Era of Detente 1969-1979 by 1969 both the Soviet Union and the United States were willing to build a new relationship based on detente as proposed by Henry Kissinger, detente would lower the risks of nuclear war and provide for a more predictable international order

Nixon and China the most surprising expression of detente came with the opening of relations between the U.S. and the People’s Republic of China against the background of border tensions and potential Soviet attack Mao was now open to the offer of negotiations with the U.S.

President Nixon was also eager to begin what Kissinger would characterize as a “ major event in American foreign policy” both China and the U.S. increasingly perceived the Soviet Union as a common threat

another factor in the equation was the desire on the part of China to bring the Vietnam conflict to an end domestic issues in China and the U.S. also encouraged rapprochement Kissinger and Zhou Enlai met secretly in Beijing in July, 1971

the Nixon visit came in February, 1972 Mao and Nixon meeting of minds “History has brought us together” - Nixon

U.S./U.S.S.R. Kissinger accepted that both sides must compromise the Cold War status quo would be maintained but this raised questions regarding America’s commitment to its core moral values

early in his presidency in 1969 Richard Nixon announced what became known as the “Nixon Doctrine” Nixon explained that in future America’s Asian allies should defend themselves and not rely on the commitment of American troops the goal was to avoid further Vietnam-like situations

against the background of U. S against the background of U.S. involvement in Vietnam, a deteriorating Soviet economy and its worsening relations with China detente was viewed as advantageous to both superpowers

at the heart of detente lay the question of nuclear arms limitation in late 1969 the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks began Nixon and Brezhnev signed the SALT I accords in Moscow in 1972 an ABM Treaty was also agreed

the ABM Treaty restricted each side to two missile-defense systems the SALT I agreement sought to freeze strategic missiles at 1972 levels both countries were eager to slow the arms race SALT I legitimized the logic of MAD

the provisions of SALT I was criticized on a number of counts the agreement failed to restrict the number of warheads for each missile imbalances existed in so far as the Soviet Union had a greater number of ICBMs

even allowing for U.S. superiority in long- range bombers critics demanded adjustments in September 1972 the Jackson-Vanik amendment was passed by Congress this provided that all subsequent arms agreements would provide for numerical equality

the background to SALT II involved Soviet modernization of their nuclear arsenal in 1977 they had begun deployment of new, highly accurate intermediate- range missiles -SS-20 against targets in western Europe Carter respond with a commitment to place Pershing II and cruise missiles in western Europe

the SALT II negotiations were based on Jimmy Carter’s proposals for significant reductions in nuclear weapons following the guidelines established at the Vladivostok negotiations in 1974 agreement was finally reached between Carter and an ailing Brezhnev in 1979 - SALT II

however, with opposition in Congress to the agreement the treaty failed to receive Senate approval NATO’s ratification of the American proposal to install Pershing II and cruise missiles was followed by the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan in 1979

prior to the Soviet invasion a Marxist coup had overthrown a pro-American government in Kabul in April, 1978 the new government found itself embroiled in a civil war, with little popular support fearing that the Kabul leadership might be open to a relationship with the U.S. the Soviets decided to intervene to secure their southern border

the Soviets acted in the belief that their intervention would achieve its goals in a mere “three or four weeks” Carter responded to the Soviet invasion by withdrawing the SALT II treaty from the Senate, imposing embargoes on grain and technology shipments to the U.S.S.R. and announcing a U.S. boycott of the Moscow Olympics

the 1970’s appeared to be a period when the Soviet Union was in the ascendant SALT I had acknowledged strategic parity U.S. and western economies were impacted by the Arab oil embargo following the 1973 Israeli-Egyptian war

the Iranian revolution- 1979- had led to the overthrow of a key American ally in the region and the holding of hostages in Teheran in Nicaragua the Marxist-inspired Sandinistas had removed the American-backed dictator Somoza - 1979

Gaddis, however, argues that through the 1970’s the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies were “on the path to decline” detente was merely “concealing their difficulties” developments in eastern Europe would reveal the inherent weaknesses in the Communist bloc

Helsinki Accords beginning with the Ostpolitik policy of West German Chancellor Willy Brandt a new relationship was developing between western Europe and the eastern bloc in 1970 Brandt signed a nonaggression treaty with the USSR he also accepted Poland’s western border

in 1972 the two Germanys recognized each others legitimacy Brezhnev, eager to have formal recognition of the postwar division of Europe, encouraged the convening of a “Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe”

Brezhnev made a number of important concessions to achieve this goal advance notice for military maneuvers; peaceful change of international borders recognizing “the universal significance of human rights and fundamental freedoms” as present in the UN’s Declaration of Human Rights

the Soviets, however, believed that they could interpret the meaning of “human rights” in their own fashion - “We are masters in our own house” Foreign Minister Gromyko both writer Alexander Solzenitsyn and physicist Andrei Sakharov had been silenced for voicing criticism of the Soviet system

Brezhnev based his search for an agreement with the West on the premise that the status quo of the eastern bloc would remain unaltered in early August 1975 Brezhnev, Ford and other leaders attending the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe formally accepted the provisions of the “Final Act”

in the United States critics of the Helsinki Accords and the policy of detente which it represented, claimed that it only served to maintain Soviet domination of eastern Europe Ford, challenged by Carter and Reagan in the ‘76 presidential election, blundered in his comments on eastern Europe partly aided by such gaffes, Carter won the ‘76 election

the Helsinki Accords were to have a significant impact was on the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies groups emerged in the Soviet Union and eastern Europe - Charter 77 in Czechoslovakia - demanding government respect for human rights the Helsinki process had become the basis for “legitimizing opposition to Soviet rule”