Was Detente a Success of Failure?

Détente was known as a period of relaxation of tension in the Cold War from the years 1968 to  1980, when Ronald Reagan was elected into power. Détente marked a period where the USSR and the USA attempted to strengthen and develop a more stable relationship between them. It is also used to describe the improvement of relations between the USA and China, and also between Western Europe and Eastern Europe. Détente lasted for 12 years, and allowed peace and the possibility of cooperation between nations, but after 1980 developed into another Cold War (also known as Second Cold War). This essay will examine the successes and failures during détente, and also assess whether détente as a whole was a success or failure.

There was a proliferation of nuclear weapon production during the 1950’s and onwards. According to statistics, USSR and the USA both had over 30,000 nuclear weapons during their peak times, and this massive stockpile of weapons of mass destruction casted doubt upon the peace and stability of the world. However, Détente was successful in easing the threat of nuclear warfare and making the possibility of weapons of mass destruction being launched more unlikely. This can first be seen through the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT) signed in 1972, which aimed to reduce the threat of nuclear warfare in through three sub-treaties. The first of them is the Anti-Ballistic Missiles treaty which allowed anti -ballistic missiles on only two sites, and each site was not allowed to contain more than 100 missiles. In 1946, Mc Namara believed that both sides (USSR and USA) should aim to target cities with the objective of causing the maximum amount of damage and casualties possible. The idea here was that if neither the USA nor the USSR could survive a nuclear war, there would not be one.  The ABM treaty was significant and definitely viewed as a success during détente because it ensured the continuity of MAD and thus the deterrence of nuclear war.

Détente also enable the “Basic Principles Agreement” to be signed which laid down the rules for the conduct of Nuclear War and the development of weapon, and additionally committed both superpowers to work together to prevent the outbreak of conflict and to promote peaceful co-existence. This agreement was further corroborated by the Agreement on the Prevention of Nuclear War (signed 1973), which stipulated that if Nuclear conflict looked imminent, both sides would immediately consult in an emergency meeting to make every effort to avert this risk. This clearly shows that SALT I and the treaties signed within it was a success as it was a clear indication that the superpowers were interested in peace and cooperation, and they were willing to limit the number of nuclear weapons they possessed. This view is supported by Historian John Mason who wrote that SALT I “began a process of institutionalized arm control, confirmed that Soviet Union’s parity with the United States, and reduced tension between the two nuclear powers (Mason, the Cold War , P 53).