Confrontation and Cooperation, c1963–1972: Cooperation Flashcards
Timeline of events
• 1961
- Sino-Soviet split
• 1962
- Cuban Missile Crisis
• 1963
- US, USSR, UK and France were only nuclear powers
- Summer - report by General Leon Johnson estimated that nuclear war between two nations in 1963/64 would result in a combined 93 million casualties
- June - Washington-Moscow hot-line set up
- August - Moscow Test Ban Treaty
- November - Kennedy is assassinated
• October 1964
- Khrushchev is ousted
- PRC successfully test their first nuclear bomb
• 1967
- LBJ first to use hot-line during Six Day War to tell Soviets he was considering sending air support to Israel
• July 1968
- Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
• 1968-1970
- Most countries in UN sign Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
- France and China privately agree
• 1990s
- France continues to test nuclear weapons in south Pacific ocean
• 1992
- France and China sign Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
• 1996
- China stop testing nuclear weapons in south Pacific ocean
Developments in nulear technology
US keep developing ICBMs under JFK oversestimating missile gap
USSR devlop ABMs (Anti-ballistic missiles, stop missiles reaching their targets) in response
But this advntage is lost when US develop MIRVs (Split into multiple missile heads) in response in 1967 which ABMs can’t stop
Shows arms race continues, has become excessive
Both countries sought to limit spending on nukes after
What pressures did Khrushchev and Kennedy face prior to the Cuban Missile Crisis which affected their foreign policy?
- Both interested in peaceful coexistence
• Khrushchev
- More interested in improving Soviet economy and standards of living
- Challenged by Mao Zedong who claimed he wasn’t revolutionary enough
- Had to show strong anti-western stance to maintain Soviet dominance in communist world
• Kennedy
- Had to adopt strong anti-communist stance to appease opposition
What were Kennedy’s attitudes towards the USSR and nuclear weapons following the Cuban Missile Crisis?
- Believed US should focus on avoiding nuclear war, rather than trying to win one
- Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) encouraged nuclear equality
- Wanted to prevent spread of nuclear weapons to more irrational countries
What report confirmed Kennedy’s beliefs on nuclear weapons?
- Summer 1963
- Presented by General Leon Johnson, director of National Security Council’s Net Evaluation Subcommittee
- ‘Neither the US nor the USSR can emerge from a full scale nuclear exchange without suffering very severe damage and high casualties.’
- Estimated that nuclear war between two nations in 1963/64 would result in a combined 93 million casualties
Which countries were nuclear powers by 1963?
- USA
- USSR
- UK
- France
When was Kennedy assassinated? How did these affect nuclear weapon discussions?
- November 1963
- Delayed talks but didn’t prevent them
What were Khrushchev’s attitudes towards the US and nuclear weapons following the Cuban Missile Crisis?
- Wanted US-Soviet relations to be based on mutual restraint, rather than brinkmanship
- Conciliation important due to Sino-Soviet split (1961) and realisation that foreign policy wasn’t fixed after reconciliation with Tito in Yugoslavia
When was Khrushchev ousted? How did these affect discussions with the US?
- October 1964
- Negotiations persisted under new leadership
When was the Washington-Moscow ‘hot line’ set up? What was its significance?
- June 1963
- Allowed Kennedy and Khrushchev to reach each other 24/7
- Avoided delays in communication like during the Cuban Missile Crisis
- Symbolised new spirit of co-operation
- First used by Johnson in 1967, when he alerted the Soviets that the USA was considering sending air support to Israel in the Six-Day War
Moscow Test Ban Treaty
- August 1963
- Above-ground, underwater and outer space nuclear testing was prohibited
- No on-site inspections, shows trust
- First collective agreement to establish some limitations on the nuclear arms race
How was the Test Ban Treaty limited?
- Underground tests were not prohibited, difficult to detect and differentiate from earthquakes
- France and China refuse to sign - both want to be superpowers
- Both continued to test nuclear weapons in south Pacific into the 1990s
When was the Test Ban Treaty
1963 Aug
When did the PRC first successfully test a nuclear bomb?
- October 1964
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
- July 1968
- Signatories agreed to not share nuclear technology or assist non-nuclear states in developing nuclear weapons
- This prevented non-nuclear states from forming alliances with nuclear states
- Most countries in UN signed between 1968 and 1970
- France and China didn’t sign until 1992, but privately agreed to adhere to terms in 1968
