End of Cold War- Who was more responsible?

USA [Reagan caused the end of the ideological competition in 1989]
1. Reagan's Policies
  1. Concilatory
    1. NSDD-75 gave USSR more opportunities to carry out domestic reforms --> Reagan ended depiction of USSR as an 'evil empire' to an 'era of peace' --> Reagan’s ‘soft approach’ towards USSR in the later half of his Presidential term encouraged Gorbachev to continue to focus on his ‘democratic’ reforms --> even met 5 times b/n 1985 & 1988 to build strong rapport
      1. EFFECT: Improved r/s made USSR less fearful of the West --> encouraged Gorbachev to carry out capitalist & democratic reforms --> end ideological competition + arms race
  2. Containment/ Confrontational
    1. US on the ideological offensive: termed USSR as the 'evil empire'
    2. US unprecedented military spending --> Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)
      1. Development of "Star Wars Program" to intercept & destroy strategic ballistic missiles (from USSR) before they can hit US --> USA had first strike capability
    3. Reagan Doctrine: Policy of giving aid to anti-communist govt. e.g Nicaraguan Contras, Afghan rebels + pressuring TO ROLL BACK COMMUNISM
      1. US in Afghanistan (1979): US stepped up military & financial support to Afghan Mujahidins (anti-communist forces) --> equipped them with sophisticated US-made Stinger antiaircraft missiles + sending a steady supply of 65,000 arms by 1987
      2. EFFECTS: Forced USSR to reconsider mending r/s with USA and stop arms race + ideological competition; USSR's declining economy made it impossible for them to afford to match USA economically, politically & socially.--> Gorbachev thus seized chance of Detente to improve r/s with US + improve Soviet economy as a whole
      3. 5-year defense of US$1.6 Trillion
      4. USA in EA EU: Supported anti-communist movements within the Soviet Satellite Polish Solidarity Party --> kept Solidarity party alive through financial aid to allow them to overthrow the Polish communist govt.
    4. NSDD-75 (1982-1993)
      1. Marked a major shift in US foreign policy; US proactively taking on & stepping up efforts in containing Communism --> aimed to transform the Soviet System by applying pressure to weaken USSR economically + politically
USSR [Dissolution of USSR in 1991]
1. Gorbachev's domestic political reform Policies
  1. Glasnost
    1. "Openness" of Soviet Media --> public airing of resentment against Soviet Empire & highlighted the flaws of Communism (poverty, suffering etc)
  2. Perestroika
    1. Declaration of independence by Soviet Republics
    2. Law on Cooperatives: private ownership of businesses in services, manufacturing & foreign-trade sectors --> backfired when cooperatives siphoned off gds to black mkt & mkt sector
    3. Law of State Enterprises: allowed state enterprises to determine output, but had to be self-financing without financial support from the state --> backfired when production was reduced to prevent further losses --> caused widespread unemployment and poverty
  3. EFFECTS: rise of national consciousness --> caused many Soviet Republics to clamour for independence & lent support to democratic non-communist oppositions instead --> Collapse of Communist govt. in Eastern EU
2. USSR's Structural Weakness
  1. Economic
    1. Suffered 'imperial overstretch' --> aid to communist allies (Afghanistan, Cambodia, Cuba etc further drained ailing Soviet economy
    2. Flaws of the command economy: Focused too much on heavy industries that produced military equipment & not consumer gds; inefficiency & absence of incentives in agricultural production etc.
  2. Political
    1. 1 party system Dictatorship
      1. Stagnant government
  3. Social
    1. Carried out 'Russification' to homogenize citizens in Soviet Republic due to presence of many ethnic groups that threatened the complete unification/loyalty of citizens towards the Soviet Republics
      1. Widespread resentment towards USSR --> caused outbreak of protests e.g in Lithuania 3 mil ppl carried out dissent movement --> intensified during Glasnost & hence destabilized USSR
  4. EFFECTS: Structural weaknesses of USSR caused much suffering that made ppl in the Soviet Republics demand for more democratic elements, after comparing the failings of USSR against that of USA's success as a democracy
3. Gorbachev's foreign policies (New Thinking)
  1. Eastern Europe
    1. Stopping economic subsidies & military presence in Eastern EU --> end of Brezhnev Doctrine and replacing it with the 'Sinatra Doctrine'
      1. Popular Fronts in Soviet states challenged their Communist govts. instead --> toppled Communist regime in Eastern EU
  2. US
    1. Gorbachev ended arms race by halting deployent of SS-20s missiles & unilaterally moratorium on nuclear testing (1985) --> had to reduce military expenditure due to weakening Soviet Economy --> meant that Gorbachev accepted Reagan's 'Zero-Option' policy
      1. Even initiated 'double-zero' policy --> Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Agreement where a category of shorter range intermediate missiles were to be fully eliminated by both US & USSR
  3. EFFECTS: Ppl in Soviet Republics lost faith in Communism as it could no longer act as a unifying force against Western threats. Also the collapse of Communism in EA EU was the major catalyst in inciting ppl from Baltic States to demand for independence from USSR.

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End of Cold War- Who was more responsible?

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	Created by viviantheaqua almost 11 years ago