Cold War: Superpower relations Flashcards
What was Nixon’s strategy for relations with China?
Rapprochement - Establishment of harmonious relations
Why did Nixon want better relations with China?
A part of his election campaign was to remove US troops from Vietnam. This involved détente with Moscow and Beijing.
When did Sino-American relations begin to improve?
March 1969, after the Sino-Soviet border conflict.
Why did China want better relations with the US?
To develop trade and technology.
What was the first step towards rapprochement?
1971, the Chinese invited the US table tennis team to tour around China. This is where the term ‘ping pong’ diplomacy comes from.
What happened in October 1971, to improve relations between the US and china?
The US ended its veto on the entry of China into the UN. This meant that the PRC were formally admitted into the UN.
When did President and Mrs Nixon visit China?
1972.
When/where did Nixon announce the Nixon doctrine? What did he announce?
1969, Nixon held a conference on Guam (US island territory). He stated that the US would expect allies to maintain their own military defense.
What is the ‘One China’ policy?
The policy states that there is only one country of China, despite the fact there are two regimes. This was to deal with tensions between Taiwan and China.
What was the goal of the Nixon doctrine?
To end US involvement in Vietnam and equip the South Vietnamese forces for fighting.
What were the 3 main points of the Nixon doctrine?
US would keep all of their treaty commitments
The US would provide a shield if nuclear power threatened an ally.
The US would give military and economic assistance in accordance with their treaties. BUT they would look to the threatened nation to provide the majority of manpower.
What is domino theory?
The idea that the fall of one state to communism would result in a chain reaction leading to the fall of other states.
Why did Mao intervene in Korea?
Chinese feared an attack on mainland China
Mao claimed he made a deal with Stalin
Worry over comments from US General MacArthur, who expressed desire to invade China
Wanted North Korea as a buffer state from US influence.
What were the consequences of US and China interventions?
China gained prestige, as they didn’t lose to the US.
Mao was angry with Stalin because he withdrew support for Chinese actions in Korea.
US moved the 7th fleet into Taiwan Straits to prevent conflict in Taiwan.
US imposes a total trade embargo on China
US persuaded the UN to declare China as the aggressor in Korea. On this ground, China was denied its seat in the UN Security Council.
Who replaced Stalin when he died?
when?
1953 Nikita Khrushchev
When was Khrushcehv’s ‘secret speech’? What did he talk about?
1956, the end of Stalin’s personality cult.
He spoke about his doctrine of peaceful coexistence. He still believed in a communist-dominated world, but thought this would occur via the recognition of his superior ideology - not force.
How did Khrushchev plan to win over non-aligned states to his communist ideology?
Through economic aid
What did Mao call Khrushchev’s move from Stalinism?
Soviet revisionism.
When was Dwight Eisenhower elected as US president? What was his promise?
- Promised that the US would ‘roll back on Communism’ and be ‘tougher on the Soviets.
What was Massive Retaliation? What did critics have to say? When was it changed?
A military strategy which supported the US responding with nuclear response in case of attack or aggression.
that it was too excessive
When John Kennedy was elected, he amended the policy to be more flexible.
When was the Warsaw Pact signed? Who signed the Warsaw Pact? What prompted its creation?
1955 Signed by all USSR states, apart from Yugoslavia.
Triggered by the admission of West Germany into NATO.
Who signed the Warsaw Pact? What prompted its creation?
Signed by all USSR states, apart from Yugoslavia.
Triggered by the admission of West Germany into NATO.
What did the Warsaw Pact do?
A commitment to defend each other against any attack on another member, (designed to counteract NATO).
Armies of member states were under the control of the Red Army in Moscow.
Only time they ever did anything was in the Prague Spring 1968.
What did the Hungarian Uprising show?
1956
Nagy then announced Hungary’s withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact.
Khrushchev ordered Russian tanks to crush the revolt and promptly executed Nagy.
That Khrushchev was only tolerant to a point, when it came to the independence of satellite states.
US and UN protested against Soviet actions in Hungary, but only with words. Showed that the tough talk from Eisenhower was only rhetoric - not action.
What was Khrushchev’s proposal for Germany? What was the US response?
He proposed uniting Berlin and keeping it as a free city in East Germany, to help deal with tension.
The West was unwilling to give it up because of its propaganda value in undermining the Soviets. Kennedy made it clear when he was elected that the West would never give up Berlin.
What was the plan made in light of Khrushchev’s proposal for Germany?
Build a wall to divide the two spheres. This achieved the Soviet aim of stabilizing East Germany and containing western influence.
When was the Berlin wall built?
August 1961
What was the main effect of the nuclear arms race on both countries?
Huge economic strain
What did the Soviets launch in 1957, which made it seem they were winning?
launched the first ICBM. They also launched Sputnik in October 1957.
Who ‘won’ the nuclear arms race?
The balance favored the US overall. Khrushchev often exaggerated the Soviet Union’s nuclear abilities.
What was the first proper step towards positive Sino-Soviet relations? when? What did China gain
- Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance
Soviet technicians and experts were also sent to China and economic aid
When did the relationship between PRC and USSR begin to fade?
1953, after the death of Stalin
relationship between Khrushchev and Mao was not good.
big personality conflicts and ideological differences, especially around the strategy of ‘peaceful coexistence’. Mutual dislike.
Mao attacked the Soviet policy of peaceful coexistence. What were the consequences?
All Soviet experts were withdrawn from China
The Soviets did not help in the 1961 famine. Instead Canada and Australia supplied grain.
China became more independent of the Soviets.
What was the 1962 Sino-Indian War? How did it affect Sino-Soviet relations?
Border conflict in the Himalayas. It was provoked by India. Khrushchev supported the Indians, but China quickly won the war anyway.
This made Mao appear noble and strong.
outline how the cuban missile crisis worsened sino soviet relations
Mao criticized Khrushchev’s handling of Cuban missle Crisis
Who replaced Khrushchev?
when?
Brezhnev replaced him in October 1964.
When and what was the Prague Spring?
1968
Alexander Dubček’s During the Prague Spring, he announced his intentions to bring liberal change
Warsaw pact countries entered and took control of Prague. Dubček and other government members were forced to sign a document appealing the reforms.
An example of the Brezhnev Doctrine.
What was the Brezhnev Doctrine?
The Soviet Union had the right to use military force to maintain the rule of the communist party in socialist countries.
What was the US response to the Prague Spring?
Nothing except passively hope for victory.
When was the Sino-Soviet Border conflict? When did tensions begin to recede over the borders conflict?
both nations left one another to seek better relations with the US.
What mentality emerged surrounding nuclear weapons after the Cuban Missile Crisis?
MAD (mutually assured destruction).
When and what were the agreements of SALT 1?
1972 First time US and Soviets agreed to limit their nuclear arsenals. Critics point out the talks were only to limit nuclear weapons, not to destroy them.
When did Nixon become the first US president to visit Moscow?
May 1972
Who was elected Chancellor of West Germany in October 1969? What was his aim?
Willy Brandt. He wanted to move West German politics away from confrontation with the DDR.
He developed Ostpolitik. This meant opening relations between two Germanies and avoiding isolation in the east.
Why did the Soviets support Brandt’s actions?
They saw a chance to gain acceptance of divided Germany
When did Brandt sign the Moscow Treaty? What did it mean?
August 1970. Recognised the division of Germany and the loss of former German land to Poland.
When was the period of detenté?
1963-79. It began after the Cuban Missile Crisis and ended with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Why did the Soviets want to pursue a period of detenté with the USA?
Brezhnev was dealing with economic problems in Russia, predominantly caused by the arms race.
Now that Soviets and US had pretty equal nuclear power, the Soviet leadership supported a reduction in defense spending to improve the standard of living.
Brezhnev wanted to repair the Soviet image after the Prague Springs and the breakdown of the Sino-Soviet relations.
Why did the US want to pursue detenté with the Soviets?
The US had a climate of reconciliation due to the Vietnam War.
Kissinger supported a ‘deepening’ of American policy. He felt the US had focused too much on specific hotspots (Cuba, Vietnam, Germany) rather than the big picture.
Reduced the risk of war and moved Moscow into the international system.
Nixon was not interested in aggressive foreign policy, as long as the Soviets didn’t challenge the US.
Who was the US President in 1974?
Gerald Ford. Nixon had been forced to resign after the Watergate Scandal.
When was SALT 2 signed?
1979 (by then Jimmy Carter was President). But as the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, the agreement never passed through the Senate.
What was the US interpretation of détente?
it was a renegotiation of relations now they didn’t have nuclear equality with the Soviets. It was also a chance for them to play the Soviets against the Chinese.
What was the Soviet interpretation of détente?
The Soviets used détente to steer the arms race and improve trade links with the West, as well as increase their prestige as the communist superpower.
