70s super power detente

Question 1

What is important to remember about 70s context of Nixon?

Answer 1

he faced a huge economic crisis, which was being translated into the world economy, huge problems socially in the USA

Question 2

Explain the rise of China, in relation to the UN

Answer 2

It was now challenging a bipolar world and starting to engage internationally, e.g. taking up seat on permanent 5

Question 3

What was France doing that was naughty?

Answer 3

Withdrew from NATO in 1966, was starting to act as a west - east intermediary (improving both Russian and Chinese relations)

Question 4

In the prelude to detente, what pressures were on Russia?

Answer 4

• Worsening sino soviet dispute in the 60s
• more independence from Romania and Albania in Europe
  (also 1963 - 1968 number of international crises like Vietnam and Czechoslovakia)

Question 5

Why could the USSR negotiate from a position of equality?

Answer 5

• It had achieved strategic parity with the USA (built up post CMC)
• USSR had not wasted money on Vietnam

Question 6

What was the USA situation in the detente period?

Answer 6

• Serious economic crisis

- Nixon and national security advisor kissinger realised the post war world had changed , now multipolar

Question 7

What was the plan of nixon?

Answer 7

• to bring stability

- secure relations with china to pressure Russian borders

Question 8

define triangular diplomacy

Answer 8

• way of defining USSR, USA , China relations

Question 9

When was Ping pong diplomacy?

Answer 9

1971

Question 10

Exemplify how nixon politics was back door?

Answer 10

• avoided congress e.g. kissenger secretly going to Paris

Question 11

How many troops were left in vietnam when Nixon took power in 69?

Answer 11

• 400,000

Question 12

Why was a detente potentially a way to stop vietnam?

Answer 12

• USSR was their main supplier

Question 13

when was Brezhnev in charge?

Answer 13

• 1964 onwards

Question 14

What problems was the USSR facing and exemplify this

Answer 14

• was falling behind with decreasing living standards,
• 24th party congress in 1971 emphasised living standards at the expense of heavy industry
• detente would minimise US threat and nuclear war, would allow USSR to concentrate on domestic issues like increasing economic growth

Question 15

What was the first major aspect of detente?

Answer 15

• arms control, reduction military spending

Question 16

When was the famous nixon Brezhnev summit? What were the outcomes?

Answer 16

• may 1972
• 3 years of negotiation to get there
• ABM treaty limited both sides to two sites (later one each)
• no testing / development
• SALT 1 treaty, stopped both making more nuclear missiles (didn’t cover MIRVS, US kept developing war heads, no restrictions on weapons development)

Question 17

When and what was watergate?

Answer 17

• June 1972

- Nixon involved in illegal activities like secretly recording opponents convos

Question 18

Who took over from nixon in 74?

Answer 18

• Ford

Question 19

When was SALT II ?

Answer 19

• guidelines made 1972 but draft treaty made in 1979 never ratified
• Agreed strategy on delivery vehicles

Question 20

What was also critically agreed in 1973?

Answer 20

• That military confrontation should be avoided, to follow policy of peaceful co-existence and consult when there was a threat to peace
• Soviet American trade agreement (most favoured nation status for the USSR)
• Big grain sales to Russia after a failed harvest

Question 21

Exemplify what willy was also doing at this time?

Answer 21

• Soviet west german treaty 1970
• Polish west german treaty 1970
• 1971 free movment
• Treaty between east and west Germany in 1972

Question 22

What was crucial in 1975?

Answer 22

• Helsinki agreement

Question 23

What was the Helsinki watch? (linked to the prague spring)

Answer 23

• Habel, holding soviets to account for the human rights it signed up to

Question 24

Why did detente break down from 1973 onwards?

Answer 24

• because both side wanted to gain at expense of one another and take advantage of one another over the position of China and third world activity

Question 25

How was SALT failing?

Answer 25

• even despite agreements, arms were still rising

- In salt II both sides didn’t one another

Question 26

what was happening in the late 70s?

Answer 26

• Russian deployment of SS20 missiles targeted W.Europe

- West threatens to deploy cruise and pershing short range missiles unless removed

Question 27

what are two reasons for breakdown of detente?

Answer 27

• Mistrust with proxy wars

- Said that invasion of Afghanistan was a violation of trust

Question 28

What did rightward shift in politics mean?

Answer 28

• Reagan

Question 29

Carter?

Answer 29

Broadly failed to broaden detente and make it more reciprocal, e.g. failure of SALT II