E5 1972-1985

By mahaa.05
  • Period: to

    Soviet economic problems

    25% of Soviet gross national product (GNP) was spent on soviet military supplies in the hopes of closing the gap between USA & USSR done as a result of CMC & disadvantage of nuclear possessions compared to the US

  • Willy Brandt appointed

    Oct
    Chancellor of FRG
    Abandoned Hallstein Doctrine (1955) objectives:
    recognise GDR & territorial changes that had occurred post WW2, particularly the Oder-Neisse border between GDR & Poland
  • Period: to

    Deng visits USA

    for Deng, the establishment of a positive sino-american r/s gave china access to US-dominated global markets for Carter, the r/s strengthened USA's ability to manage the development of the USSR as a growing threat to US interests

  • US 40 Committee in Chile

    post elections
    this was set up to initiate covert operations against Allende. allocated funds to undermine allende's regime
    CIA Involvement- over $3mil spent on propaganda against Allende

  • Salvador Allende voted in Chile

    Allende was a Marxist and committed Chile to democratic communism. did not command a majority. USA saw Allende as another Castro
    why does USA care?
    - american businesses had significant interests in chile's copper and silver mines, and a us company dominated chile's telecommunications system
    - fear of chile succumbing to communism
  • Period: to

    US-World Bank-Chile

    USA convinced WB not to lend money to Chile and withdrew all its economic aid = spiralling economy, inflation & unemploymeny

  • Oder-Neisse border treaty

    recognition
    closer to establishing Ostpolitik

  • Ulbricht replaced w Eric Honecker

    May

  • Sino-American r/s normalised

  • Nuclears in Paks

    The Pakistan government announces its intentions to research and build nuclear weapons

  • Nixon & Mao meetings

    Nixon arrives in China holding meetings with Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai (leading figure in the CPP) & other Chinese leaders

  • Biological Weapons Convention

    The US, the Soviet Union and 107 other nations sign the Biological Weapons Convention, agreeing to ban production of these weapons. The Biological Weapons Convention, or Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, is a disarmament treaty that effectively bans biological and toxin weapons by prohibiting their development, production, acquisition, transfer, stockpiling and use.
  • Period: to

    Moscow Summit

    established 'The Basic Principles of Relations between USA & USSR'
    3 main principles:
    -avoid nuclear tensions
    - avoid situations that would damage peaceful co-existence
    -do everything in their power to placate increasing international tensions LIMITATIONS:
    -these basic principles had no legal status
    - USA saw these as aspirations rather than as a solid basis for detente, whereas USSR saw this to be of fundamental importance

  • Interim Agreement

    Interim Agreement on the Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms:
    established a 5 year freeze on strategic missiles
    ICBMs:
    USA, 1054 USSR, 1618
    SLBMs:
    USA, 656, USSR, 740
    Strategic bombers:
    USA, 450 USSR, 140 Limitations- no limits on developing new tech, MIRVs & cruise missiles not discussed

  • SALT I- COMMENCE DÉTENTE

    limited both sides to construct 2 fields of ABMS with only 100 missiles = significantly restricted strategic value of ABMs = no significant competition to further develop ABM defence tech = made the race to develop offensive strategic nuclear weapons less critical reinforcement of MAD, as both powers regarded the treaty as a fundamental contribution in preventing possibility of a nuclear war This treaty acted as a crucial component in curbing the race in strategic offensive weapons

  • Four Power Agreement on Berlin

    The Soviet Union, US, Britain and France sign the Four Power Agreement on Berlin. This agreement recognises the existence of two Germanys and the Allied presence in West Berlin. It reestablished travel and communications between East and West Berlin, and contributed to the easing of tensions between the Western and Soviet blocs:

  • USA & USSR grain deal

    the Nixon administration announced a deal to sell $750 million in grain to the Soviet Union
    Also, The US signs a trade deal with Moscow, agreeing to sell the Soviets 10 million tons of wheat and corn at subsidised prices

  • Egypt & USSR tensions

    Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat orders 20,000 Soviet advisors out of the country.

  • Basic Treaty

    The signing of the Basic Treaty, with East Germany and West Germany recognising each other as sovereign states. This marks the beginning of Ostpolitik.
    This was a critical moment in European detente. It not only settled relations, but it also provided the route in which other European nations could establish relations w the GDR a critical moment in european detente. galvanised more diplomatic relations between GDR & the west, eg 1973, UK, France & Netherlands opened diplomatic r/s w GDR

  • Australia recognises GDR

    The government of Australia formally recognises East Germany and announces the resumption of diplomatic relations.

  • US withdrawal from Vietnam

    By March, the last American combat troops leave Vietnam. A small contingent remains in Saigon to protect American diplomats and civilians

  • FRG & GDR join UN

    By the end of sep 1973, FRG & GDR were members of the UN

  • Allende dies

    sep
    replaced by Augusto Pinochet- he opened chile's economy to global forces and transformed Chile as a south american economic power. his power was guaranteed through his dictatorship

  • Paris Peace Accords

    The signing of the Paris Peace Accords formally ends American military involvement in the Vietnam War.

  • Brezhnev on TV

    Leonid Brezhnev became the first Soviet leader to directly address the American people on television and radio. Brezhnev speaks about the recent improvement in US-Soviet relations.

  • GDR part of UN

    by sep 1973, both FRG & GDR = members of UN
  • Period: to

    Yom Kippur War

    October 6th: Egyptian forces launch a surprise attack on Israel, triggering the Yom Kippur War. October 9th: The Soviet Union is almost drawn into the Yom Kippur War after one of its ships is sunk by the Israeli Navy. The US later threatens intervention, if the Soviets attack Israel.

  • end of SEATO

    June

  • China aid to FNLA

    june
    china- 120 military advisers

  • Moscow Summit

    The Moscow Summit of 1974 was a summit meeting between Nixon and Brezhnev It was held June 28–1 July 1974. It featured the signing of the Threshold Test Ban Treaty (TTBT)*. The visit was the final one of Nixon's presidency as he would give his resignation speech in August of that year. TTBT was signed in July 1974 by the USA & USSR. It establishes a nuclear "threshold" by prohibiting nuclear tests of devices having a yield exceeding 150 kilotons after March 31, 1976.

  • Watergate Scandal

    US president Richard Nixon resigns after the Watergate scandal. Gerald Ford is sworn in as president.

  • USA & FRG begin diplomatic r/s

  • Vladivostok Summit

    10 year framework plan;
    - seen as the 1st move towards a SALT II treaty
    - ussr agreed to equal levels of ICBM & SLBM launchers US congress passed resolutions for Vladivostok SALT agreement by feb 75, despite having internal opposition bc of the high level of weapons retained and the apparent gains by the USSR far from the official SALT II agreement, because US argued the limit on air-to-surface missiles only applied to ballisic missiles, while USSR argued it also included cruise missiles

  • Communism in Africa

    Communist groups seize power in African nations Angola and Mozambique. Both countries eventually fall into civil war.

  • more US aid to FNLA

    JULY
    Kissinger persuaded ford to send $25mil in supplies & $16 mil in arms to FNLA

  • US aid to FNLA

    jan
    usa- $300k covert aid
    shows ideological divide on how USA supported FNLA & USSR to MPLA

  • NV wins Vietnam war

    North Vietnamese troops seize control of Saigon, bringing the Vietnam War to an end.

  • Portugal withdraws from Angola & Mozambique

    Portugal withdraws from Angola and Mozambique, where Marxist governments are installed, the former with backing from Cuban troops. Civil war engulfs both nations and involves Angolans, Mozambicans, South Africans, and Cubans, with the superpowers supporting their respective ideologies.

  • Apollo-Soyuz Project

    The US and USSR undertake their first joint space mission, marking the end of the ‘Space Race‘.
    This joint effort between the two major world players was based on SALT I signed in 1972, and it set a precedent for future joint efforts, such as the Shuttle-Mir Program and the International Space Station.

  • Helsinki Accords

    This was with 35 states agreeing to improve relations and communication with communist nations
    created the Helsinki Final Act
    Basket 1- security in Europe
    Basket 2- co-operation in Science, Env, Econ, Tech
    Basket 3- Cultural, humanitarian co-operation

  • Soviet and Cuban forces install a communist government in Angola.

    feb

  • MPLA victory

    march
    the MPLA proclaimed the creation of the People's Republic of Angola in Nov 1975,but not formally recognised by other African states through the Organisation of African Unity until Feb 1976
    Although Cuba withdrew troops early in 1977, they promised PRA military aid if they faced threat, particularly from South Africa- Cuban-Angolan relations increased
    USA didn't see PRA=direct strategic & econ threat they didn't want to be involved due to their involvement w Vietnam

  • 12k Cuban troops supporting MPLA

    this was the case by late jan

  • Treaty of Friendship Cuba & USSR

    Relations w both Soviet Union and Cuba developed well, to the extent where USSR ratified a 20 year Treaty of Friendship between the two nations in Oct 1976
    Cuba seen as an agent of USSR interests

  • Sino-Soviet tensions

    A bomb explodes at the gate of the Soviet embassy in Beijing. Four Chinese civilians are killed.

  • Poland Economic Crisis

    The socialist government in Poland raises food prices, sparking several days of strikes

  • Vietnam unified

    North and South Vietnam are formally reunified. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is proclaimed.

  • Mao dies

  • Death of Mao

  • The ‘London Club’ nuclear non-proliferation agreement

    The ‘London Club’ nuclear non-proliferation agreement lays down guidelines for the sale and transfer of nuclear materials and equipment. The agreement is signed by the US, USSR and 15 other nations. Nuclear Suppliers Group
    The NSG is a voluntary association of nuclear supplier countries that works to prevent nuclear proliferation by implementing guidelines for nuclear and nuclear-related exports

  • Somalia invaded Ogaden

    July
    Conflict over Ogaden caused Soviet & Cuban intervention
    Colonial Mengistu Haile Mariam (Ethiopia) appealed to Cuba & USSR = increase of soviet sphere of influence

  • Charter 77

    242 Czechoslovakians publish “Charter 77“, an open letter criticising its pro-Soviet gov for failure to protect human rights. Several people involved in drafting/signing the charter are persecuted, arrested and jailed. Charter 77 criticised the gov for failing to implement the human rights provisions of a no. of documents it signed, including the 1960 Constitution of Czechoslovakia, the Final Act of the 1975 Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Basket III of the Helsinki Accords)

  • Carter inaugurated as president

  • Carter speech to UN

    In an address to the United Nations general assembly, Jimmy Carter promises his foreign policy will focus on protecting human rights around the world.

  • SEATO formally dissolved

  • Castro aids Ethiopia

    feb
    supplies 15k soldiers- regarded with respect by Brezhnev- he congratulated Castro

  • Somalia-Ethiopia war ends

    proxy war conflict lasted only one year
    importance of conflict:
    - tensions declined in Soviet-Cuban r/s
    -led to intensified 'rollback' eg. US toppling of Grenada gov
    -Just proxy war, not physical
    -CW policy in 70s mainly focused on Asia & Middle East eg. Iran, Afghanistan rather than Africa
    - invasion of Afgh officially suspended detente

  • Carter suspends production of a planned neutron bomb.

    underscores commitment to nuclear agreements w USSR

  • Daoud overthrown

    Afghanistan

  • Deng Xiaoping announces the reform and opening up of China.

    The first stage, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, involved the de-collectivization of agriculture, the opening up of the country to foreign investment, and permission for entrepreneurs to start businesses. However, a large percentage of industries remained state-owned.
    The reforms led to significant economic growth for China
    china's economy increasing by 9.5% a year

  • Taiwan Relations Act

    China saw US interference in Taiwan as a blatant interference in China's internal affairs = treaty USA ceased to aid Taiwan militarily
    Deng assured USA that the Taiwan issue would be resolved peacefully this confronted the obstacle between sino-american relations

  • Sandinista (Pro USSR) takes power in Nicaragua

    July
    Reagan administration supported Contras (opposition of Sandinistas) through CIA funding, HOWEVER, reagan was found to be guilty of conducting illegal acts while trying to support the contras eg pressuring taiwan & israel to fund, breaking an arms embargo for weapons for contras, usa refused to pay reparations when they mined nicaraguan harbours
    usa exerted power over honduras to become a safe haven for contras

  • Iranian Revolution

    the Iranian Revolution ousts the pro-Western Shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, and installs a theocracy under Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The Central Treaty Organization (CENTO) dissolves as a result.

  • Thatcher elected

  • Agreement to proceed with SALT II

  • Vienna Summit

    SALT II signed- concrete achievement
    both powers publically recognised the responsibility held by the other to control the arms race, avoid nuclear war and sustain detente LIMITATIONS:
    - discussion largely scripted beforehand = unnatural

  • Carter signs the first directive for financial aid to opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul,

  • Nicaragua

    Marxist-led Sandinista revolutionaries overthrow the U.S.-backed Somoza dictatorship in Nicaragua. The Contra insurgency begins shortly thereafter.
  • Period: to

    Iranian Hostage Crisis

  • NATO Double Track Decision

    offer the Warsaw Pact a mutual limitation of medium-range ballistic missiles and IRBMs It was combined with a threat by NATO to deploy more medium-range nuclear weapons in Western Europe
    decision prompted by continuing military buildup of Warsaw Pact countries, particularly their growing capability in nuclear systems threatening Western Europe. Of special concern = growth of long-range nuclear forces eg SS-20 missile and the Tupolev Tu-22M, also known as 'Backfire' bomber

  • USSR invades Afghanistan

    why?
    saw Hafizullah Amin as an unreliable ally who's regime was rapidly alienating afghans & may realign afgh with USA, Paks and China = direct threat situated on soviet border
    shared border of 2.5k km = buffer to soviet security
    afgh = socialist state & regional ally of USSR- aligned w US = strengthen geostrategic power at the expense of USSR's USSR viewed their actions to coincide w Basic Principles as they saw military intervention as a defensive act to prevent afgh from turning into chaos

  • USA boycotted Moscow Olympics

  • Period: to

    Polish workers on strike

    300k went on strike in response to gov imposed rises in food prices of up to 100% which were designed to slow Poland's rapidly increasing foreign debts

  • SALT II ratification postponed

  • carter addresses nation

    set out a series of measures aimed at stalin:
    - deferral of action on cultural & econ exchanges
    - ban on sale of high tech & strategic items to soviets
    - embargo on sales of grain to USSR
    -us military & economic assistance to paks to enhance their security

  • Carter Doctrine

    us commitment to prevent further soviet advances to persian gulf & southwest asia
    emphasised the prospect of a military solution = called for build of strategic forces & reinforced the need for sino-american r/s to strengthen
    1981- carter called for increase in defence budget
    attempted to persusade NATO allies & west to suspend detente, however they still continued trade with the soviet union, with it even expanding

  • Britain's MI6 commences its indirect and direct covert operations in Afghanistan

    supported mujahideen vs Soviet intervention.
    MI6 = GB secret intelligence service
    UK played a more direct role in Afghanistan in particular, using retired or seconded Special forces eg Special Air Service & private military corporations to support the resistance groups GB greatest contribution = training Mujahideen; not just in Afghanistan & Paks but also in the Gulf states & UK
    UK's role in the conflict entailed direct military involvement in Afghanistan & Central Asian republics of USSR

  • US boycotts Moscow Olympics

  • Operation Cyclone

    Operation Cyclone was one of the longest and most expensive covert CIA operations ever undertaken.[2] Funding officially began with $695,000 in mid-1979,[3] was increased dramatically to $20–$30 million per year in 1980, and rose to $630 million per year in 1987

  • Gdańsk Agreement signed

    signed after a wave of strikes which began at the Lenin Shipyards in Gdańsk. The agreement allows greater civil rights, such as the establishment of a trade union, known as Solidarity, independent of communist contro

  • Reagan = President

  • US suspends economic aid to Nicaragua

  • General Jaruzelski = CP leader of Poland

  • Jaruzelski imposed martial law

    all gatherings & demonstrations = banned
    curfew between 10pm-6am
    official permission was needed to be away from home for more than 48hrs
    only 1 state controlled radio & tv allowed to broadcast
    solidarity leaders arrested and its union being eventually banned
    IMPACT- placed poland in deeper econ crisis US RESPONSE= economic sanctions = worsened trade & tourism

  • CIA begins support for Contras

    Nicaragua

  • Sandinistas impose press censorship

    response to US aid to contras, and introduced universal military conscription. therefore, american support for contras amounted to little as the sandinistas tightened their grip over the country american indirect intervention in nicaragua was important in uncovering the illicit acts of the us gov, showing how far the us were willing to go to combat communism in their own backyard

  • Caribbean Basin Initiative

    to prevent the overthrow of governments in the region by the forces of communism.
    aimed to provide several tariff and trade benefits to many Central American and Caribbean countries.

  • Brezhnev dies

  • Yuri Andropov becomes General Secretary of the Soviet Union.

  • Evil Empire speech

  • SDI Proposal

    a proposed missile defense system intended to protect the United States from attack by ballistic strategic nuclear weapons caused an escalation in arms production

  • martial law in Poland = lifted

  • shooting of KAL 007

    South Korean civil airplane shot down by Soviet interceptor = major blow to Soviet-American r/s
    killed 269 people, 61 americans
    ussr lack of accountability and blaming us exacerbated tensions, demonstrating the division between both sides

  • Andropov re-evaluates USA

    believed that reagan was pursuing a militaristic course that threatened peace, because it was seeking to establish USA as a dominant global power while disregarding the interests of other nations
    USSR took the view that USA had abandoned detente and was moving towards a policy geared to military superiority over the USSR
    also the view that reagan = seeking to undermine ussr and challenge their rule (eg through their support in poland)
  • Period: to

    Operation Urgent Fury- GRENADA

    US & coalition of six Caribbean nations invaded Grenada w/ 7k troops= military occupation within few days
    fear that Grenada would become communist base in the caribbean after military coup led by pro-leftist Coard faction took place (they only accepted assistance from USSR & Cuba)
    invasion was to protect US medical students studying in Grenada
    impact
    - soviet denounced as us imperialism, withdrew from geneva arms control talks
    -thatcher mad that us didn't tell her since grenada = former colony

  • Reagan televised speech ab Grenada

    Showed to the public how USA was convinced that 'Grenada was s Soviet-Cuban colony, being readied as a major military bastion to export terror and undermine democracy. We got there just in time'

  • Deng lifted price controls

  • Reagan Doctrine

    Under the Reagan Doctrine, the United States provided overt and covert aid to anti-communist guerrillas and resistance movements in an effort to "roll back" Soviet-backed pro-communist governments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The doctrine was designed to diminish Soviet influence in these regions as part of the administration's overall strategy to win the Cold War.

  • Gorbachev = USSR Leader

  • Summit in Geneva

    to hold talks on international diplomatic relations and the arms race
    Summit planned months in advance, so both superpowers had the opportunity to posture and to stake their positions in the court of public opinion.
    announced that the U.S. would be conducting its test of the missile defense system known as the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). The Soviets, in turn, announced a unilateral moratorium on underground nuclear tests and invited the Americans to also cease such testing = rejected