1980s

• 1980

  • Carter issued Carter Doctrine highlighting his defence of the Persian Gulf - condemning USSR's aggressive invasion of Afghanistan. renewed cold war hostilities.
• 1981

  • Reagan president - not in favour of detente instead favoured unilateralism and building US strength economically
• 1982

  • Nov - USSR leader Brezhnev dies and is replaced with Yuri Andropov
• 1983

  • March - Reagan announces funding for Strategic Defence Initiative (Star Wars) - criticised for costing too much and demanding too much from technology. despite criticism Reagan remained committed to it as he felt mutually assured destruction (MAD) was not a reliable defence
  • Sep - South Korean flight KAL 007 shot down by USSR killing 61 Americans. USSR accused US of spying - increased cold war tensions. USSR leader took the view that Reagan had abandoned detente and was intent of achieving military superiority - USSR increased surveillance on US and they increased counter surveillance
• 1984

  • USSR president Andropov dies - replaced by Konstantin Chernenko
• 1985

  • March - Chernenko dies - replaced by Mikhail Gorbachev
  • Nov - Geneva Summit - Reagan and Gorbachev, no agreement reached but they projected an image of success in that the 2 leaders sat down and discussed nuclear limits. 'a nuclear war can never be won so must never be fought'
• 1986

  • Feb-April - Gorbachev introduces new polices to reform USSR's economic decline
  • April - Chernobyl nuclear reactor explosion - 49,000 people evacuated from the contaminated area. USSR struggled to deal with the contaminated area. highlighted dangers of nuclear power
  • Oct - Reykjavik Summit - US and USSR met to discuss limiting nuclear weapons. no agreement reached, Reagan kept insisting SDI
• 1987

  • Dec - Washington Summit - Reagan and Gorbachev sign INF treaty (Intermediate range nuclear forces treaty) setting a deadline of 1991 for the destruction of all intermediate range missiles (USSR destroyed 1846 while US destroyed 846
• 1988

  • June - Moscow summit - Reagan visits USSR - declares he no longer views them as an 'evil empire' - START talks are not agreed upon instead 7 treaties on culture are signed
• 1989

  • Feb - Soviet troops pull out of Afghanistan
  • November - fall of Berlin Wall
  • Dec - Malta Summit - George Bush more cautious and Gorbachev meet - end of cold war economic conflict. USSR moving towards a market driven economy and reducing state controls - USSR visit NATO