate to end the war - President Nixon with his foreign policy advisor, Henry Kissinger, called for 'realpolitik'
- 'Realpolitik' made foreign policy more flexible divisions between the USSR and China through negotiation
- Hoped Détente with the USSR and China would put pressure on North Vietnam to end the war
China's Reasons for Détente
- After the 1969 Border War, China wanted better relations with the US to gain leverage over the USSR
- China hoped that better relations with China would help China's long-term aim of regaining Taiwan
- China was also keen to gain access to Western technology like Oil extraction
- 1976 New reforming leadership in China which aimed for greater trade relations with the West
European Reasons from Détente
- Crises over Cuba and Berlin worried European nations who were at the front-line of any potential nuclear war
- 1968 This tension encouraged protests in Czechoslovakia and France
- Both East and West needed to improve their relations for social stability - Chancellor Willy Brandy in West Germany called for 'Ostpolitik' in foreign policy
- Soviet Bloc was keen for a formal peace treaty accepting the new post-war borders in Europe - Wanted to gain acceptance for the division of Germany
- Détente would therefore lead to better economic and political relations for both sides
Successes of Détente - SALT 1
ABM Treaty
Interim Treaty
Basic Principles Agreement
Conclusion
- Biggest policy of success of Détente were in the area of nuclear arms reduction
- 1972 Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT 1) was a landmark treaty
ABM Treaty
- Anti-Ballistic Missiles were allowed at only two sites with no more than 100 missiles
- Ensured the continuation of MAD as a deterrent - Both sides felt secure
Interim Treaty
- Placed limits on numbers of ICBMs and SLBMs
Basic Principles Agreement
- Created rules for the conduct of nuclear war - Committed both sides to promote 'peaceful co-existence'
Conclusion
- Spirit of the co-operation achieved by SALT 1 was followed by visits to Moscow by Nixon in 1972 and 1974
- Brezhnev also visited Washington in 1973
- SALT 1 was a landmark agreement as it became 'institutionalised' in arms control and committed both nations to formal rules and goals
- Some criticised SALT 1 for not going far enough as it only regulated nuclear war - Didn't call for disarmament, allowed both nations to maintain MIRVs
Successes of Détente - SALT 2
- SALT 1 was follower by another treaty - SALT 2
- 1974 negotiations began but were dragged on until 1979
- Treaty called for a limit on nuclear delivery vehicles such as, ICBMs, SLBMs and heavy bombers
- New ban on testing new types of ICBMs and new weapons systems
- Negotiations were criticised within the US as many believed it only limited US power and allowed the USSR to catch up with the US
Successes of Détente - Europe
Moscow Treaty 1970
Final Quadripartite Protocol 1972
Basic Treaty 1972
Agreement on the Prevention of Nuclear War 1973
Conclusion
Moscow Treaty 1970
- Signed by the USSR, West Germany and Poland
- Accepted the border between East/West Germany and the post-1945 re-drawn border between Poland and East Germany
Final Quadripartite Protocol 1972
- Confirmed the division of Berlin
- Legally allowed Western access - Ensured security
Basic Treaty 1972
- Signed by East and West Germany
- Both accepted the existence of each other
- Both sides promised to increase trade links
Agreement on the Prevention of Nuclear War 1973
- Both sides promised to enter consultations in the event of future crises
Conclusion
- Agreements between the two Germany's led to reduction in tensions
- Both sides began to normalise relations
- 1973 the UN recognised both West and East Germany as sovereign states
- East Germany was recognised by the USA
- West Germany stopped calling for reunification
- The USSR was happy as the West had accepted its control over Eastern Europe
- Many criticised the agreements as they gave legal recognition to Soviet control
Successes of Détente - China
- Relations between China and the US began to normalise after Nixon visited China in 1972
- USA dropped its objections to China taking a seat on UN Security control and replaced Taiwan as the official representative of China
- Trade and travel restrictions were lifted and both nations began cultural exchanges
- China allowed students in the West
- Better relations with China gave the US leverage over the USSR in negotiations
Successes of Détente - Helsinki
Final Act Agreement of the European Security Conference
Basket 1 - Security
Basket 2 - Cooperation
Basket 3 - Human Rights
Conclusion
Final Act Agreement of the European Security Conference
- Began in Helsinki in 1973
- Signed on August 1st 1975
- Another landmark agreement committing both sides to cooperation
Basket 1 - Security
- Europe's frontiers were 'inviolable' - National sovereignty and non-interference
Basket 2 - Cooperation
- Closer ties in economics, science and culture
Basket 3 - Human Rights
- Respect for human rights
- Individual freedom on both sides
Conclusion
- Final Act was viewed as a success for both side but for different reasons
- Believed it had committed the USSR to giving more political freedom to people in Eastern Europe
- Hopes to undermine Soviet Control
- Pleased to gain acceptance of Eastern Europe's borders - Strengthening control over the Eastern bloc
- Thought that they could ignore Basket 3
- Many dissidents within Eastern Europe would use Basket 3 to challenge Soviet control
Why did Détente fail? - Yom Kippur
- Many right-wing politicians within the US criticised the SALT and Helsinki Agreements for giving strategic advantages to the USSR
- Moral acceptance of Soviet domination over free countries
- Many feared the USSR was 'tricking' the US
- October 1973 The Yom Kippur War began - Egypt and other Arab states launched a surprise attack on Israel
- Israel was a US ally in the region
- Under the 1973 Agreement on the Prevention of Nuclear War, both sides promised to inform each other if conflict threatened world peace
- Israel and the US were surprised by the surprise attack by the Soviets - Israel was about to be wiped out by Soviet-backed forced
- Israel won the war but the conflict had undermined the US' trust in the USSR and damaged the spirit of Détente
Why did Détente Fail? - Africa
- In Africa the USSR was funding and supporting revolutionary movements
- 1975 the USSR increased its funding for the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) during the Angolan Civil War - Looked like the USSR wanted to increase its influence in Africa
- 1977 USSR sent military supplies to Ethiopia during the Invasion of Somalia - Seemed to confirm Soviet tensions within Africa
Why did Détente Fail? - Economics
- Late 1970s, the US economy had recovered from the devastating oil price crisis of 1973 when the OPEC launched an oil embargo against the Western allies of Israel
- US had begun to strengthen its economic allies around the world and set up the G7 Group - US had less of a need for economic cooperation with the USSR
- Soviet economy has also declined by the late 1970s
- US was clearly in a stronger position and had didn't require Détente policies
Why did Détente Fail? - Afghanistan
- 1979 USSR invaded Afghanistan
- US was already concerned about the USSR's influence in the Middle East
- Confirmed to the Carter Administration that the USSR wanted to undermine the balance of power in the world
- USA responded to the invasion by refusing to sign SALT 2 and by stopping electronic exports to the USSR
- Boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics
- Carter Doctrine committed the US intervention in the Middle East to defend US interests in the Persian Gulf
The Second Cold War - 1980s
Conclusion
- Carter was damaged by his handling of the Islamic Revolution of 1979 in Iran - Islamists led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini forced the anti-Communist US-backed Shah out of power
- Détente ended in 1979 and the US reacted by electing strongly anti-Communist Ronald Reagan in 1980
- Reagan believed Détente had been a failure and believed that the US could win the Cold War by being more aggressive
- 1982 Increased defence spending by 13%, followed by another 8% of the next two years
- Developed new nuclear weapons, stealth bombers, Trident submarines, deployed new ICBMs to Europe
- Strategic Defence Initiative (Star Wars) was launched in 1983 to develop laser based defenced to 'shoot down' Soviet nukes - Undermined MAD
- Reagan Doctrine increased global support for anti-Communist regimes in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Grenada and Afghanistan - Restricted US trade with the USSR
Conclusion
- Seemed that Détente had been a failure
- Early 1980s characterised by increasing tensions between the superpowers
- Brezhnev died in 1982 he was replaced by Yuri Andropov and then Konstantin Chernenko in 1984 - Both leaders were frail and old, did very little to ease tensions
- Relations hit rock bottom in 1983 when the USSR shot down a Korean Airliner travelling from the US to Seoul