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Causes (USSR (Technology (The USSR had achieved a state of equal nuclear…
USSR
Technology
The USSR had achieved a state of equal nuclear power to the US, and felt able to negotiate from a position of power and authority.
Economy
In the late 1960s, the USSR faced the issue of the stagnation of its economy. Continuous focus on arms production resulted in low living standards due to the absence of consumer goods, and that gave way to civil unrest
Relationship w/ China
Relations between the USSR and PRC worsened to the brink of a border war, and the USSR hoped that by improving relations with the US, they could in turn motivate China to move towards peace
USA
Vietnam
The Vietnam War was one of numerous proxy wars through which the US and USSR evaded MAD. With the US soldiers defending South Vietnam, and the USSR supporting North Vietnamese troops, there were high chances of the conflict expanding and redirecting. There was also an especially large backlash to the Vietnam War in the US, and there was a lot of public pressure to bring the troops back to America. The US hoped that by improving relations with the USSR and China, the two nations would place more pressure on North Vietnam to end the war. #
Economy
The Vietnam War cost the US billions of dollars and the lives of over 30,000 troops. Despite this, it was doing little to stop communism from spreading.
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Europe
Events of 1968
The crises of the 1960s over Cuba and Berlin had worried European nations who were on the front-line of any potential nuclear war. These tensions had encouraged protests in both Czechoslovakia and France in 1968.
Willy Brandt
Willy Brandt pushed for the policy of Ostpolitik and helped ease tensions between East and West Berlin, which eventually led to peace agreements between West Germany and the USSR, as well as West Germany and Poland
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