Cold War - Détente

Question 1

Why was Reagan elected president in 1980?

Answer 1

• USSR war with Afghanistan showed lack of commitment to Détente.
• Many US voters thought Carter too soft on USSR
• Reagan promised to be more harsh on USSR, his election marked beginning of “second cold war”

Question 2

What was the SDI?

Answer 2

• Strategic Defence Initiative (aka the star wars programme)
• SDI would detect and destroy missiles using laser technology before they reached the USA.
• Never completed however did raise tension

Question 3

What were 3 issues Gorbachev faced when he rose to power in 1985?

Answer 3

• Most industries in USSR used old machinery and outdated methods, therefore lower QOL than the west.
• During Détente, Eastern Bloc countries traded and borrowed money from the west which they can’t pay back.
• Second Cold War + Reagan’s SDI led to another arms race which USSR couldn’t afford

Question 4

What was Gorbachev’s ‘new thinking’?

Answer 4

• Glasnost (openness): allow people free speech to restore public trust in leadership.
• Perestroika (restructuring): encouraging more involvement by foreign businesses allowing them, not government, to respond to customer demand.

Question 5

How did Gorbachev impact soviet relations?

Answer 5

• His ‘new thinking’ convinced Reagan he might be able to work with the USSR to try and slow or stop the new arms race (decrease tension + spending)
• Reagan and Gorbachev met multiple times (Switz ‘85, Ice ‘86, WDC ‘87), showing will to communicate
• In WDC they agreed to the INF (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty) where both sides reduced arms instead of controlling arms like before

Question 6

What does SALT stand for?

Answer 6

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks

Question 7

What did USA and USSR agree at SALT (1972)?

Answer 7

To reduce number of anti-ballistic missile sites

Question 8

Which superpower leaders met in 1979 at the SALT II talks?

Answer 8

Brezhnev and Carter

Question 9

Who seized power in Afghanistan in Sept. 1979?

Answer 9

Communist leader Hafizullah Amin

Question 10

What are three consequences of the soviet invasion of Afghanistan on superpower relations?

Answer 10

• Carter Doctrine
• End of Détente
• Olympic boycotts: USSR in 1980 and US in 1984