Second cold war

• Reagan Doctrine


  A statement of US foreign policy made in 1985
• Roll back


  Reducing the number of countries with Communist governments
• SDI


  A weapons system armed satellites with lasers to shoot down missiles
• Nuclear umbrella


  The idea of being protected against nuclear weapons
• During the campaign, Carter was described as weak and indecisive and Reagan was called an extremist and warmonger
• Carter had the attitude the US would solve its problems by all pulling together, whereas Reagan said that the US should reclaim its position as world leader and stand up to Communism
• Reagan took office in January 1981 and his two terms as president (8 years) saw the start of the Second Cold War and an increase in tension between the US and the Soviets and eventually the end of the Cold War
• Two years into his presidency, Reagan made a speech to a group of Christian Evangelicals - Christians who focus on scripture in the Bible - in which he called the Soviet Union an 'evil empire' he said that the Cold War was a moral and spiritual fight between right and wrong
• Reagan encouraged the US Congress to increase their support of the US armed forces and in 1982, defense spending increased by 13% with another 8% increase in 1983 and 1984
• The US military also developed two new pieces of military technology: the Trident submarine and the stealth bomber
• All this restarted the arms race, increasing tension
• In 1985, Reagan announced the Reagan Doctrine, which said that the US would support anti-Communist governments throughout the world and also support anti-Communist groups, or insurgents, in their activities against Communist governments
• The US also invaded Grenada and overthrew the Communist government – a clear example of 'rollback' and an action that increased tension
• The Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI), or Star Wars, was a hugely ambitious military project to weaponize space
• It involved putting satellites in orbit around earth that had lasers on them that would shoot down Soviet missiles, creating a 'nuclear umbrella' that would protect the US from Soviet attack
• This went against the 1967 Outer Space Treaty which had banned weapons in space
• The knowledge that the US had found a way to make existing missile technology out of date and useless came as a massive shock to the Soviets and therefore increased tension
• Mikhail Gorbachev


  Soviet leader who introduced 'new thinking' policies to reform the Soviet system
• Gorbachev's 'new thinking'


  • Aimed to reform the Communist Party and Soviet system
  • End the arms race
  • End the Brezhnev Doctrine
  • Introduce policies of perestroika and glasnost
• Perestroika


  Gorbachev's policy to reform and reconstruct the Soviet economy to make it more efficient
• Glasnost


  Gorbachev's policy to allow freedom of speech in the USSR and encourage 'openness'
• Gorbachev's 'new thinking'


  Reduced tensions between the superpowers
• How Gorbachev's 'new thinking' reduced tensions

  • Abandoning the Brezhnev Doctrine
  • Signing the INF Treaty to reduce arms
• At the Washington Summit in 1987, the INF Treaty was signed by Reagan and Gorbachev
• The INF Treaty eliminated nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500-5,500km
• Gorbachev's 'new thinking'


  • Aimed to improve standards of living
  • Give Eastern European countries more independence from Soviet control
  • Reduce or remove Soviet troops positioned in Eastern Europe
• Gorbachev rejected the Brezhnev Doctrine in 1988
• Sinatra Doctrine


  Confirmed that members of the Warsaw Pact could now choose their 'own ways' of living and governance, recognising their freedom of choice
• Hungary opened its border with Austria in May 1989


  Created a 'hole' in the Iron Curtain, allowing thousands of East Germans to escape to West Germany, undermining the purpose of the Berlin Wall and contributing to its fall in November 1989
• In Romania, violence was used to overthrow Communism, unlike the largely peaceful revolutions in other Eastern European countries
• In Romania, the army joined the rebellion against Communist rule in December 1989, hundreds of people were killed in clashes with the secret police and communist forces, and Ceausescu and his wife were shot by firing squad on 25th December 1989
• Gorbachev's 'new thinking'


  Encouraged reform in Eastern Europe which soon got out of control
• Gorbachev ended the Brezhnev Doctrine


  Eastern European countries gained more independence
• Gorbachev announced the reduction or removal of Soviet troops from many Eastern European countries in a 1988 UN speech


  This contributed to the dissolution of the Eastern bloc
• Reagan's anti-Communist policies


  Encouraged Eastern European people to rise up and challenge Communist rule
• People power in Eastern Europe


  Saw an end to Soviet control, with groups like Solidarity in Poland and armed rebels in Romania overthrowing Communism from within their own countries
• Eastern European countries were encouraged by one another to reform


  Rapid introduction of reform throughout all countries by 1990
• The Berlin Wall fell

  November 1989
• The fall of the Berlin Wall


  Marked the end of the Cold War
• The fall of the Berlin Wall

  Caused the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe