70s super power detente Flashcards
What is important to remember about 70s context of Nixon?
he faced a huge economic crisis, which was being translated into the world economy, huge problems socially in the USA
Explain the rise of China, in relation to the UN
It was now challenging a bipolar world and starting to engage internationally, e.g. taking up seat on permanent 5
What was France doing that was naughty?
Withdrew from NATO in 1966, was starting to act as a west - east intermediary (improving both Russian and Chinese relations)
In the prelude to detente, what pressures were on Russia?
- 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)
Why could the USSR negotiate from a position of equality?
- It had achieved strategic parity with the USA (built up post CMC)
- USSR had not wasted money on Vietnam
What was the USA situation in the detente period?
- Serious economic crisis
- Nixon and national security advisor kissinger realised the post war world had changed , now multipolar
What was the plan of nixon?
- to bring stability
- secure relations with china to pressure Russian borders
define triangular diplomacy
- way of defining USSR, USA , China relations
When was Ping pong diplomacy?
1971
Exemplify how nixon politics was back door?
- avoided congress e.g. kissenger secretly going to Paris
How many troops were left in vietnam when Nixon took power in 69?
- 400,000
Why was a detente potentially a way to stop vietnam?
- USSR was their main supplier
when was Brezhnev in charge?
- 1964 onwards
What problems was the USSR facing and exemplify this
- 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
What was the first major aspect of detente?
- arms control, reduction military spending
When was the famous nixon Brezhnev summit? What were the outcomes?
- 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)
When and what was watergate?
- June 1972
- Nixon involved in illegal activities like secretly recording opponents convos
Who took over from nixon in 74?
- Ford
When was SALT II ?
- guidelines made 1972 but draft treaty made in 1979 never ratified
- Agreed strategy on delivery vehicles
What was also critically agreed in 1973?
- 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
Exemplify what willy was also doing at this time?
- Soviet west german treaty 1970
- Polish west german treaty 1970
- 1971 free movment
- Treaty between east and west Germany in 1972
What was crucial in 1975?
- Helsinki agreement
What was the Helsinki watch? (linked to the prague spring)
- Habel, holding soviets to account for the human rights it signed up to
Why did detente break down from 1973 onwards?
- 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
How was SALT failing?
- even despite agreements, arms were still rising
- In salt II both sides didn’t one another
what was happening in the late 70s?
- Russian deployment of SS20 missiles targeted W.Europe
- West threatens to deploy cruise and pershing short range missiles unless removed
what are two reasons for breakdown of detente?
- Mistrust with proxy wars
- Said that invasion of Afghanistan was a violation of trust
What did rightward shift in politics mean?
- Reagan
Carter?
Broadly failed to broaden detente and make it more reciprocal, e.g. failure of SALT II
