SUPERPOWER COEXISTENCE AND COMPETITION

The new Cold War- Getting hotter

US Russia

Thomas Furet, Gwenola Giblas, Elana Kruger, Eugenio Gallone and Oliwia Sokolowska
 I- Was
dtente a fundamental change in American
postwar foreign policy?

II- What accounted for the resurgence of East-West

tensions after 1975?
 Dtente
a relaxing of tension,
especially between nations,
as by negotiations Fundamental change:
or agreements. something that changes
significantly.
Was dtente a
fundamental change
in American postwar
foreign policy?

American postwar foreign policy

is a brief overview of major trends
regarding the foreign policy of the United
States from 1945 till early 1970
 EAST-WEST AMERICAN
DTENTE DTENTE
(Soviet Union and China)

Specific regional context SALT agreement

Leader (USA and USSR)

Series of agreement
summit meetings

Increase economic and Regional conflicts

cultural links around the world

Same interests like

Personal and human security
Afghanistan
 INTRODUCTION

The whole process of superpower dtente began with the

Cuban missile crisis, which state would ironically later
also play its own important role in the decline of dtente.
 THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
Cuba was a protectorate of the United States,
under the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who
symbolized foreign domination and inequality.

semi-
economic social
colonial
division division
status

In January 1959, after years of guerrilla, the

revolutionary forces, the Fidelistas, headed by
Fidel Castro, entered Havana.
 United States responded
Fidel Castro turn toward the USSR
approving the Bay of Pigs
for support.
invasion of April 1961.

On 27 October an
American U-2 was shut
down over Cuba.
In 1962 installation of Soviet Naval blockade by United At the same time Kennedy
nuclear missiles in Cuba. States. accepted to remove the
American missiles from
Turkey and Khrushchev did
the same in Cuba.

MUTUAL ASSURED
DESTRUCTION
(MAD)
 Soviet Union and Republic of China
1961
Chinese rejected 1960 Both sides
Ideological
the peaceful No more military were criticizing
differences
co-existence co-operation each other for
revisionism

SINO-SOVIET SPLIT was the the breaking of political relations between the two
nations caused by doctrinal divergences.

China raced ahead In 1969 Soviet Union USA use the SINO-
Start
to register its self- and Chinese troops SOVIET hostility as a
developing its
reliance through clashed on several diplomatic card in
own nuclear
independent occasions along the the Soviet-American
weapon
diplomacy Ussuri River. relationship.
VIETNAM WAR SETTLEMENT

Several attempts at peace talks and Willy Brandt, leader of the Social
peace agreements during the Democratic Party of Germany.

Vietnam War
The different objectives and attitudes
reaches compromises very difficult.

August 1969 : secret peace talks with

Hanois Le Duc Tho
January 1973 = Paris Peace Accords
Henry Kissinger shakes hand with Le Duc Tho, leader of North
Vietnam.
 RELATIONS BETWEEN USA AND THE SOVIET UNION
1972
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT)
=> negotiations between US and the Soviet
Union.

- 1972 = SALT I signed by US restrain the

arms race in strategic ballistic missiles

- May 1972: Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty (ABM)

and Interim Agreement = both signed
by Nixon (US) and Brezhnev (U.S.S.R)

- ABM used to destroy incoming

intercontinental ballistic missiles

- Interim Agreement On May 26, 1972 Richard Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev sign the
SALT I treaty in Moscow
 ARAB-ISRAELI WAR 1973

Egypt and Syria attacked Israeli forces on October 6

United States decided to intervene on behalf of Israel.
After the military confrontation, Israel was more willing to
a peace settlement. USA also when they faced the Arab
oil embargo
U.S. Secretary of State had a negotiation mission that
became known as "shuttle diplomacy
He did not succeed in ending the Arab-Israeli conflict,
but he achieved two disengagement agreements

When Henry Kissinger was sworn in

as U.S. Secretary of State.
 SECOND ARAB OIL
EMBARGO 1973-1974
During Arab-Israeli War, Arab members of the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
announced an embargo against the United States
when the U.S. decided to re-supply the Israeli military

The increase in price of oil --> the potential for

budgetary collapse in less stable economies

USA had to negotiate an end to the embargo from a

weaker international position
By Lurie, 'The Sunday Times', December 2,
1973
 U.S. AND SOVIET NEGOCIATIONS - 1979 (SALT II)
1979= SALT II signed by Soviet Socialist Republics.
established numerical equality between the 2 SALT II and American Society
nations
Basic problem = asymmetry between the strategic
forces of the two countries :
U.S.S.R. = having concentrated on missiles with large
warheads
USA = had developed smaller missiles of greater
accuracy.
SALT II treaty = set limits on the number of strategic
launchers
Limits were put on the number of MIRV missiles
SALT II treaty = signed by President Jimmy Carter
(June 1979).
 CONCLUSION

To conclude, there was a change in the American postwar foreign

policy although it was not a significant one. All the conflicts that we
presented before support this statement. Moreover, they tried to solve
problems diplomatically, but at some point they came back to the
same policy they had during Cuban war.
II- WHAT ACCOUNTED FOR THE RESURGENCE
OF EAST-WEST TENSIONS AFTER 1975?
 INTRODUCTION

1975 : END OF THE VIETNAM WAR

POLITICAL AND ECONOMICAL DEFEAT FOR THE

US

VIETNAM BECAME A SYMBOL

FUNDAMENTAL CONTRADICTION AND

EXPECTATION FOR THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN EAST AND WEST

H Chi Minh
 NICARAGUA, 1979
SOMOZA DICTATORSHIP

SANDINISTA NATIONAL LIBERATION

FRONT (FSLN) OVERTHREW THE
DICTATORSHIP WITH SOVIET AND CUBAN
HELP

AYATOLLAH RUHOLLAH KHOMEINI

CREATION OF THE CONTRAS BACKED UP

BY THE CIA

FEDERAL FOUNDING OF THE CONTRAS

PROHIBITED BY THE US CONGRESS

IRAN CONTRA AFFAIR

Anastasio Somoza Debayle

 IRAN, 1979

THE ISLAMIC REVOLUTION

ECONOMIC DIFFICULTIES AND
SOCIO POLITICAL REPRESSION
AYATOLLAH RUHOLLAH
KHOMEINI
1 APRIL 1979 IRAN BECAME AN
ISLAMIC REPUBLIC
NOV 1979 HOSTAGE CRISIS ->
ANTI WESTERN SENTIMENT

Ruhollah Khomeini
 SOVIET INVASION OF AFGHANISTAN, 1979

Late December 1979: Soviet troops invade Afghanistan in support of

Afghan communist government in its conflict with anticommunist Muslim
guerrillas during Afghan War (1978-92)

remained in Afghanistan until mid-February 1989

Clash with Carters policy of dtente:

Soviet intention:
-Prevent spread of Islamic Revolution?
-Policy of expansionism?
-Attempt to control Middle Easts oil resources?
 Events in Poland,1980-81

Poland in 1980: Soviet bloc country

Wave of strikes formation of Solidarity

No increase in Soviet toleration of pluralism

Boost for Western values -Alexander Haig (US

Secretary of State)

Ending= December 1981: Martial law

 Chinese-American military cooperation

Since 1979: exchanges and cooperation in military

field

Setback for Soviet diplomacy

Other example: evolving French nuclear policy

 REAGAN PRESIDENT, 1981

ELECTED IN 1980 VS CARTER

SOVIET UNION = EVIL EMPIRE

KIRKPATRICK DOCTRINE

END OF THE DETENTE

 Star Wars, 1983

Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) or Star Wars

Publicly announced in March 1983

defensive shield around US as protection

against Soviet missile attacks

Reagan MAD (Mutual Assured

Destruction) doctrine
 Geneva Summit, 1985

19-20 November 1985

Meeting of US president Reagan

and Soviet leader Gorbachev in
Geneva

Test possibility of relaxing the

tensions with direct dialogue

Symbolizes end of East-West

tensions

President Reagan (left) and Soviet leader,

Mikhail Gorbachev (right)
 CONCLUSION

USSR GDP US military spending ( in billions )

 SOURCES

U.S.-Soviet Relations: Goodbye to Dtente (Robert G. Kaiser)

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Carter-Doctrine#ref1221341
http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/collection/11/1980-81-polish-crisis
https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/us-
intelligence-and-the-polish-crisis-1980-1981/index.htm
http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zmgx/ocusr/t946195.htm
http://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/geneva-summit-1985

International history of the twentieth centuty and beyond, A.Best

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/nixon-announces-peace-settlement-reached-in-paris
Many thanks for your attention

President Nixon and his wife