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International
Relations-PSC 201
VU
LESSON
22
THE
COLD WAR AND ITS IMPACTS
(CONTINUED)
Reconciliation
Even
at the height of the Cold War,
there were efforts to
prevent an outbreak of all out
conflict as that
could
have brought an end to human
civilization as a whole. Khrushchev and
Eisenhower yet at
Camp
David
and commenced the trend
towards disarmament.
A
Partial Test Ban Treaty
(PTBT) was signed in 1962, a
hotline was established
between the heads of
states
in
1963 and the Non
Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
was signed in 1968.
From
1969 to 1978, a period of
détente remained, where both
sides accepted the status
quo in view of the
mutually
assured destruction (MAD) capacity of the
superpowers and as the realization
concerning costs of
nuclear
arsenals was becoming
apparent.
Nixon
visited USSR and signed a
Limitation on Anti-Ballistic Missile
(ABM) Systems and Limitation
of
Strategic
Offensive Arms, indicating adoption of a
defensive rather than offensive posture
by both
superpowers.
Strategic
Arms Limitation Talks
continued from 1969 to 1979.
The US proposed ban on using
mobile land
sites
and the superpowers also
reached an agreement on a Seabed
Treaty, banning use of sea-beds as
nuclear
launch
sites
End
of the Cold War
The
process that brought the
Cold War to an end began in
the second half of the 1980s. It led to
the Malta
Summit
between President Bush and
Mikhail Gorbachev in 1989.
The
Washington Summit in 1990 between the
same leaders resulted in
signing of number of nuclear,
chemical
and conventional arms
reduction agreements.
Resurgence
of tensions
The
invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 fanned the
embers of the Cold War
again. The USSR's interference
in
Angola
was also another irritant
and the new US administration was
also less tolerant and it
wanted to begin
building
bridges with China, which
Soviets were now opposed
to, these moves
simultaneously ended the
period
of détente.
Jimmy
Carter used the human rights
agenda to criticize Soviet backed
regimes, the US discovered a
Soviet
brigade
in Cuba and withdrew from
SALT II, it boycotted the Olympic games
in Moscow in 1980 and
imposed
a grain embargo on the USSR.
The
Soviets in turn banned the LA
Olympics in 1984 and shot
down a South Korean air liner
and by 1983
they
pulled out completely from bilateral
arms talks with the US after the
Cruise and Pershing 2
missiles
were
found deployed by three west European
countries.
The
overthrow of the Shah of Iran in
1979 also impelled the US to secure
bases in Oman, Kenya
and
Somalia
to obtain a strategic stronghold
and protects its interests
around the Persian Gulf and the
Indian
Ocean.
On
the other hand, the Soviets,
Cubans, Nicaraguans and even
the Ethiopians were accused by the US
of
supplying
arms to insurgents El Salvador in Central
America.
While
the Cold War ended practically
with dismantling of the 35 km Berlin Wall
in 1989, it wasn't until
the
London
Summit a few years later
that the Cold War was
formally announced to be over
London Summit.
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International
Relations-PSC 201
VU
The
London Summit emphasized the
need for the US to reduce the number of
nuclear weapons it
had
deployed
in Europe. It obtained a pledge to
withdraw the 1470 nuclear
tipped artillery shells from
West
Germany
and for the Soviets to
withdraw troops from Central
and Eastern Europe. It redefined
NATO's
new
role from strength seeking
alliance to a peace keeping
mission.
The
World after the Cold
War
The
balance of power shifted drastically after the
Cold War and its
effects were felt the world
over
(Consider
the case of Pakistan for
e.g. which felt abandoned by
the US after the fall of the
Soviets).
The
collapse of the Soviet Union led to the
emergence of new states and
the change of governments in
several
countries (Breakup of Yugoslavia for
e.g.). Unresolved conflicts, in Korea, Vietnam
and Germany,
complicated
by the interference of the superpowers came to a
quick end.
A
new world order emerged at
the end of the Cold War,
which was influenced by multilateralism
and a
unilateral
superpower. The end of the
Cold War called for a
new focus in IR which could better
analyze and
anticipate
the realties of a new world
order. The end of communism
also had economic implications
which
boosted
the legitimacy of the market
mechanism.
Communism
in practice resulted in dominance of a
single political party and
centralized decision
making.
The
bureaucracy became the new
bourgeoisie under communism in
practice.
The
Capitalist Ideology
Capitalism
is based on the notion of individual
liberty and the right to own
private property. At the
political
level,
capitalism emphasized the need
for democratic government, multiparty
politics, independence of the
judiciary,
and freedom of press. In practice
capitalism has caused
problems for minorities,
growing
inequalities
and arguments concerning the
role of the state in managing the
economy.
Relevant
Vocabulary
Reconciliation:
removal of
differences or tensions between
states
Conventional
weapons: normal
as opposed to nuclear
Accuse:
to
blame
Bourgeoisie:
the
rich and powerful
elite
Suggested
Readings
Students
are advised to read the
following chapters to develop a better understanding
of the various
principals
highlighted in this hand-out:
Chapter
6 in `"A Study of International
Relations" by Dr. Sultan
Khan
Internet
Resources
In
addition to reading from the
textbook, please visit the
following web-pages for this
lecture, which
provide
useful and interesting
information:
The
Cold War International
History Project
cwihp.si.edu/default.htm