Détente Flashcards
1
Q
What was détente?
A
A period from the late 1960s to early 1970s in which relations between USA and USSR improved (thaw in Cold War tension).
2
Q
What were the main reasons for détente?
A
- The China-Soviet split - As relations between Moscow and Beijing deteriorated, the USA took the opportunity to build a relationship with the world’s second communist power.
- The lessons of conflict - the Vietnam War showed that nuclear weapons did not help win conventional wars. Neither side wanted war with the other so talking made sense.
- The economic issue - Both countries were spending billions of dollars fighting the Cold War. Continuing the arms race would have bankrupted the USSR.
- The nuclear issue - The Cuban Missile Crisis showed that neither side was willing to use nuclear weapons and bring about their own destruction. There was concern that less stable countries could develop nuclear bombs. Co-operation could help limit the spread of the technology.
3
Q
What was SALT 1?
A
SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) began in 1969. The USA and the USSR signed a number of treaties such as those banning new ballistic missiles and reducing the number of anti-ballistic missile defence systems that could be built. SALT 1 was signed by Brezhnev and Nixon at the Moscow Summit of May 1972. SALT 2 began immediately.
