- •We’re then going to look at moves in both Western and Eastern Europe towards détente in the period
- •I will finally offer some conclusions.
- •Post-Cuba these pressures became stronger
- •There have been critical voices debating how real the thaw was or not
- •Still in general it was good that the Test Ban Treaty had been concluded – moves away from the idea of general ‘hot’ war between the two sides
- •De Gaulle’s policies linked to other Western European criticism of the cold war status quo
- •One final Western European policy which moved towards détente was the policy of the West German Chancellor, Willy Brandt often called Ostpolitik (or Eastern policy)
- •Europe very important in the move towards détente then
- •A major breakthrough in ussr-Soviet relations came with the signing of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1968
- •Whilst there were moves towards détente during this period there were also other important international events which limited these moves
- •If the Soviets moved away from good behaviour they were to be punished – this policy would be used to great effect with the Soviets but also with the Chinese, we will have a look at that a bit later.
- •From July 1963 the Soviets and the Chinese decided not to set a date for future relations – Sino-Soviet split
- •Mao’s cultural revolution from 1965-9 further increased the difference between the two powers –
- •In July 1971 it was announced that Richard Nixon would be visiting China – from a position of enmity to normalisation of diplomatic relations within a couple of years
- •Moscow summit – May 1972
If the Soviets moved away from good behaviour they were to be punished – this policy would be used to great effect with the Soviets but also with the Chinese, we will have a look at that a bit later.
How did linkage work in ‘practice’? US believed that if détente was to be achieved the Soviets should not play power games and were on their best behaviour. This was tested in a series of conflicts in 1970-71/ The first three on the list above took place in the Autumn of 1970 (sometimes called the Autumn of Crises). First of all there was the election of the Marxist Salvador Allende as the President of Chile, and the United States warned the Soviets not to assist him, the Soviets did help Allende but much less than he wanted.
Secondly the US discovered the Soviets were working on a submarine base in Cienfeugos in Cuba, - this led to strong diplomatic protests on the part of the US (Cuba a very strong issue for Nixon after what had happened to Kennedy). October 1970 Soviets promised not to build a submarine base and Americans confirmed Kennedy’s promise not to invade the island. So the Soviets proved again they would compromise with the States.
Another issue was the outbreak of the Jordanian Civil War in September 1970 in which Syria intervened. The Soviets had supported Syria during the six day war. The United States briefly thought about supporting an Israeli intervention in the area, the Soviets were also on their guard, in the end both sides behaved themselves.
One final major tension in this period was the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971. Tension between India and Pakistan over Kashmir since India and Pakistan independence in 1947. Kashmir’s ruler had chosen to join India despite the fact that 80% of the province were Muslim (and not Hindi). This led to war between the two countries in 1948, leading to ceasefire later that year. From the 1950s onwards India pursued a non-aligned policy (not supporting either the East or the West), whereas Pakistan initially aligned itself to the West – military bases and intelligence gathering. In the 1960s Pakistan moved closer to China (not liked by the United States – no relations with China) whilst still maintaining ties with the West. Tension still high between India and Pakistan - Short war in 1965 ended in stalemate.
By 1971 the situation between India and Pakistan had heated up once more. Tension between East and West Pakistan (West – capital and modern day Pakistan), East modern day Bangladesh. In 1970 parliamentary elections East Pakistanis voted for a party which supported independence. Could have split the country in two, Pakistan sends in troops, martial law. March 1971.
10 million Bangladeshis flee to India – India (which supported East Pakistan independence) and the Soviet Union signed a friendship treaty in August 1971, The United States supported Pakistan. Border incidents November 1971.
In December 1971 the United States sent a fleet to the Bengali bay. Push for a ceasefire December 1971, Bangladesh gains independence. Again the Soviets did not really get involved – only signing a friendship treaty with India. Showed again their good behaviour to the West.
The real genius of US policy was not however their policy of linkage with the Soviet Union but it was their bravery in negotiating with both Mao’s Communist China and the Soviets at the same time. A situation which brought unprecedented rewards. The United States were however lucky with developing Soviet-Chinese mistrust and split in the 1960s but they played the game well enough to get what they wanted.
So how did the Soviet-Chinese split develop? If We remember there had always been tension between the Soviets and Chinese from the birth of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 – Soviets had supported the nationalists for a while during the civil war and had only grudgingly given the communists their support thereafter.
By the early 1960s although they publicly were still prepared to work together relations began to sharply deteriorate. The major difference was their attitude to the Capitalist West. By the early 1960s the Soviets had moved to a default position of coexistence – in public and private. In stark contrast Mao’s China, to spread revolution, use of force argued and inevitable clash with the capitalist world. From 1962 onwards Mao determined to take a more revolutionary approach. Domestically he attacked those who supported peaceful coexistence and he launched an attack on India in the autumn of 1962 (2,000 died on both sides in the month long war).