Transcript
The process of détente in the 1970s ensured that, for a time at least, tensions were
reduced between the USA and USSR. But why did this happen?
There were four main reasons that détente
took place:
1.The Vietnam War2.Money problems in
the USA and Soviet Union
3.Fear of war4.China
The Vietnam War
Vietnam had caused a huge shock for the
USA.
It had struggled to beat a small, poor
country. And thousands of US
soldiers had lost their lives.
As a result of Vietnam, the US was much less confident
about Cold War victory.
It had also grown tired of overseas
war and did not want to fall into another
one.
Fear of war
Both sides also worried about what could happen in a
nuclear war.
The Cuban Missile Crisis had shown how
close such a war could be and caused fear amongst both sides'
leaders.
People in east and west were also scared
of nuclear war.
In the west the campaign group CND
(Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) was
strong. This led to countries such as France and the UK
putting pressure on the USA too.
Money problems
Both sides were also facing money problems in
the 1970s.
The USA and USSR were both struggling to pay for domestic policies e.g.
education, employment so could not afford to keep
building weapons.
In 1973, each sides’ financial problems became even worse.
The 1973 Oil Price Crisis saw the price of oil quadruple, which
led to price increases for all products in all
countries.
China
China had a, influence on détente, especially
after developing nuclear weapons in
1964.
Although it was officially a Communist country, China was not a firm supporter of the Soviet Union.
The USA and China began to develop better
relations. US President Richard Nixon visited
China in 1972.
The Soviet Union worried that this relationship
would weaken them and so sought better relations
with the USA too.
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