The impact of the arms race on the Cold War

The impact of the arms race on the Cold War

1. Stabilising Effects

   • The deterrent effect of nuclear weapons prevented direct US-Soviet confrontation
   • The presence of nuclear weapons meant that the superpowers respected eachother's sphere of influence and did not intervene
     • e.g Hungary 1956
   • Superpowers had to cooperated to regulate the nuclear threat
     • e.g Removal of nuclear missiles from Hungary and Turkey 1962-1963
       • e.g Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and Hotline 1963
   • US and Soviet leaders were aware of living in the nuclear age and acted responsibly
     • e.g Khrushchev withdrew offer of helping China out with their nuclear programme

2. Destabilising Effects

   • Soviet Acquisition of the atomic bomb 1949 - led to spiralling arms race
     • Both sides competed to develop more and more powerful and sophisticated weapons
       • e.g H bomb 1952 - ICBMs 1957 - SLBMs 1960
   • Culture of secrecy surrounding development of nuclear weapons led to fears that the other side had nuclear superiority
     • e.g the impact of the Gaither report 1957
   • Nuclear weapons encouraged superpower brinkmanship
     • Which could've resulted in total devastation
       • e.g US doctrine of massive retaliation 1954
         • e.g Cuban Missile Crisis 1962
   • Cost of nuclear weapons imposed huge financial strains on both sides
     • This had a destabilising effect in two ways
       • K compensated for the USSR's relative weakness by adopting antagonistic approach to negotiations with West
       • K's decision to base weapons in Cuba was due to fact that basing short-range missiles in Cuba was cheaper than basing long range ones in the USSR
   • Nuclear weapons didn't stop other forms of superpower competition for influence in the 50s and early 60s
     • e.g Soviet economic and military aid to developing countries such as Egypt
       • e.g US support for anti communist regimes in South Vietnam, South Korea and Taiwan