Why did detente take place?

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.