Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941-91: Detente, Afghanistan and the End of the Cold War, 1970-91
Between 1970 and 1991, superpower relations moved through three distinct phases: detente, renewed confrontation, and finally the end of the Cold War itself. Detente (a French word meaning a relaxation of tension) saw the USA and the USSR sign arms control agreements such as SALT I (1972) and the Helsinki Accords (1975), each seeking a more stable, predictable relationship after the dangers of the 1960s. Detente collapsed after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979, when the USA abandoned ratification of the SALT II treaty and relations grew hostile again under President Reagan, who increased defence spending and pursued the Strategic Defense Initiative. From 1985, the new Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev introduced reforms at home (glasnost and perestroika) and sought to end the costly arms race and the war in Afghanistan abroad, leading to a series of summits with Reagan, the collapse of communist governments across Eastern Europe in 1989, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the dissolution of the USSR itself in December 1991.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Treat this topic as the overview map of the whole 1970-91 period: know the order of the three phases (detente, then renewed hostility after 1979, then Gorbachev's reforms and the Cold War's end) so you can place any individual event correctly when a question asks about it.
- Learn what detente achieved and why it was possible: after the frightening near-miss of 1962 and the costs of the arms race, both superpowers had an interest in more predictable relations, leading to SALT I (1972), which limited some weapons, and the Helsinki Accords (1975), which recognised Europe's post-war borders and included commitments on human rights.
- Learn why detente collapsed: the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979 convinced the USA that the USSR was still expansionist, so President Carter withdrew SALT II from ratification, and the newly elected President Reagan (from 1981) sharply increased US defence spending and pursued the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a proposed space-based missile defence system.
- Learn why the Cold War ended under Gorbachev: from 1985 he introduced glasnost (greater openness) and perestroika (economic restructuring) at home, and in foreign policy sought to reduce military spending, withdraw from Afghanistan (completed in 1989) and improve relations with the West, holding a series of summits with Reagan that produced the INF Treaty (1987).
- Learn the final stage as a chain of connected events: reform in the USSR encouraged, and Gorbachev did not prevent, popular uprisings across Eastern Europe in 1989, culminating in the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989; Germany reunified in 1990; and the USSR itself dissolved in December 1991 after a failed hardline coup against Gorbachev that August.
- For 'explain two of the following: importance' questions covering this whole period, always be specific about which phase you are discussing (detente, renewed tension, or the end of the Cold War) rather than writing generally about 'the Cold War', since the question is testing your understanding of change over this particular period.
- For 'write a narrative account' questions spanning several years of this period, use dates as anchor points in each sentence (e.g. 'By 1979...', 'From 1985...') to show the examiner you understand the correct order of events, not just their content.
Worked example
Explain two of the following: (a) The importance of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan for the collapse of detente. (b) The importance of Gorbachev's reforms for the end of the Cold War. (c) The importance of the arms race for relations between the superpowers in the years 1979-85. You must answer on two options.
- Choose two options you know well and can support with specific dates and detail; here, options (a) and (b) give the clearest, most direct cause-and-effect links.
- For option (a), state the link directly: the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979 was important for the collapse of detente because it convinced the USA the USSR remained an expansionist power, despite the cooperative spirit of SALT I and Helsinki.
- Support (a) with specific consequences: President Carter withdrew the SALT II treaty from Senate ratification, imposed a grain embargo on the USSR, and the USA led a boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics, showing detente had visibly broken down.
- For option (b), state the link directly: Gorbachev's reforms were important for the end of the Cold War because glasnost and perestroika signalled the USSR was moving away from rigid, expansionist communism, making the West willing to negotiate seriously with him.
- Support (b) with specific consequences: Gorbachev's 'New Thinking' in foreign policy led to arms reduction summits with Reagan, the withdrawal from Afghanistan by 1989, and his decision not to use force to stop the revolutions of 1989 in Eastern Europe, unlike his predecessors under the Brezhnev Doctrine.
- Finish each option with a short judgement sentence directly answering 'how important', so the examiner sees you have reached a conclusion rather than just described events.
Practice questions
Type your answer and press Check to be marked straight away, or reveal the answer and mark yourself.
Q1What does 'detente' mean, and roughly which decade is most associated with it?Show answer
Answer: A relaxation of tension between the superpowers; most associated with the 1970s.
Q2Name one arms control agreement signed during the era of detente.Show answer
Answer: SALT I (1972), or the Helsinki Accords (1975).
Q3What event in December 1979 caused detente to collapse?Show answer
Answer: The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Q4What did President Reagan propose in the early 1980s that worried the USSR?Show answer
Answer: The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a proposed space-based system to shoot down incoming missiles.
Q5What two reform policies did Gorbachev introduce inside the USSR from 1985?Show answer
Answer: Glasnost (greater openness) and perestroika (economic restructuring).
Q6In what year did the Berlin Wall fall, and in what year did the USSR itself dissolve?Show answer
Answer: The Berlin Wall fell in 1989, and the USSR dissolved in December 1991.
Q7Give one reason Gorbachev wanted to end the costly arms race and the war in Afghanistan.Show answer
Answer: The Soviet economy was struggling to support high military spending, and he wanted to redirect resources toward domestic economic reform.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE History exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Explain two consequences of the collapse of detente after 1979 for relations between the superpowers.
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Write a narrative account analysing the key events in superpower relations from the collapse of detente in 1979 to the end of the Cold War in 1991. You may use the following information to help write your answer: the Strategic Defense Initiative; Gorbachev's 'New Thinking'. You must also use information of your own.
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