detente
Is it fair to say detente had failed due to actions of both powers by 1979?
Alex Polanski
Detente was an international policy that was mainly taken up by the USA, USSR and their respective allies. However due to various actions taken by both sides, it had failed by 1979, returning to the pre-detente era 1950’s Truman style conflict.
One way in which both the USA and USSR had failed detente was through the lack of any decisions being agreed on during the SALT 2 negotiations of 1979. The SALT 2 negotiations were set up in order for the Soviet Union and the USA to ratify agreements made in SALT 1 as well as come to new agreements in terms of arms limitation including limiting the number of MIIRV missiles. These talks therefore did not cause any major steps in terms of halting the arms race and very little was agreed during the 1972-79 period. This was partly due to the change in power of the USA changing from Nixon to Carter in 1977. The change in power was a main factor in causing the breaking down of negotiations due to the fact that Carter approached USA-USSR relations in a way that was more closely related to Eisenhower or Kennedy than Nixon as shown by his “Carter Diplomacy” speech where he himself announced the change in policy. On the other hand, it can also be argued the Soviet Union also played a part in making sure nothing new was agreed or ratified at SALT 2 by invading Afghanistan which Carter claimed was a violation of “international rules of behaviour” and therefore shut down negotiations in the US senate in 1980 because of this. This showed the failure of détente as it showed the USA not wanting to co-operate with the Soviet Union and the USSR breaking international rules of engagement by invading Afghanistan which signified the end of SALT 2 as well as the end of détente.
Another way in which both powers can be seen to have caused the end of détente is through the actions that took place by both the USA and the Soviet Union during the
Alex Polanski
Detente was an international policy that was mainly taken up by the USA, USSR and their respective allies. However due to various actions taken by both sides, it had failed by 1979, returning to the pre-detente era 1950’s Truman style conflict.
One way in which both the USA and USSR had failed detente was through the lack of any decisions being agreed on during the SALT 2 negotiations of 1979. The SALT 2 negotiations were set up in order for the Soviet Union and the USA to ratify agreements made in SALT 1 as well as come to new agreements in terms of arms limitation including limiting the number of MIIRV missiles. These talks therefore did not cause any major steps in terms of halting the arms race and very little was agreed during the 1972-79 period. This was partly due to the change in power of the USA changing from Nixon to Carter in 1977. The change in power was a main factor in causing the breaking down of negotiations due to the fact that Carter approached USA-USSR relations in a way that was more closely related to Eisenhower or Kennedy than Nixon as shown by his “Carter Diplomacy” speech where he himself announced the change in policy. On the other hand, it can also be argued the Soviet Union also played a part in making sure nothing new was agreed or ratified at SALT 2 by invading Afghanistan which Carter claimed was a violation of “international rules of behaviour” and therefore shut down negotiations in the US senate in 1980 because of this. This showed the failure of détente as it showed the USA not wanting to co-operate with the Soviet Union and the USSR breaking international rules of engagement by invading Afghanistan which signified the end of SALT 2 as well as the end of détente.
Another way in which both powers can be seen to have caused the end of détente is through the actions that took place by both the USA and the Soviet Union during the