Détente
Reasons for Détente
• The threat of nuclear war
• The 1960s brought major confrontations over both Berlin and Cuba
• The threat of nuclear war was real and both sides desired to reduce the risk
• By the late 1960s, the USSR reached nuclear parity with the US, so negotiations could begin on an
equal footing
Soviet Rationale
• Economic stagnation
• Soviet standards of living were low compared to the West
• Détente could allow resources to be transferred from military to consumer goods.
• Hopes of importing Western technology
• Soviet Unions deteriorating relationship with China
• USSR hoped to keep China isolated from the West by forming a closer relationship with the West
American Rationale
• Nixon's hope of ending the Vietnam War could be aided by North Vietnam's ally putting pressure to
accept the Paris Peace Accords
• Pursuit of realpolitik
• The US no longer saw the world as bi-polar, that the US focus on stopping Communism everywhere
was weakening American standing
• Create balance between 5 great economic and strategic centers
• US, USSR, Western Europe, Japan, China
• Arms control and less military commitments could help strengthen the stagnating domestic economy.
Successes of Dètente
Arms agreements between the US and USSR
• SALT 1, 1972: Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty
. ABM Treaty: Only allowing Anti-Ballistic missiles at two sites, each limited to 100 missiles
. Interim Treaty: Limit the numbers of ICBMs and SLBMs
. Basic Principles Agreement: Committed both sides to work diplomatically if war seemed imminent.
• SALT II, 1974-79
. Limits on delivery vehicles (missiles and long range bombers)
. Ban on testing on deploying new ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles)
. Ultimately never ratified by US senate following the soviet invasion of Afghanistan
European Détente
• Moscow Treaty, 1970: USSR, Poland, and East Germany officially recognize post-WW2 borders
between Germany and Poland
• Quadripartite Protocol, 1972: Agreed to maintain status quo in Berlin, guaranteeing West Berlin's
security.
• Basic Treaty, 1972: East and West Germany accept their mutual existence and increase trade links.
• Helsinki Agreement, 1973-75: 33 Nations agree to 'final act' in 1975
. Security Basket: European borders can not be altered by force.
. Cooperation Basket: Closer economic, scientific, and cultural ties between East and West
. Human Rights Basket: All signatories respect human right and individual freedoms.
The US and China
• US dropped objections to China in the UN and on the UN Security Council
• Trade and travel restrictions lifted
• Nixon visited China to meet with Mao in 1972
• Paris Peace Accords signed in January 1973
Threats to Dètente
• Many in the US felt arms treaties benefitted the Soviets, who could not be trusted to follow through.
• Actions in the Middle East and Africa indicated the USSR was continuing to expand its influence there;
while the US was supporting right-wing regimes in Latin and South America
. October 1973 Yom Kippur War: US suspected the Soviets knew in advance of Egypt's planned attack
on Israel, but the Soviets did not inform the US.
. USSR involved in the Civil War in Angola.
. Soviets supported Ethiopia in their war against Somalia in 1977
. The US supported a coup in Chile ousting popular, left-wing leader Salvadore Allende
End of Dètente
USSR invaded Afghanistan in 1979
• To opponents of Dètente, this showed the Soviet's 'true intentions.'
• SALT II never ratified, exports to the USSR limited, withdrawal from the 1980 Moscow Summer
Olympic Games
Dètente Historiography
• Some argue that it was a success as it reduced tensions, limited arms, and made the Cold War less
unpredictable
• Right-Wing in US considered it a weak policy that allowed the USSR to strengthen itself and gain access
to western technology
. Afghanistan was proof of the failure of détente
. Opened the door for the victory of Ronald Reagan in the 1980 Presidential Election
The Second Cold War
• Ronald Reagan's election followed a wave of anti-communist feelings and a belief that the US had to
reassert power in the World
• Reagan argued that Détente was a failure, a 'one-way street' implying that the USSR could not be
trusted.
• Reagan moved to develop new weapons and delivery systems
• Stealth bombers, trident submarines, and the strategic defense initiative
• The Reagan Doctrine: Assistance to anti-communist governments and insurgents, especially in Latin
America
• Aggressive language towards the USSR; "Evil Empire" "focus of evil in the modern world"
• Soviets shot down a Korean passenger airliner killing over 250 people.
