Economic and Political Reasons for Detente

Question 1

Introduction

Answer 1

For both the US and USSR a range of economic and political developments yielded a significant impact on the emergence of détente. The USSR were primarily motivated by their economic failure and desire to recalibrate trade with the America. Comparatively, the US saw Detente as a political opportunity to recover their global image following the US loss in Vietnam (1967).The predominant US motivation for detente emerged from their political desire to covertly re-establish American exceptionalism following the damaging fallout of their loss in Vietnam. Comparatively, the Soviet Union’s involvement in detente sought to resolve their fears of global isolation following the Sino-Soviet split and ameliorate the economic losses they faced as a consequence of the escalating arms race. Thus, Detente was caused by a combination of political and economic factors, with the US motivated predominantly by political factors alongside smaller economic concerns, and the USSR motivated predominantly by economic factors alongside smaller political concerns.

Question 2

Soviet - Economic Reasons

Answer 2

• By the late 1960’s, the USSR economy was stagnant precipitating low living standards and unrest amongst the population. This was not only causing immense social consequences but was also inhibiting their ability to keep pace with the space and arms races of the Cold War.
• Following Khrushchev’s dismissal in 1964, the Soviet economy, which had grown rapidly through the 1950s and 1960s, began to stall after 1970.
• Of particular concern was a lack of growth in the agricultural sector, which caused food prices to increase by between 50 and 100 percent.
• This was combined with the necessity to support several failing Soviet bloc states, placing addition constraints on the Russian economy. For example, in Poland , the Soviet Union provided substantial loans, subsidised energy exports, and sold oil at below market prices to help stabilise Poland’s economy.
• Soviets were forced to decrease military spending, an integral aspect of the arms race which sustained the Cold War.
• Comparatively, from 1961 and 1967 the US economy was growing at double the rate, underscoring the economic reasons for détente in halting the costly arms race.
• Exacerbating this decline in economic growth was the USSR’s inability to maintain economic input, which according to CIA records, “failed to balance competitive defence spending with modernisation of industry.
• Historian John Lewis Gaddis contends, “the USSR could put a man in space but they could not provide the most simple needs of its people” clearly highlighting the failings of the USSR economy in precipitating détente.

Question 3

US - Economic Reasons

Answer 3

• The Vietnam war had caused the US economy billions, totally an estimated $168 billion by 1975.
• By 1968, the US had over half a million soldiers stationed in Vietnam, and the expenses associated with their deployment were unsustainable.
• President Lyndon B Johnson’s decision to fund the war without raising taxes created fiscal imbalances, leading to inflation and weakening the dollar.
• Despite their economic growth remaining twice as high of that of the USSR’s, conflict in the middle east threatened to impede on the US trading of oil.
• Economically detente provided a useful opportunity for Americans to not only increase their economic growth following the war, but to also monitor threats to their economy in developing nations.
• It also provided the US prospects for trade with the USSR and China, which both had largely untapped markets which could prove highly profitable.
• By the early 1970s, the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates was unravelling, adding further instability to the international economic system.
• The US government, under Nixon, ended the gold standard in 1971, a decision that marked significant changes in the global economic system. In this context, reducing geopolitical tensions through détente was seen as a way to foster more stable international relations.
• US also recognised that its European and Asian allies, such as West Germany, France and Japan, who had been rebuilding their economies after World War Two, were becoming more economically independent. Continuing the Cold War at the same intensity risked overburdening these allies, particularly in terms of defence commitments, which could apprehend weakening the Western bloc economically.

Question 4

Soviet - Political Reasons

Answer 4

• Largely motivated by their political fears of isolationism following the Sino-Soviet Split.
• Recognising that the Soviet Union desperately need to stabilise their global affairs, both in Eastern Europe and on the Sino-Soviet border, according to historian Mike Bower “it was clear to [Brezhnev] that nothing could be done until the Soviets had alleviated their economic struggles’’. - - By the late 1960s, the Soviet Union as well as the US were acutely aware of the dangers presented by nuclear conflict. Both sides had achieved mutually assured destruction (MAD), meaning that nuclear confrontation would result in catastrophic for both. According to Robert Oppenheimer, “the nuclear crisis in Cuba had made clear that the US and USSR are like two scorpions in a bottle”.
• Thus, politically, détente was seen as a clear way to mitigate the risks associated with an uncontrolled arms race.
• The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 had brought the world to the brink of nuclear warfare, demonstrating the dangers of uncontrolled rivalry.
• Détente was thus a mechanism to reduce direct confrontations and to build the facilities for diplomacy. - Détente was able to restore the USSR’s global prestige, demonstrating that their ideological framework could cooperate in peaceful coexistence, and negating their aggressive image.
• Their support of “Ospolitik” sought to stabilise the German question and enhance Soviet influence in Europe. In signing the 1970 Moscow Treaty, the USSR appeared increasingly less hostile. Thus whilst the USSR were undoubtedly motivated by political factors, their involvement in Détente was predominantly a result of their desperate need to consolidate their economy in order to continue their technological expansion and increase the living standards within the country.

Question 5

US - Political Reasons

Answer 5

• The American loss in the Vietnam war had isolated the US internationally, strained relations with their allies, and greatly damaged the US global perception.
• Decrease in international prestige revealed a failure of a military option to achieve efficacy in containment. - -
• Desire to covertly re-establish American exceptionalism following the damaging fallout of their loss in Vietnam.
• Historian G.Paterson describes the shift of of American foreign policy was “away from containment through confrontation, and towards containment through negotiation”.
• Amidst their humiliating loss in Vietnam, the USA saw detente as an opportunity to consolidate their political relations, notably with China, in an attempt to regain global pre-eminence In the hopes that relations with China would push the North Vietnamese towards a solution, as well as allow the Americans to monitor both the USSR and China through negotiation, rather than confrontation.
• Furthermore, détente allowed the U.S. to pivot its foreign policy focus from military confrontation to diplomatic engagement, offering a way to manage superpower relations without appearing weakened. By opening diplomatic channels with both the Soviet Union and China, the U.S. sought to exploit the Sino-Soviet split, thereby positing both powers against each other to its advantage.
• The 1972 Nixon visit to China marked a significant strategic move in this regard, as it not only fostered economic and diplomatic ties with China but also sent a clear signal to the Soviet Union that the U.S. could potentially align with their communist rival, leveraging geopolitical tensions in its favor.
• Furthemore, this triangulation of U.S., Soviet, and Chinese relations was a key element of the American strategy during détente, providing the U.S. with greater leverage in Cold War negotiations.
• By engaging in arms control agreements like the “Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT)” and signing the “Helsinki Accords” in 1975, the U.S. was able to present itself as a peace-seeking nation, counteracting the negative image fostered by the Vietnam War.
• These agreements helped the U.S. to stabilise its relationship with the Soviet Union, while also offering opportunities to contain Soviet influence through diplomatic means, as opposed to the costly and often ineffective military interventions of the past.
• The Nixon administration, in particular, saw détente as a way to demonstrate that the U.S. could maintain its global supremacy not solely through military strength, but through strategic diplomacy, economic influence, and realpolitik. In addition, the massive anti-war protests of the late 1960s reflected growing domestic opposition to the Vietnam War, putting political pressure on Nixon.
• The administration’s inability to secure a military victory, coupled with the fallout from events like the Cambodian invasion and Pentagon Papers, further damaged U.S. credibility. Nixon and Kissinger recognized that aggressive military containment was unsustainable, leading to détente with the Soviet Union and China.