Detente (jan 20, 1969 – dec 25, 1979)

Description:

Detente is the french term for a period of the cold war where tensions improved between the USA and USSR, as part of Nixon's foreign policy.
Tensions decreased and there was much more dialogue between leaders and there was a period of relative peace.

There were several reasons as to why the detente period occurred:
The nuclear arms race had reached its height with the Cuban missile crisis after which the superpowers agreed to have more cooperation as neither were really willing to use them. However, as their allies began to develop nuclear arsenals they became anxious worked together to limit the spread of the technology.

The sino-soviet split occurred as relations between Mao and Soviet leaders began to break down after Stalin's death but increased due to the Brezhnev doctrine and during detente and so the USA took the opportunity to improve relations with both powers.

The Vietnam war had shown that a nuclear arsenal and huge military power did not guarantee victory and the powers did not want war with each other. Better able to defend interests without direct intervention, it was logical to improve relations.

The cold war (in particular the arms and space races) was costing both sides an unsustainable fortune and with no end in sight neither side wanted to be bankrupted (especially the USSR).

Added to timeline:

Date: