What caused détente and what did it achieve ?

Homework this week: 1970-85

Détente is a French word meaning Relaxation

Vietnam

Arms Race

1973 Oil Crisis

Relations with China

Nixon

USA & China Why is the US president (77-81) hitting Taiwan? (Taiwan is an island off the SE coast of China where nationalists retreated in 1949 when communists took over China; Taiwan lost its place in the UN to China in 1971) Why is the General Secretary being hit by the Chinese leader? What was ‘Ping-Pong Diplomacy’ and who benefited? (who were annoyed?)

Reasons for Détente: assessment Arab-Israeli War Poverty Price rise Protests Brezhnev visits Washington, 74 US reputation Visits Moscow, 72 Inflation Visits China, 72 Co-operated with USSR in support of North Vietnam Sino-Soviet split

1: East & West Germany As part of the policy of Ostpolitik, the Basic Treaty was signed in 1972. In this treaty the Federal Republic of Germany and German Democratic Republic committed themselves to developing normal relations on the "basis of equality, guaranteeing their mutual territorial integrity as well as the border between them, and recognizing each other's independence and sovereignty".

2: SALT A ceiling was placed on the number of ICBMs that each side could deploy for a period of five years (October 3, 1972, to October 3, 1977). The effect of this limitation was to freeze the existing number of American ICBMs at 1054 while permitting the Soviet Union to expand its ICBM arsenal from 1530 to 1618. A temporary stop of equivalent duration was declared on the construction of submarine-launched missiles (SLBMs), leaving the Soviet Union with 950 missiles in 62 submarines compared to 710 American missiles in 44 submarines. The SALT I agreement limited each side to the deployment of 100 ABM launchers and interceptor missiles at two sites, one to be the national capital and the other to be an ICBM missile base

MIRVS: Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicles

3: Co-operation in space: Apollo & Soyuz, 1975

4: Helsinki Conference, 1975

Assessment Why USA supported this Why USSR supported this /10 Co-operation between GDR & FRG Arms reductions Co-operation in space Helsinki Agreement

Détente had both strategic and economic benefits for both superpowers Space SALT I Helsinki Conference Ostpolitik

Why was there a Freeze in the 1980s? Carter told Congress not to ratify SALT II Soviets invade Afghanistan, 1979 Soviets slow to improve human rights US boycott Moscow Olympics, 1980 Soviets boycott LA Olympics, 1984 Star Wars developed by Reagan

Soviets invade Afghanistan, Christmas Day 1979

Annotate the map: think of at least two reasons Afghanistan was important to the Soviets

Reagan

Strategic Defence Initiative

Reagan’s Nicaragua policy Who is the figure on the left and why is he pointing a gun? Who is the figure bottom right and who did she support? How would the Soviets react to US policy in Central America?

Criticising Reagan: Evidence that Reagan was viewed as too aggressive? Evidence that he was spending too much money on arms? Evidence that he was ruling in an un-democratic way?

PLENARY: Why has the cartoonist chosen to exhibit Détente in this way PLENARY: Why has the cartoonist chosen to exhibit Détente in this way? What events led to this situation? Caption?