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Factors that ended Cold War - Coggle Diagram
Factors that ended Cold War
American economic and military superiority
(Long term factor)
Renewal of Arms Race and its impact
USA built more than 100 Pershing missiles in West Germany, targeting countries in East Germany and they also launched a military exercise with its NATO allies
Made Reagan rethink his attitude towards USSR, and realise that they wanted peace as much at they wanted to. Thus, Reagan adopted a more favourable attitude.
Seen as a threat to USSR, also started to prepare for war (Came to a situation on par with the Cuban Missile Crisis)
Economic boom in the USA and Western European countries
Encourage individual enterprise instead of them relying on govt. Also include cutting national budget and selling national assets such as phone and oil companies and airlines
Significantly helped to restructure economies, stimulate economic growth and launch an economic boom in USA and Eastern Europe
Adoption of process of economic liberation
Declining confidence in communist ideology and failure of Soviet economy (Long term factor)
Structural weakness of command economy in USSR
USSR's command economy had many negative effects unlike USA's adoption of free market economy
Overemphasis on quantitative indicators, led to drop in quality and lack of creativity
One party state stifled debates and made it hard for reforms
Officials also falsify statistics to meet status quota- thus unreliable
Low standard of living, lack of consumer goods
To keep up with the arms race against USA, USSR spent little money on manufacturing consumer goods like clothes.
Furthermore, due to expenditure on defence, lack of funds to improve citizen's standard of living
External economic burdens on USSR
USSR's allies (satellite states) drained their resources instead of improving it
Other burdens include the Soviet-Afghan War and the Vietnam War
Increasing resistance within communist bloc
Due to the force used by USSR to safeguard communist influence on countries, it caused much discontent between citizens
Many dissidents stood up and openly questioned the rule in their respective countries, where it was illegal to do so
Rise of Gorbachev, last leader of USSR
Brenzhnev, Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Cherneko were former leaders of USSR
They were determined to hold onto communist political and economic ideologies, thus they made sure the republics are under tight control and spend huge funds on military
Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in March 1985
Was part of the younger generation who saw the need for a reform and end the cold war
Implementation and results of Gorbachev's reforms
Glasnost
Means "openness"
Abolished tight censorship, encouraged free expression of thought and opinions- Gorbachev launched public debates in 1986
He also released dissidents like Andrei Sakharov
Positive picture of Soviet life fell apart, citizens lost trust in govt
This unintentionally fueled greater nationalistic tendencies in Eastern Europe, and could not be stopped
Perestroika
Means "openness"
To reform failing Soviet economy through economic and political reforms
E.g. Small cooperatives cold be established, workers could elect own factory managers, election for party candidates allowed etc.
Failed miserably because of:
Widespread corruption
Lack of basic infrastructure
Shortage of basic necessities
Foreign policies
De-ideologisation
Announced in UN speech in 1988
Countries allowed to choose own political and economic system
Withdraw troops from Afghanistan in 1988, effectively ended 10 year Soviet-Afghan war
Foreign radios and TV stations could broadcast
Reduce military size by 500,000
Nuclear disarmament
Reagan and Gorbachev's talks in 1985 and 1986 were successful
In 1987, signed Immediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, to remove all mobile nuclear missiles in Europe