Détente
The growing seriousness of the international crises e.g. Hungarian
Crisis 1956, Berlin Crisis 1961 and Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, all clearly indicted a need to rethink their
conduct of the Cold War. Détente was an attempt to reduce international
tensions. This was done by agreements to limit the nuclear arms race and to
establish meaningful links across the Iron Curtain. Détente ended with the Soviet
invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979,
though critics have already argued that it had lost much of its momentum.
Causes of Détente
• It was stimulated by developments in both the US, China
and USSR (see below).
• It also involved initiatives taken by European leaders,
especially West Germany’s Ostpolitik, who wanted tensions in Europe reduced.
• Growing awareness of the potential danger of a
confrontation leading to a nuclear war. Cuban Missile Crisis had caused concern
across the world.
• With increasing efficiency and developments in the nuclear
arms race, war seemed more likely.
• By 1969 the Soviets had matched the capability (or ‘nuclear
parity’) of the US for Mutually
Assured Destruction (MAD) with each side
capable of destroying the other, even after a first strike. This situation had
two sides: on the one hand, their economies were threatened by ever increasing
costs and on the other this evenly matched balance of power acted as a
deterrent.
• Innovations and improvements in weapons could destroy this
balance at any time – for example the development of MIRVs.
The needs of the USSR
• After Khrushchev’s dismissal in 1964 the Soviet Politburo
faced mounting economic problems. It needed to deliver improvements to living
standards and that meant decreased spending on the military. Détente could
provide a solution to this problem.
• The Soviets could gain access to much-needed Western
technology and grain supplies.
• They hoped to gain credit for their stabilising influence
and control over Eastern Europe. They were shaken by the opposition to the Czech
Invasion in the communist world, which was
condemned by China, Romania, Yugoslavia and Albania.
• They worried about increasing tensions with China (Sino-Soviet
Border War) and the rapprochement between
US and China which would leave them isolated.
The needs of the USA
• US was reluctant to recognise Soviet sphere of influence
over Eastern bloc. This was a domestic political issue. Many Americans had
Eastern European backgrounds and the American Right did not want to betray
those people living under communist control. They argued, as Dulles did, for ‘roll-back’ of communism.
• US experience in Vietnam made Americans think again of the
reality of the situation. The Vietnam War had caused high inflation, a large
budget deficit and this once again led to isolationist tendencies. It showed,
too, that there were limits to American power.
• Détente offered an opportunity to uphold US interests
without resort to military intervention. Negotiation rather than
confrontation. They could encourage China
and USSR to pressurising North Vietnam for a peaceful end to the war.
• It would allow the influence of the industrial-military
complex to be reduced.
• Social reform plans in the US had been undermined by a
lack of resources that had gone to the military instead. Kennedy’s ‘New
frontier’ and Johnson’s ‘New Society’ had both faced this problem. Urban riots
in 1968 were indicators of the problems facing the US at home.
The Position of China
• Relationships between the US and USSR became affected by
Sino-Soviet developments.
• The Chinese Communist government began to introduce
Stalinist policies at the time that the Soviet Union was abandoning them.
Khrushchev failed to establish a sound relationship with Mao, the Chinese
leader. He failed to consult the Chinese leadership over the policy of ‘peaceful
co-existence’ and Mao set out to compete
with Soviet influence.
• China encouraged Romania to take an independent line from
Moscow and it competed with the Soviets in Third World influence. It also
encouraged territorial disputes along the border with Russia.
• By 1964 China had the atomic bomb and was now regarded as
a superpower.
• The bi-polar world of the early Cold war had changed to
become a multi-polar world with greater complications.
• China set out in the 1970s to end its international
isolation and saw an accommodation with the US as beneficial to its development
and standing as well as a away at snubbing the Soviets. The US could lift its
veto of China’s membership in the UN
• The outcome of these actions of China for the US was to
give it a chance to split the Communist camp and reduce the power and influence
of the Soviets through peaceful diplomacy.
European problems
• In 1968 there were substantial problems in Czechoslovakia.
The Soviets sent the tanks in again.
• The same year in France there were substantial student
demonstrations against both President de Gaulle and the French system of
government.
• Political disorder posed a problem for both the East and
the West in Europe at this time.
• Willy Brandt, West
German Foreign Minister (1966-69) and later Chancellor (1969-74) saw a
stabilisation of European relations as essential to an easing of tensions
across Europe. His ‘Eastern Policy’ or Ostpolitik looked for channels of
communication between East and West. This aided the move towards Détente. This
also encouraged other Western Europeans such as the French to seek dialogue
with countries such as Romania.
Achievements of Détente
Achievements came because the superpowers were prepared to
accept the compromises necessary to secure agreements on issues of mutual
concern eg proliferation of nuclear weapons, rapid increase in defence budgets.
Treaties such as SALT and the Helsinki Agreement were the
central achievements of Détente but their limited success has been criticised.
However, there was more to Détente than concrete agreements.
US – USSR relations
Early treaty attempts had failed.
Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) shocked the superpowers into
seeking a limit to nuclear arms.
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty – 1963
1968 Soviet Union intentions of limiting strategic nuclear
arms faltered after Czechoslovakia. Later in 1968 talks became slow and
protracted and it took until 1972 for an agreement - SALT (Strategic Arms
Limitation Treaty) and ABM treaty
Key issues for arms limitation:
How arms should be limited?
Which types of weapons should be limited?
Problems occurred because of differing weapons systems.
Much of the focus was on existing weapons systems and not
what would be produced for the future.
Nixon’s visit to China in 1972 caused concern in the USSR.
This made them more eager to reach agreement with the US.
SALT I – 1972 This was a series of treaties rather than
one.
ABM Treaty
The ABM Treaty reduced tension caused by the destabilising
impact of defensive weapons. The situation before the Treaty meant that neither
side could be certain that they could strike back if attacked whereas the
Treaty limited each side to two ABM sites. This meant that each side was
confident that the other side could strike back and this made deterrence more
certain. The Treaty agreed to a limit of ABM systems to first two then reduced
to one site. Thus, there was greater predictability and therefore certainty. It
must be remembered that ABMs were in their infancy and that even today it is
still largely an unrealised dream.
The Interim Treaty
Both sides agreed to an interim agreement that expired in
1977. Limits were placed on ICBMs and SLBMs. The Soviets were allowed more of
these than the US because the USA had a large lead in areas such as strategic
bombers.
This was an important step but it ignored new technologies
such as MIRVs. This situation still benefited the US.
Each side retained sufficient nuclear weapons to destroy the
other several times over.
The Basic Principles Agreement
This laid down the basic principles for the conduct of
nuclear war.
The Seabed Treaty banned
the placing of warheads on the seabed.
This agreement extended these guidelines to minimise the
development of nuclear war.
Both superpowers agreed to avoid ‘military confrontations’
and ‘to exercise restraint’ in international relations.
Trade was to be encouraged. US-Soviet trade increased but it
was mainly limited to grain supply to the Soviets. This was seen as a lever for
the US to use against the Soviets.
This was mainly a Statement of Intent but it was a move
forward.
SALT marked a high point in the spirit of co-operation
between the Superpowers. Nixon visited Moscow in 1972 and 1974. Brezhnev
visited Washington in 1973. These visits were symbolic of the new accord
between the Superpowers.
SALT 2 – 1974 – 1979
Despite the SALT 1 Treaty weapons proliferation continued
e.g. Cruise missiles that were small and relatively cheap to produce, could be
launched from aircraft, ships and submarines and could fly below radar
detection. These were not covered by SALT I. In 1974 Gerald Ford, successor to
Richard Nixon, agreed with Leonid Brezhnev to continue the SALT talks on
nuclear arms reduction.
Détente Problems
By 1974 there were a number of problems for détente and in
the US many argued that it was a failure because:
• After its loss in Vietnam, it appeared that US power was
shrinking
• The situation with the Soviet Union was more
confrontationist e.g. in Africa, the US and Chinese supplied one side in Angola
whilst the Soviets flew in Cubans for the other.
• The US concluded fresh trading agreements with the Chinese
and opened formal diplomatic ties. This antagonised the Soviets.
• The US suspected the Soviets knew about their ally Egypt’s
attack on Israel in the Yom Kippur war (1973) The Soviets were locked out of the Camp David agreements over the Middle East (1978) and felt slighted as a
result.
• In 1972 the US Senate cut into the US-Soviet trade treaty
which had underpinned détente.
• The Soviets became more concerned about encirclement once
again with Communist China being included in this concept.
• Human rights were becoming a bigger issue especially when
the Soviets had signed Basket 3 of the Helsinki
Agreement (1975). Dissidents behind the Iron Curtain were
encouraged by the agreement and now gained international publicity. Alexander
Solzhenitsyn, Jewish ‘Refuseniks’ in the USSR, the Soviet nuclear scientist, Andrei
Sakharov and Charter 77 in Czechoslovakia kept human rights issues in the
news –and the Soviets under pressure.
• Intermediate nuclear missiles were not covered by the SALT
agreements. When the USSR replaced ageing missiles with new (and therefore more
powerful) SS-20s, the US took this as
an escalation and moved equivalent Cruise missiles into Europe.
The Cold War continued but so too did attempts to limit it.
By the mid-1970s the Soviets had achieved nuclear equality with the US with
each side being able to destroy the other, many times over. The next US
President, Jimmy Carter, (1977-1980), started off by criticising the previous
administrations' positions at the arms talks, however, in June 1979 SALT II was
finally signed. It continued significant limitations on weaponry including
nuclear delivery systems. There was considerable criticism in the US and the
Soviets had invaded Afghanistan in late 1979 and the US Senate failed to ratify
the treaty. Ronald Reagan, (1981-1988) the next US President, refused to seek
its ratification. This signalled the end of détente.
No comments:
Post a Comment