9.3 - The End of the Cold War

Renewing the Cold War

• Reagan increased defense spending and supported anti-Communist forces in Latin America.

• Significant investments were made in new weapons systems like the B-1 bomber and MX missile.

• The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), nicknamed "Star Wars," was a high-tech plan to destroy enemy missiles with lasers and particle beams. Critics worried it would escalate the arms race.

• Defense budget grew from $171 billion in 1981 to over $300 billion by 1985.

Improved U.S.-Soviet Relations

• Early 1980s saw intensified Cold War tensions due to Reagan’s arms buildup and Soviet missile deployments.

• Mikhail Gorbachev became Soviet leader in 1985, introducing reforms:

  • Glasnost: Openness, aimed at increasing political freedom in the Soviet Union.

  • Perestroika: Restructuring the Soviet economy with free-market practices.

• Gorbachev aimed to end the costly arms race, but faced resistance from Soviet conservatives.

• Reagan challenged Gorbachev with the famous line, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall."

• Summit Meetings:

  • 1985 (Geneva): Agreements on cultural, scientific, and environmental issues.

  • 1986 (Reykjavik): Less successful due to disagreements over missile defense.

  • 1987 (Washington, D.C.): INF agreement to destroy intermediate-range missiles.

• Gorbachev reduced Cold War tensions by starting the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan and cooperating with the U.S. on ending the Iran-Iraq war.

Assessing Causes of the Cold War's End

• Multiple factors contributed to the decline of the Cold War:

  • Gorbachev's desire for domestic reforms and willingness to negotiate.

  • Reagan's military buildup, which some argue pressured the Soviet Union.

  • Reagan's willingness to negotiate arms reductions, relieving pressure on Gorbachev.

  • The role of leaders like Polish union leader Lech Walesa and Pope John Paul II in opposing communism in Eastern Europe.

  • The U.S. containment policy, credited with guiding the nation through the Cold War without triggering a global conflict.

George H. W. Bush and the End of the Cold War

• As the Cold War ended, Bush became the first president to define the U.S. role in the post-Cold War era, building on his experience as a former UN ambassador and CIA director.

Collapse of Soviet Communism and the Soviet Union

• The early years of Bush's administration saw dramatic changes in the Communist world.

• Nationalist movements for self-determination overwhelmed Gorbachev and the Soviet Union.

• In 1990, the Baltic republics (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) declared independence.

• A failed coup by Communist hardliners against Gorbachev led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991.

• Boris Yeltsin, president of the Russian Republic, formed the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) with nine former Soviet republics.

• Yeltsin disbanded the Communist Party in Russia and began efforts to establish democracy and a free-market economy.

End of the Cold War

• The Cold War officially ended with agreements to dismantle nuclear weapons.

• Bush and Gorbachev signed the START I agreement in 1991, reducing nuclear warheads to under 10,000 for each side.

• In 1992, Bush and Yeltsin agreed to the START II treaty, further reducing nuclear weapons to just over 3,000 each.

• The treaty also included U.S. economic assistance to the struggling Russian economy.

Aftermath of the Cold War in Europe

• In 2002, the European Union (EU) became a unified market of 15 nations, with 12 adopting the euro as a single currency.

• By 2007, the EU expanded to include 27 European nations, including 10 former Soviet satellites such as Poland, Bulgaria, and Romania.