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Home > Modern History > International Studies in Peace and Conflict > The Cold War 1945-1991 > Economic and political reasons for detente

 

• Outcomes
• Key features and issues
• Economic and political reasons for détente
• The needs of the USSR
• The needs of the US
• Geopolitical developments
• Consequences of détente
• Conclusion
• Bibliography

Outcomes

A student:

H1.1	Describes the role of key features, issues, individuals, groups and events of selected twentieth-century studies
H1.2	Analyses and evaluates the role of key features, issues, individuals, groups and events of selected twentieth-century studies

Extract from Modern History Stage 6 Syllabus Board of Studies NSW 2004.

Key feaures and issues

• Origins, nature and impact of détente on the Cold War

From this tutorial you will learn about economic and political reasons for détente, its geopolitical developments in Vietnam, the Middle East and the Sino-Soviet split. You will also learn about the features and the consequences of détente.

The growing seriousness of the international crises e.g. the Hungarian Crisis 1956, Berlin Crisis 1961 and Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, all clearly indicated a need to rethink the United States and the Soviet Union’s conduct of the Cold War. Détente was an attempt to reduce international tensions. It is a French word meaning to slacken, relax or reduce pressure. D. McDougall stated that it was an attempt to seek certain improvements without necessarily being positively co-operative. This was done by agreements to limit the nuclear arms race and to establish meaningful links across the Iron Curtain. The period of détente existed from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s. It lost much of its momentum with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979.

Economic and political reasons for détente

• It was stimulated by developments in both the United States and USSR.
• It involved initiatives taken by European leaders who wanted tensions in Europe reduced.
• It reflected growing awareness of the potential danger of a confrontation leading to a nuclear war.
• It was seen as vital due to the seriousness of the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 which had caused concern across the world.
• It reflected an increased likelihood of war due to increasing efficiency and developments in the nuclear arms race.
• By 1969 the Soviets had matched the capability 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.
• It was due to fear that innovations and improvements in weapons could destroy this balance at any time.

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.
• The Soviets hoped to gain credit for their stabilising influence and control over Eastern Europe.

The needs of the US

• The United States was reluctant to recognise the Soviet sphere of influence over the 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.
• United States’ experiences in Vietnam made Americans think again about the reality of the situation. The Vietnam War had caused high inflation and a large budget deficit and this led once again to isolationist tendencies. It showed, too, that there were limits to American power.
• Détente offered an opportunity to uphold United States interests without resort to military intervention.
• Détente offered negotiation rather than confrontation.
• Détente would allow the influence of the industrial-military complex to be reduced.
• Detente would allow for a reduction in resources going to the military rather than to projects at home. Social reform plans in the United States 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 United States at home).

Geopolitical developments

Vietnam

 From the French pullout of Vietnam in 1954 the United States became gradually embroiled in the Vietnam War. This direct involvement lasted until about 1973 when its policy of ‘Vietnamisation’ of the war began to be implemented. The United States was involved in Vietnam because of its ‘containment’ policy and its belief in the ‘domino theory’. The ‘containment policy’ involved giving financial and military support to any government threatened by communist expansion whilst the ‘domino theory’ was the belief that the states of South-East Asia would fall one by one to communism unless they were supported. During the period of détente, the Vietnam War dominated American thinking. Despite massive support for the South Vietnamese government, it fell to the communist North Vietnam in April 1975. The Soviet Union had been and continued to be, the major supporter of North Vietnam during this time. The United States lost prestige for its failure in Vietnam and was forced to reconsider its policies in the region. It began to seek a closer relationship with China from 1972 and this affected détente with the Soviet Union.

The Sino-Soviet Split

Relationships between the United States and USSR became affected by Sino-Soviet developments.

The new 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 United States as beneficial to its development and standing as well as a way of snubbing the Soviets.

The outcome of these actions of China for the United States 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.

Consequences of détente

Achievements came because the superpowers were prepared to accept the compromises necessary to secure agreements on issues of mutual concern e.g. proliferation of nuclear weapons and a rapid increase in defence budgets.

Treaties such as SALT and the Helsinki Accords were the central achievements of détente but their limited success has been criticised. However, there was more to détente than concrete agreements.

United States – USSR relations during the period of détente

The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) shocked the superpowers into seeking a limit to nuclear arms. This led to several treaties after 1962:

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty – 1963

Non-Proliferation Treaty – 1968

Soviet Union intentions - 1968 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) – 1969

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.

President Nixon’s visit to China in 1972 caused concern in the Soviet Union. This made them more eager to reach agreement with the United States.

SALT I (1969–1972)

ABMs

 The Anti -Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM Treaty or ABMT) 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 two sites, one for each of their capital cities and the other for their nuclear missiles. Thus, there was greater predictability and therefore certainty. It must be remembered that ABMs were in their infancy and that even today are still largely an unrealised dream.

The Interim Treaty

 Both sides agreed to an interim agreement that expired in 1977. Limits were placed on ICBMs (Intercontinental ballistic missiles) and SLBMs (Submarine launched ballistic missiles). 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 (multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles). This situation still benefited the United States.

Each side retained sufficient nuclear weapons to destroy the other several times over.

The Basic Principles Agreement 1972

This laid down the basic principles for the conduct of nuclear war. The agreement called for peaceful co-existence, the avoidance of military confrontations, and no claims of spheres of influence.

Other Agreements

 The Seabed Treaty of 1971 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.

The Helsinki Accords (Agreement) 1975

These Accords were another example of détente. All European countries and the United States and Canada participated in a conference to recognise the existing frontiers of Europe, as set at the end of World War Two. There had been no general peace settlement after the War. The Soviet Union wanted international recognition of the changes that had occurred as a result of the WWII. There was provision in the Accords for some territorial changes on the basis of ‘peaceful agreement’. The Accords also had the objective of increasing the flow of information and even personal contacts across the East-West divide.

Conclusion

 Unfortunately, the period of détente came to an end with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and the fall of the Shah in Iran. These events signalled a new and dangerous period for the superpowers’ relationship. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan killed off the US Senate’s ratification of the SALT II Treaty and the United States humiliation over the seizure of US diplomats in Teheran - saw the United States under Ronald Regan and Britain under Margaret Thatcher set out to roll back the Soviet advances of the previous decade. Détente was dead.

Questions to consider:

1. The 1970’s witnessed detente. Why? 
2. How did the world's major powers attempt to ease world tension?
3. Assess the impact of disarmament talks on Cold War tensions from 1962 – 1991
4. With an in depth discussion of ONE cold war crisis, look at how proxy conflicts caused tension between 1945 and 1991.

Bibliography

McDougall, Derek. Soviet-American Relations Since the 1940s, Hodder & Stockton, Melbourne, 1989.

Spenceley, Geoff. A World In Shadow, US-Soviet Relations in the Nuclear Age, Oxford University Press, New York, 1989.

Walker, Martin, The Cold War. Vintage, Great Britain, 1994.