The end of the Cold War
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- Created by: Laura Davey
- Created on: 02-06-13 15:24
The role of Ronald Reagan - Triumphalist
- Argues Reagan's hard line approach imposed economic and military pressure on the USSR - the USSR could no longer compete so had to abandon the arms race and the Cold War
- Reagan's successful anti-communist policies included
- A 53% increase in the US defence budget (1981) - Announcement of SDI - 1983
- Uncompromising anti-soviet 'Evil Empire' rhetoric
- Implementation of Reagan Doctrine
- Deployment of cruise and Pershing II missiles in Europe
Criticisms
- Its argued that it oversimplifies a complex historical process and exaggerates the impact of Reagan's hard line approach
- From 1982-84, Reagan's uncompromising stance failed to extract concessions from Andropov - confrontational strategy merely prolonged the war by hardening Soviet resistance
- Reagan's offer to share SDI technology with USSR contradicts the argument that USA aimed to undermine the Soviet Union economically- Soviet scientists concluded SDI was impractical = had limited pressure on USSR
- Reagan and Bush's policy of constructive engagement with Gorbachev produced more significant results e.g. INF Treaty
- Triumphalist view underestimates the role of other factors such as Gorbachevs new thinking an the role of people in Eastern Europe
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The role of Margaret Thatcher
- Many Triumphalist historians seert that she played an important role
- Thatcher supported Reagan's anti-soviet strategy of 'militarised counter-revolution' and later claimed that this US policy was the reason the west 'won'
- She reinforced Reagan's rhetoric - she remarked that the Soviets 'pitiless ideology only survives because it is maintained by force'
- She allowed USA to deploy cruise missiles in Britain - key feature of Reagan's plans to pressure the USSR
- She promoted US policy to other Western European Governements
However
- She also pursued less confrontation policies which contradicted her 'Cold War warrior' image
- 1984 she established a good working relationship with Gorbachev - invited him for talks in London
- She later endoresed Perestroika and acted as a link between Gorbachev, Reagan and Bush
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The role of Pope John Paul II
- Inspiried Catholics in E. Europe and provided moral support for the Polish trade union Solidarity
- Visits to Poland were hugely popular - 12 million poles saw him on his 1979 tour - indicating Catholicism rather than communism commanded public loyalty
- Pope rejected the Polish regime's claim that the Catholic Church had no social role
- 1981, the Solidarity leader and Cahtolic, was blessed by the Pope in Rome - highly significant
- Pope's speeches e.g. 'Do not be afraid' encouraged anti communists and made the Polish people more self confident
However
- Popes influence had its limist
- Catholicism attracted support in Poland and Baltic states, but elsewhere in Eastern Europe it had to compete with other beliefs e.g. Protestantism etc meaning it had less impact
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The role of Gorbachev
He was unwillinging to perpetuate the Cold War stalemate - worked to create genuing East-West understanding by adopting policies to build trust, reduce tensions and solve USSR's economic problems
- Pursued arms reductions
- Negotiated INF treaty
- conducted the START agreement with the USA (reduced nuclear arsenals by 30%)
- He removed the ideological basis of the Cold war - promoted glasnot and perestroika
- UN speech - abandoned the Brezhnev Doctrine - endorsing freedom of choice
- Introduced perestroika reforms into soviet economy (1986)
- Informed East European communsit leaders they would have to govern without Soviet support - 1989
- Glasnost gave the Soviet satellite countries the right to choose their own paths
- Ended 'old-stlye' Soviet aggression and expansionism
- 1988 annoucned soviet forces in Eastern Europe would be reduced by 500,000
- Withdrew Soviet forces from Afghanistan by 1989
- Ended finacial support to Ethiopia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Nicaragua, Angola
- Refused to suppress popular protests in eastern Europe or prevent the liberalisation of the Soviet Bloc
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Criticisms of pro-Gorbachev interpretation
- It oversimplifies a complicated historical process and exaggerates his personal impact
- Main criticisms
- Complex and unpredictable developments that ended the war were beyond one leaders ability to control
- The view underestimates the role played by Reagan from 1984 in seeking a better US-Soviet relationship
- Can underplay the broader structural factors that helped to end the War such as Soviet economic problems and gorwing scoial discontent in the satellite states
- Some soviet commentators have argued that Gorbachev 'caved in' to the WEst due to pressure exerted on the Sovier Union by US campaigns
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Overall assessment of the role of personalities
Strengths
- Focuses on the key individuals who made major decisions or were significant in the years leading up to the end
- Approach is valuable in examining Soviet behaviour, bearing in mind Gorbachev's radical new approach in cold war tensions
- Reveals the constraints and pressures under which the national leaders had to operate during the last stages of the war
Weakenesses
- May exaggerate importance of an individual
- May underestimate the importance of structural factors such as economic problems and social discontent especially in the USSR
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Impact of economic factors
East-West conflict imposed massive economic burdens on the superpowers especially the USSR
Stagnant Soviet economy
- Soviet propaganda always claimed they were on the verge of overtaking USA's economy - K bragged the Soviet Union would bury the USA economically
- 8 years later they predicted industrail production would increase by 50%
- Reality was very different
- Soviet economy was stagnating due to:
- enormous costs of the arms race
- unrealistic production targets
- inefficient central planning methods
- inadequate infrastructure and technology
- corruption within the Soviet elite
- Growing reliance on the export of oil and gas was hit by a downturn in the world enegry prices
- Oil accounted for 15.6% of Soviet exports in 1970 - by 1984 this had risen by over 54%
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Impact of economic factors part II
Technological backwardness
- West imposed a co-ordinated technology embargo on the Soviet Bloc in 1950
- 1974 USA banned the sale of advanced computers to the USSR and its allies
- Soviet system discouraged technological progress - police limited use of computers and photocopiers because of the threat they posed to the states absolute control
- Economic factors interpretation maintains that:
- Cold War placed huge economic strains on both superpowers
- USSR faced mounting economic problems due to
- inefficiency of centralised state economic planning
- the financial burden of maintaining a soviet empire
- the escalating costs of the nuclear arms race
- these economic difficulties prompted Gorbachev's new thinking and compelled USSR to opt out of an unsustainable Cold War
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Impact of economic factors part III
A costly empire
- Soviet empire acted as an economic drain
- USSR's favourable trading arrangements with socialist allies ensure they say relativeily little of their potential wealth
- Energy and raw materials were sold to these states and low prices in return for low-grade industrial or consumer goods
- Between 1981 and 1986 - USSR provided CUba and Vietnam with $4billion and $6billion in aid and oil subsidies
- Warsaw Pact countries recieved a yearly subsid of $3 billion due to cheap oil sent by the Soviet Union
The Arms Race
- Soviet Union in a weaker economic position to cope with high military spending
- USSR's defence expenditure increased by between 4 and 7% each year
- Mid 1980's military budget accounted for 25% of Soviet GDP and 40% of the state budget
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Overall assessment of economic interpretation
Strengths
- focuses on a key structural factor which had an important beaering on the superpowers ability to sustain their policies
- approach is particulary valubale in examining soviet behaviour
- widens the debate about the end of the war beyond the influence of individual people by focusing on long term economic trends
Weaknesses
- Prior to Gorbachev, Soviet leaders continued with Cold War policies regardless of the mounting economic problems
- Reagans' operspend strategy appeared to have little effect on soviet behaviour between 1981 and 1985
- Approach may underestimate the relative importance of Gorbachev and Reagan
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People Power
- widespread protests and demonstrations broke communist regimes - led to a public rejection of Marxist - Leninism
- interpretation focuses on the impact of events from 'below'
- people power offers a central explanation for the transformation of Eastern Europe on 1989 - change was rapid and peaceful
- there was growing popular discontent due to the failure of the central economic planning, continured repression and the moral bankruptcy of communism
Did people power end the cold war?
Yes
- nature of political change in E Europe in 1989 also endoresed the argument because - speedy and largely peaceful - popular pressure pussehd the process much further than Gorbachev wanted
- without Gorbachev's crucial intervention, events would've turned out differently - he abandoned the Brezhnev Doctrine and at times he urged the Polish and East German communist regimes not to use force against protestors
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People Power part II
Did people power end the cold war?
No
- limited as an explanation
- it underestimates:
- the impact of Gorbachevs radical new approach to cold war diplomacy
- the consequences of Reagan's 'militarist counter-revolution' and subsequent accomodation with the USSR for Cold war relations
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