Reagan and the Second Cold war, 1980s

• 1983 – Soviet delegation walked out of the START Talks.
• SDI: Strategic Defense Initiative 1983


  • (Star Wars programme) Plan for a ground – and space based, laser-armed anti- ballistic missile system, which if deployed would shield the USA from the Soviet ballistic missiles, destroying them in the process. US Congress voted in favour of funds for the project in 1983.
• soviet response to SDI

  • Andropov spoke out against the system saying this was the USA preparing a first strike attack on the Soviet Union – i.e. Reagan finding ways to unleash nuclear war and win. This would give the USA an unfair advantage in any possible conflict, so making it possible for the USA to launch a tactical nuclear war.
• Crisis in the USSR

  • USSR’s economy and that of the Eastern Bloc was in crisis; living standards were extremely low.Militarily, the USSR were bogged down in the war in Afghanistan, which it could not win.
  • Technologically, the USSR were falling behind in terms of weaponry and industry/agriculture.
  • Politically, from 1982-85 the USSR had four leaders so there was great instability – Brezhnev died in 1982; Andropov led from 1982-4; Chernenko led from Feb 1984 – March 1985. All three men had been in their 80s. March 1985 – younger leader appointed, Mikhail Gorbachev.
• USSR outmanoeuvred in arms and space race


  • USSR were unable to compete in terms of economic commitment to new arm’s race. SDI would mean any spending was pointless. Economically the SU was close to collapse so feared further spending – USA knew this so forcing the pace of the Arm’s Race was a good to ruin the USSR for good.

  USA had the first man on the moon in 1969; first space shuttle in 1980.
• USSR had fallen behind, partly due to economic issues but also fear that anti-communist propaganda could be produced so undermining the USSR. SDI and the new technology relied on computerisation so the USSR were unable to compete.