The Global War: Confrontation between the superpowers -> The Cuban Missile Crisis: outcomes and consequences

Question 1

How was the Cuban Missile Crisis a flashpoint in the Cold War?

Answer 1

It was an exemplar of the dangers which attended Cold War brinkmanship
- Realise they have to start communicating

Question 2

What was the legacy of the crisis for the key states involved?

Answer 2

• US (success for Kennedy, superior military power, aggressive)
• Soviets (reactionary, Khrushchev humiliated)
• Cuba (still Communist, the limits of containment exposed by Castro)

Question 3

What were the significant outcomes of the Cuban Missile Crisis?

Answer 3

• Arms control - ‘nuclear-proliferation’ - became a serious issue for the first time
• The Cuban Missile Crisis also made it clear that reliable, direct communication between the USA and USSR was a necessity
  -> Established a ‘hot line’ between the White House + Kremlin
• CMC also demonstrated that the strategy of brinkmanship was played out - it led to an easing of relations between the US + USSR during the 1960s, and paved the way for detente in the 1970s

Question 4

What led to the “Hot Line” between Washington and the Kremlin?

Answer 4

• The Cuban Missile Crisis made it clear that reliable, direct communications between the USA and USSR was a necessity
• It took the US nearly 12 hours to receive and decode Khrushchev’s 3000 word initial settlement
• Rectified by the “Memorandum of Understanding Regarding the Establishment of a Direct Communications Line” (June, 1963)

Question 5

What examples of communications are there between the US and USSR?

Answer 5

November 1963: US tell the Soviets that Kennedy was assassinated
June 1967: Soviets get in touch with the US as a war breaks out between Israel vs Egypt, Syria and Jordan

Question 6

How was arms control and “nuclear non-proliferation” imposed? (treaty)

Answer 6

• “Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and Under Water” (October 1963)
• Major contributory factor in the development of detente

Question 7

How was the test ban treaty not a genuine step towards reducing Cold War tensions?

Answer 7

• There was no obligation on states to sign up: China and France didn’t
• No provisions for underground testing -> implicit sanctioning of testing nuclear weapons underground encourages nuclear proliferation among the major nuclear powers
• After three months, the signatories could restart testing if they thought that their vital national interests were at stake by not doing so

Question 8

What New Weapons System was launched at the same time?

Answer 8

• MIRVs: carries 5 smaller, less powerful rockets
• ABMs: Anti-Ballistic Missiles

Question 9

How did the Cuban Missile Crisis lead to Detente?

Answer 9

Mutual brinkmanship was a key motivating factor in emerging “easing of strained relations”

Question 10

When does Detente start?

Answer 10

In January 1969 when Richard Nixon becomes President

Question 11

How can it be argued that the CMC did not lead to Detente?

Answer 11

• Cuba doesn’t really ease tensions; they only decide they need to communicate
• The CMC sowed the seeds for Detente in 1962
  -> the seeds don’t send up shoots until 1967-68
• When Detente blossoms in 1969, it doesn’t end the Cold War
  -> both sides still committed to winning

Question 12

What could be argued in conclusion about the CMC?

Answer 12

• On balance, the outcomes were significantly more favourable than the withdrawal might suggest at face value
• However, the US emerged more triumphantly from the crisis than did the USSR
• The crisis heralded a turning point in international relations and that benefited both the USSR and USA
• Aspects of the dynamics of international relations and Cold War interaction had moved the bipolar world closer towards greater cooperation prior to the era of detente which was to follow