END OF DETENTE AND SECOND COLD WAR

• EVENTS OF SOVIET INVASION

  • In Sep 1979, the rebel Hafizullah Amin toppled the pro-Soviet government. To begin with, Amin had the support of the USSR.
  • A growing number of pro-Muslim groups attempted to overthrow Amin. This included the Mujahideen.
  • Brezhnev heard rumours that Amin had spoken to the USA to gain their support.
  • On 24th Dec 1979, Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan on the claim that Amin asked for their support. Amin was assassinated on 27th Dec, and Karmal formed a pro-Soviet Union government.
  • The USSR remained in Afghanistan until 1989, and the Mujahideen continued fighting
• CARTER DOCTRINE

  • The US government believed that the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was an attempt to spread communism against the people's beliefs
  • President Carter stated that:
  • The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was the biggest threat to world peace since the Second World War
  • The USA would use force to protect the Persian Gulf
  • The USA had an interest in the Persian Gulf as it contained a significant amount of oil
  • He would impose economic sanctions on the Soviet Union
  • The USA also supplied the mujahideen with weapons and money to fight the Soviet Union
• IMPACT OF INVASION ON COLD WAR TENSIONS

  • The invasion marked the end of détente
  • President Carter withdrew from SALT 2, marking the end of the collaboration between the USA and the USSR
  • Carter also increased US spending on weapons
  • The US public desired the government to take a harsher stance against the USSR
  • Republican candidate Reagan called Carter 'weak' and believed that communism was 'evil'
  • Reagan gained a victory in the 1981 presidential election
  • Increased Cold War tensions and negatively impacted US-Soviet relations
  • The USA and the USSR were more confrontational with each other
• REAGAN DOCTRINE

  • Reagan believed that communism posed a significant threat to the USA
  • Reagan persuaded the US Congress to increase military spending
  • In 1982, the USA spent almost 7% of its GDP on the defence budget
  • Reagan encouraged the development of new weapons such as stealth bombers
  • AIMS OF DOCTRINE
  • Give support to anti-communist groups attempting to overthrow communist governments
  • The US gov financed the efforts of anti-communist groups in El Salvador
  • The US army invaded and overthrew the communist gov in Grenada
  • Reagan wanted to keep communism in the USSR and remove its influence
• SDI

  • Reagan introduced the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) in 1983
  • A popular nickname for the SDI was 'Star Wars'
  • The SDI involved:
  • Sending satellites into orbit
  • These satellites would have the capability of shooting down Soviet missiles by laser
  • Reagan announced the SDI to the US public on 23rd March 1983
  • At this point, the US scientists had not developed the technology to implement the SDI
  • Reagan did not inform the US public that the technology did not exist
  • In the next decade, the US government spent $30 billion attempting to create the SDI
• SOVIET REACTION TO SDI

  • The US announcement of the SDI shocked the Soviet Union
  • The Soviet government had spent an unsustainable amount of money developing nuclear technology to the same levels as the USA
  • By the 1980s, the Soviet economy was failing
  • The Soviet Union could not afford to create a new weapons system
  • The Soviet Union saw the SDI as a significant threat to their safety
  • The SDI broke the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which banned the use of space for military purposes
  • The Soviet Union believed the USA was becoming more aggressive towards them
• IMPACT ON COLD WAR TENSIONS

  • The SDI showed the gap between the USA and the USSR's economy
  • Reagan knew that the US government could out-spend the USSR
  • Announcing the SDI was a tactic to force the USSR to collapse or to accept defeat in the Cold War
  • The USSR's belief that the USA could develop the SDI showed the USA's technological advantage 
  • The USA's development of computers boosted their economy
  • In comparison, the USSR had
  • A lack of consumerism meant that Soviet goods were of poor quality
  • The USSR experienced a skill gap. Many engineers had left East Germany during the Berlin crisis
• CAUSES OF OLYMPIC BOYCOTT

  • In Dec 1979, the USSR invaded Afghanistan
  • The Soviet Union were hosting the next Olympic Games in Moscow in 1980
  • The International Olympic Committee selected the Soviet Union to host the 1980 Olympics in 1974
  • This reflected the mood of détente
  • In reaction to the Soviet Union's actions in Afghanistan, the USA decided to boycott the 1980 Olympics
  • Over 60 nations joined the USA's boycott
• IMPACT OF BOYCOTT ON CW RELATIONS

  •  Heightened tensions
  • The boycott affected the reputation of the USSR
  • The USSR wanted to use the Olympics as an opportunity to show the strength of communism to a worldwide audience
  • Many American networks cancelled their coverage of the Olympic Games. This affected the viewing figures in the West
  • The US government threatened the removal of passports for any US athletes who attempted to travel to Moscow for the Olympics
• USSR BOYCOTTS 1984 GAMES

  • The US boycott had made the Moscow Olympics look substandard
  • Some of the best athletes in the world did not attend
  • This impacted how professional the events looked
  • The lower viewing figures meant that the USSR lost the opportunity to showcase communism to the world
  • The USA hosted the next Olympic Games in 1984 in Los Angeles
  • The USSR organised their own boycott of the Los Angeles Olympics
  • 15 communist nations joined the USSR in the boycott
  • The USSR claimed that the boycott protected Soviet athletes from protest and physical harm from the US audience 
• IMPACT OF 1984 BOYCOTT ON CW RELATIONS

  • The Soviet boycott of the 1984 Olympics worsened US-Soviet relations
  • The USA saw that there was no clear reason for the Soviet boycott
  • It made the Soviet Union look vengeful and petty to the Western world
  • The boycott gave the USA an opportunity to showcase its talents
  • Uncontested, the USA won 83 gold medals
  • CONSEQUENCES: WORSENING OF RELATIONS, NEGATIVE IMPACT ON USSR'S REPUTATION