Moves to End the Cold War (AQA A-Level History): Revision Notes
Moves to End the Cold War
Context: Soviet decline and the second Cold War
By the late 1970s, Western observers believed the Soviet Union was winning the Cold War. The 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan appeared to demonstrate continuing Soviet military strength and expansionism. However, this perception was misleading.
Following the opening of Soviet archives from 1991, historians discovered that the Soviet Union was already failing by the early 1980s. The regime was militarily overstretched and led by an ageing generation clinging to power. What seemed like Soviet strength masked a dangerous venture that would drain what remained of Soviet military resources.
Between 1979 and 1981, three leaders determined to challenge Soviet power emerged: Margaret Thatcher (British Prime Minister), Pope John Paul II (head of the Catholic Church), and Ronald Reagan (US President). Each was committed to confronting the USSR both militarily and ideologically. This marked the beginning of what became known as the second Cold War, characterised by aggressive rhetoric and mounting international tension.
The Thatcher-Reagan partnership
The 'special relationship' refers to the close political, military, and ideological alliance between Britain and the United States. Under Thatcher and Reagan, this relationship reached particular intensity.
Thatcher and Reagan shared both personal rapport and ideological alignment. Both belonged to the generation shaped by the Second World War. Thatcher's interpretation of twentieth-century history emphasised that American military intervention had twice rescued Europe from disaster. Her particular hero was Winston Churchill. She viewed the Falklands War and ongoing tensions with the USSR through this lens of American salvation.
The Thatcher-Reagan partnership represented more than just political cooperation. Their shared ideological commitment to confronting communism, combined with personal friendship, created one of the most influential alliances of the Cold War era. This relationship would prove crucial in navigating the complex path toward the Cold War's end.
Throughout the 1980s, on matters concerning the USSR, the Thatcher-Reagan alliance proved highly effective. In 1986, Thatcher granted permission for the US to use British air bases to bomb Libya, despite the decision being unpopular domestically. The relationship remained strong even when disagreements arose. In 1983, the US invaded Grenada following a communist coup, acting against Thatcher's advice. When Reagan died in 2004, Thatcher's eulogy expressed deep personal and political loss: "We have lost a great president, a great American and a great man. And I have lost a dear friend."
Key figures in the Cold War endgame
- Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) served as US President from 1981 to 1989. Before entering politics, he had worked as a Hollywood actor in the 1930s and 1940s, then served as Governor of California from 1967 to 1975. Reagan supported supply-side economics, and his economic policies became known as 'Reaganomics'. He shared Thatcher's opposition to trade unions. Reagan's election in 1981 transformed the Cold War. He characterised the USSR as an 'evil Empire' and committed the United States to developing the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a space-based missile defence system. This represented a departure from the détente policies of the 1970s.
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was an ambitious programme to develop a space-based missile defence system that could intercept and destroy incoming nuclear missiles. Critics dubbed it "Star Wars" after the popular film series. While never fully realised, SDI served as a powerful psychological and strategic tool, demonstrating Western technological capability and forcing the Soviet Union to contemplate matching an incredibly expensive system at a time when its economy was already struggling.
- Pope John Paul II (1920-2005), born Karel Wojtyla, was elected Pope in 1979. As Archbishop of Cracow, Poland, John Paul II proved to be a determined opponent of communism. His influence alarmed communist leaderships in Poland and the USSR. His official visit to Poland in 1980 drew enormous crowds and strengthened demands for reform, particularly supporting the Polish Solidarity movement led by Lech Walesa.
- Mikhail Gorbachev (born 1931) became leader of the Soviet Union in 1985. At 30 years younger than his predecessors who had led the USSR until 1985, Gorbachev represented a generational shift. He was a realist who recognised that the existing system could not continue. His favoured slogan as he promoted reform was: "If not us, who? If not now, when?" Gorbachev made a powerful impression on hard-line conservatives, including Thatcher and Reagan. When Thatcher met Gorbachev for the first time in 1984, she declared herself impressed: "I like Mr Gorbachev. He and I can do business together."
From 1985, Gorbachev promoted two transformative policies:
- Perestroika (restructuring): reforming the Soviet economic and political system
- Glasnost (openness): increasing transparency and reducing censorship
Gorbachev aimed to reform the USSR and enable the Soviet satellite states in eastern Central Europe to follow their own path. He succeeded in ending the Cold War but could not prevent the total collapse of communism across the Soviet bloc.
Escalation and nuclear fears 1979-85
The period between 1979 and 1985 saw mounting Cold War tensions. In 1981, Reagan was elected on a platform that rejected détente and promised to confront Soviet power directly. He committed the United States to SDI development. In 1983, Cruise missiles were stationed at Greenham Common in Britain.
Cruise missiles were remote-controlled rockets carrying powerful warheads capable of hitting targets from hundreds of miles away. They later played an important part in the First Gulf War of 1991. Stationing the missiles in Britain formed part of a deliberate deterrence policy: demonstrating to the USSR and the Brezhnev regime that matching Western technological advances in weaponry was impossible.
The escalating tension created genuine fear that nuclear war between East and West was probable. The government published Protect and Survive booklets instructing people on actions to take in the event of nuclear attack.
Nuclear Anxiety in Popular Culture
These fears were reflected in popular culture. The BBC TV drama Threads (1984) presented a documentary-style account of nuclear conflict's aftermath in a British city. When The Wind Blows, a cartoon book by Raymond Briggs published in 1986, showed how an elderly couple prepared for nuclear war. Pop songs also addressed nuclear war anxiety, including songs by Bush, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, and Sting.
In 1983, 200,000 people marched with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) in London to oppose nuclear weapons. Similar demonstrations occurred across Europe, including one with 600,000 participants in West Germany.
Thatcher's attitude to the Cold War combined determination and pragmatism. In a speech to the Conservative Party conference in 1981, she outlined her position:
Had it not been for the magnanimity of the United States, Europe would not be free today. One thrust of Soviet propaganda is concerned to persuade the world that the West, and the United States in particular, is the arms-monger, not the Soviet Union. Nothing could be further from the truth. Until we negotiate multilateral disarmament we have no choice but to retain sufficient nuclear weapons to make it clear to any would-be aggressor that the consequences of an attack on us would be disastrous for them... We in Britain cannot honourably shelter under the American nuclear umbrella and simultaneously say to our American friends 'You may defend our homes with your home-based missiles, but you may not base those missiles anywhere near our homes.' The cost of keeping tyranny at bay is high but it must be paid, for the cost of war would be infinitely higher and we should lose everything that was worthwhile.
This speech demonstrated Thatcher's willingness to support the United States, as shown by her agreement to the deployment of US Cruise missiles in Britain.
Timeline of events 1979-87
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1979 | Soviet invasion of Afghanistan |
| 1981 | Election of Ronald Reagan, who characterised the USSR as an 'evil Empire' and committed the USA to developing SDI |
| 1983 | Cruise missiles stationed at Greenham Common |
| 1984 | First meeting between Thatcher and Gorbachev |
| 1985 | Gorbachev becomes leader of the USSR |
| 1986 | Gorbachev launches perestroika and glasnost; summits with USA begin |
| 1986 | Reagan and Gorbachev meet in Reykjavik, Iceland |
| 1987 | Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty signed |
Thatcher's contribution to ending the Cold War 1985-87
Margaret Thatcher's role in ending the Cold War rested on three elements:
- Her combative style and determination to confront the USSR in the early 1980s
- Her willingness to negotiate with the reformist Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, from 1985
- The fact that Thatcher's foreign policy was founded on Britain's special relationship with the United States
These three elements worked together. Thatcher's early confrontational approach, combined with Reagan's equally tough stance, applied pressure on the Soviet system. When Gorbachev emerged as a reformist leader, Thatcher recognised the opportunity and encouraged Reagan to negotiate.
Gorbachev became leader of the Soviet Union in 1985 at the age of 54, three decades younger than the leaders who had controlled the USSR until that point. His favourite saying reflected his reform ambitions: "If not us, who? If not now, when?" Gorbachev made a notable impression on the hard-line conservatives Thatcher and Reagan. After meeting Gorbachev for the first time in 1984, Thatcher declared: "I like Mr Gorbachev. He and I can do business together."
Thatcher actively encouraged Reagan to negotiate with Gorbachev. In 1986, at the Reykjavik summit in Iceland, Reagan and Gorbachev discovered that each was prepared to make compromises. Although that meeting ended without agreement, it paved the way for future progress.
In 1987, the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was signed in Washington. This historic treaty limited short-range weapons and initiated a process of mutual disarmament. The Cold War had not yet ended, but for the first time in many years it appeared that an end might be possible. Gorbachev's reforms through perestroika and glasnost aimed to save the USSR, but ultimately he was willing to allow the Cold War to conclude and let the Soviet satellite states in eastern Central Europe pursue their own direction.
Key Points to Remember:
-
By the late 1970s, the Soviet Union appeared strong but was actually militarily overstretched and in decline, though Western leaders did not realise this until Soviet archives opened after 1991.
-
Between 1979 and 1985, three leaders—Thatcher, Reagan, and Pope John Paul II—challenged Soviet power, creating the second Cold War marked by tough rhetoric, nuclear fears, and mass protests (200,000 marched with CND in London in 1983).
-
Mikhail Gorbachev became Soviet leader in 1985 and introduced perestroika (restructuring) and glasnost (openness), representing a generational shift and recognition that the Soviet system needed fundamental reform.
-
Thatcher's contribution to ending the Cold War rested on three elements: her early combative determination to confront the USSR, her willingness to negotiate with Gorbachev from 1985, and her special relationship with Reagan and the United States.
-
The 1987 Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty marked the first genuine progress toward ending the Cold War, initiating mutual disarmament and suggesting an end might be possible after years of mounting tension.