Cold War: Détente and the End of an Era

• Power structures shifted notably in the 1980s and 1990s, marked by President Reagan's appeal to Soviet leader Gorbachev prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
• The Soviet Union's collapse followed in 1991, concluding the Cold War and the U.S.-Soviet rivalry dominating global politics for five decades.
• Despite ongoing mistrust during the Cold War's final decades, the U.S. and the Soviet Union maintained diplomatic relations alongside proxy wars and support for opposing factions in international conflicts.
• Agreements limiting nuclear weapons were crucial to ending the Cold War, though progress towards détente faced obstacles.

Détente and a Colder War

• Following the resolution of crises in the 1960s, U.S.-Soviet relations improved, initiating a period known as détente—a relaxation of strained relations.
• President Nixon's 1972 visit to the Soviet Union symbolized détente, leading to the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT) with Soviet leader Brezhnev, which aimed to freeze the number of intercontinental ballistic missiles.
• Nixon also visited China in 1972, marking the first visit by a U.S. president to communist China and leveraging the U.S’s position to play the two powers against each other.
• The Soviet Union faced economic crises, Eastern European pressure for reforms, and border conflicts with China in the late 1960s and 1970s.
• The U.S. faced economic issues and the Vietnam War, leading to the consideration of relations with China to open new markets and ease U.S.-Soviet tensions.
• Détente led to U.S. grain sales to the Soviet Union to alleviate shortages, benefitting American farmers and the Soviet population.
• Grain shipments halted after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, marking the end of détente.

Soviet-Afghan War

• The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to support its communist government against Muslim fighters, causing massive civilian deaths and displacement.
• Unable to defeat guerrilla groups, the Soviet army withdrew in 1989, leading to continued civil war in Afghanistan.
• The war strained the Soviet economy and exposed leadership vulnerabilities, contributing to the Soviet Union's eventual collapse 12 years later.

Reagan and Gorbachev

• During Ronald Reagan's presidency (1981–1989), U.S.-Soviet tensions escalated, with Reagan calling the Soviet Union an "evil empire" and supporting Afghan rebels.
• By the early 1980s, the U.S. and Soviet Union possessed over 12,000 nuclear missiles each, threatening global destruction.
• Reagan proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), or "Star Wars," a missile defense program aimed at destroying Soviet nuclear missiles.
• Soviets viewed SDI as an arms race in space and a long-term economic threat, worrying reform-minded Soviets and strengthening Soviet conservatives.

The Thaw

• Increased tensions in the 1980s forced nations to align with either the U.S. or the Soviet Union, while non-aligned nations feared nuclear war.
• Mikhail Gorbachev, a progressive leader, came to power in 1985, advocating perestroika (economic restructuring) and glasnost (openness).
• Reagan and Gorbachev met multiple times, establishing a working relationship that achieved results.
• In 1987, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) was signed, reducing intermediate-range nuclear weapons and easing global tensions.
• The INF Treaty and other agreements lessened the influence of Cold War supporters in both countries, allowing Gorbachev to pursue reforms.

The End of the Soviet Union

• Gorbachev ended economic support for Soviet satellites in Eastern Europe and implied the Soviet army would no longer intervene in communist regimes.
• Democratic reform movements swept through Eastern Europe in 1989, leading to the fall of the Berlin Wall and German reunification in 1990.
• Lithuania, Georgia, and other Soviet republics declared independence, leading to the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact.
• Gorbachev's reforms led to his downfall and the end of the Soviet Union in December 1991, with Russia emerging as the strongest independent country.

New Challenges

• The decline of the Soviet superpower brought new opportunities and challenges.
• Political alliances shifted, and economic interactions among nations expanded, increasing global interconnectedness and creating wealth disparities.
• The post-Cold War world faced issues such as new democracies, economic inequality, ethnic conflict, terrorism, environmental degradation, and global epidemics.