Essay Question What Were The Causes and Achievements of Détente

 

Word count: Date: 26/05/2011

Li Chun Ho (Alvin) IB History HL

Essay Question: What were the causes and achievements of Détente? The Détente, a relaxation of international tension mainly composed by America, Russia and China in the Cold War during the 1970s were due to lack of economic funding, the fear of violent confrontation leading to nuclear destruction and the dependency of countries on the support of  other states. Economic deficiencies in the national budgets of countries meant budgets towards military and weapons were diverted towards improving the economy, compromising the arms race. Due to a number of incidents that generally rose the playing ground from indirect skirmishes between the US and USSR such as the Korea and Vietnam War, this escalated to the threat of  nuclear weapons to achieve goals, such as the Cuba Missile Crisis. An agreement to stop the use of  threatening nuclear destruction was therefore crucial to limit the damage the would-be confrontation would yield. Furthermore, relations between the Communist states deteriorated, causing them to find alternative countries for support. These factors ultimately led to the signing of  treaties such as the Helsinki Agreement and the SALT talks, which drew a line on how defensive the opposing ideologies were limited to using and to dissuade the use of nuclear warfare. Due to their heavy involvement as key belligerents in the Cold War, Russia and America faced mounting economic difficulties. The Vietnam War had cost the Americans at least 28 billion dollars dol lars a year, with nearly 40% of its population employed in the military at that time. Russia also suffered a similar result in its engagement against the Taliban in Afghanistan. Their economic burden was further magnified by the nuclear arms race. Along with factors such as widespread anti-war feelings in the US public coupled with the decrease of living standards contributing to the American Dream , “

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America was pressured to divert its funds from the military sector to improving the country. Likewise with the USSR, living standards under Khrushchev and Brezhnev had deeply disappointed the Russian public by draining funds into the arms race and the Eastern bloc; hence the Soviet Politburo was not prepared to continue this unpopular action. Likewise, the backward economy had discouraged foreign countries, capitalist or communist, to economically invest in Russia. Since poor relations between China and the USSR began to emerge, China wanted to find an ally for support that would prevent isolationism and help open trade. The prospect of escalating confrontation that would eventually lead to nuclear destruction was terribly real that compelled the three states to discussions that would prevent the risk of nuclear war, known as MAD, Mutually Assured Destruction. The threat of using nuclear weapons became realistic after the Korean War and just before the Vietnam War, at the Cuban Missile Crisis. This became an important aspect which encouraged talks between countries of the two dif different ferent ideologies. The US government was influenced by anti-war feelings at home. The Soviets, although having reached the same US missile capability in 1969 felt threatened at the thought of the future arms race that held the world at balance. As of this, the USSR thought she would be in a better position to discuss matters to lower the Cold War tensions with the West, notably the United States. Furthermore, the drifting of relations between China and USSR contributed to the need for relaxing tension. China, perceived as a Communist competitor and ally to the USSR had experienced poor relations in the 1950s. As China began to build up a communist government based on the Stalinist system, Khrushchev denounced Stalinism, calling for peaceful co-existence. Border disputes occurred around the Ussuri River in 1969, sparking a tension in their relationships. This prompted

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Word count: Date: 26/05/2011

Li Chun Ho (Alvin) IB History HL

Essay Question: What were the causes and achievements of Détente? China to find another state who could replace USSR as an ally. The Chinese fear of Isolationism also influenced the Chinese search of a new collaborator. These factors led to the SALT talks; Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty. Although they initially failed, both the US and the USSR agreed in 1972 that limited the use of destructive weapons in a confrontation. Considered the peak of the Détente, this was followed by five more conferences held from 1972-1979 that eventually led to arms control, reducing the use of nuclear weapons at the threat of war, along with other factors discussed in the SALT talks. The SALT II talks helped exactly reduce the number of Soviet active missiles as well as other weaponry by agreeing on a specific number of weapons allowed in Russia. R ussia. These agreements helped avoided another confrontation as risky as the one in the Cuban Missile Crisis. This achievement is highlighted by personal visits when President Nixon visited Moscow twice and Brezhnev visiting Washington during the span of these conferences. These talks were also responsible for increased i ncreased US-Soviet trade that pulled Russia out of a once isolated market where foreign countries were reluctant to invest due to its hostile and ideological views. Later on, the Helsinki Agreement in 1975 focused on the Eastern bloc states that were subservient to Soviet control. It was agreed by the USSR to improve human rights for citizens living in these blocs and to agree on the territorial frontiers of these countries after WW2, including the division of East and West Germany. However, there were no significant improvements to human rights changes in the blocs. It is important to note although tensions were significantly relaxed between America and the USSR, relations between China and the USSR were not notably improved, influencing China to cooperate further with the US government.

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