Reducing the number of countries with Communist governments
SDI
A weapons system armed satellites with lasers to shoot down missiles
Nuclearumbrella
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 worldleader and stand up to Communism
Reagan took office in January1981 and his two terms as president (8 years) saw the start of the SecondColdWar 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 ChristianEvangelicals - 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 spiritualfight between right and wrong
Reagan encouraged the US Congress to increase their support of the USarmedforces and in 1982, defensespendingincreased by 13% with another 8%increase in 1983 and 1984
The US military also developed two new pieces of military technology: the Tridentsubmarine and the stealthbomber
All this restarted the arms race, increasing tension
In 1985, Reagan announced the ReaganDoctrine, which said that the US would support anti-Communistgovernments throughout the world and also supportanti-Communistgroups, or insurgents, in their activities against Communist governments
The US also invadedGrenada and overthrew the Communistgovernment – a clear example of 'rollback' and an action that increasedtension
The StrategicDefenceInitiative (SDI), or StarWars, was a hugely ambitious military project to weaponize space
It involved putting satellites in orbitaroundearth that had lasers on them that would shoot down Sovietmissiles, creating a 'nuclearumbrella' that would protect the US from Sovietattack
This went against the 1967OuterSpace Treaty which had bannedweapons in space
The knowledge that the US had found a way to make existing missile technology out of date and useless came as a massiveshock to the Soviets and therefore increased tension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 November1989
In Romania, violence was used to overthrow Communism, unlike the largely peaceful revolutions in other Eastern European countries
In Romania, the armyjoined the rebellion against Communist rule in December 1989, hundreds of people were killed in clashes with the secretpolice and communist forces, and Ceausescu and his wife were shot by firing squad on 25thDecember1989
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