Detailed Notes on Renewal and end of the Cold War – Afghanistan

Resource Description

Détente effectively ended with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and the election of Ronald Reagan as US President in 1980. These events contributed to a return to the hostile atmosphere of the initial Cold War, which was to last until the end of the 1980s.

This second phase of the Cold War was at its most intense in the early 1980s, during the first four years of the Reagan administration. At this time, the renewed Cold War appeared to be more dangerous than it really was. It maintained its focus on regional proxy conflicts that were supported by the United States and the Soviet Union, such as Angola (1975–88), Nicaragua (1979–80) and Afghanistan (1979–89).

Historian Fred Halliday identified what he thought were the five characteristics of the renewed Cold War:

1 There was a renewal of the fear of conflict, with both sides openly expressing concern about the likelihood of war. In the United States, Reagan demanded a major arms build-up, and by 1979 the Soviet Union had placed new missiles, the SS20s, in Europe.

2 .Hostile propaganda, similar to that used in the initial phase of the Cold War, returned. Reagan called the Soviet Union ‘evil’, and claimed that its economy was weak and that it was spending too much on arms. The Soviet Union described Reagan as ‘dangerous’ and a threat to world peace. Negotiations between the two nations were largely unsuccessful. There was more discussion than during the first Cold War, but little was achieved.

4. Both sides tightened controls on groups within their own society. The Reagan administration criticised ‘peace’ and ‘anti-nuclear’ groups, claiming they were helping the Soviet Union. In the Soviet Union, the government was less willing to let opponents of the leadership of the Communist Party speak out. While censorship was not as bad as it had been in Stalin’s day, it marked a significant change from the period of détente.
5. Fear of the Soviet threat again became the focus of US foreign policy. All other foreign policy matters were regarded as secondary