The Role of the Nuclear Arms Race in Cold War Tensions Between the Soviet Union and the US
TITLE
Assess how far the nuclear arms race was responsible for the Cold War tension between the Soviet Union and the US.
ESSAY
The nuclear arms race played a significant role in escalating tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States during the Cold War. The development and proliferation of nuclear weapons heightened the stakes of the conflict and amplified the fear of a devastating global nuclear war. While the arms race was not the sole cause of Cold War tensions, it certainly exacerbated existing geopolitical rivalries and ideological differences between the two superpowers.
At the outset of the Cold War, both the US and the Soviet Union sought to establish their superiority in nuclear capabilities as a means of deterrence. The Soviet Union’s successful testing of its first atomic bomb in 1949 and subsequent development of hydrogen bombs forced the US to accelerate its own nuclear weapons program. The arms race led to a dangerous cycle of escalation, with each side striving to outmatch the other in terms of destructive power.
The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 epitomized the dangers of the nuclear arms race, as the world teetered on the brink of nuclear conflict. The US discovered Soviet missiles stationed in Cuba, prompting a tense standoff that brought the two superpowers perilously close to war. The crisis underscored the inherent risks of nuclear proliferation and the potential for miscalculation or miscommunication to spark a catastrophic confrontation.
Despite the antagonism and brinkmanship that characterized much of the Cold War, the nuclear arms race also served as a catalyst for diplomatic engagement between the US and the Soviet Union. The signing of arms control agreements such as the Limited Test-Ban Treaty, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaties (SALT I and II) represented efforts to mitigate the dangers of the arms race and reduce the risk of nuclear conflict.
Ultimately, the nuclear arms race played a dual role in shaping Cold War tensions. While it fueled mistrust and competition between the superpowers, it also compelled them to pursue avenues for dialogue and arms control. The gradual recognition of the need for mutual restraint and de-escalation marked a shift towards cooperation and détente in the later stages of the Cold War. The eventual signing of agreements like the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty reflected a shared commitment to reducing the nuclear threat and ushered in a new era of US-Soviet relations following the end of the Cold War.
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Assess how far the nuclear arms race was responsible for the Cold War tension between the Soviet Union and the US.
Cold War tensions arose from the conflicting ideologies of capitalism and communism, as well as superpower ambitions to expand their sphere of influence. President Truman was determined to contain communism and maintain the US’ superiority over the Soviet Union. The nuclear arms race may have, at times, exacerbated tension between the superpowers, but much of the tension was caused by their desire to protect and expand their sphere of influence.
The Cold War remained a propaganda war punctuated by proxy wars in which the US and the Soviet Union supported opposing sides, such as in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. The Middle East, like Africa and Latin America, became an area for Cold War rivalry. In Europe, the 1958 Berlin crisis resulted in the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961.
The nuclear arms race occurred because neither side wanted the other to gain the upper hand. The Soviet Union tested its first atomic weapon in 1949 which spurred Truman to authorize the development of hydrogen bombs. However, the Soviet Union had its own hydrogen bomb by 1953. Eisenhower’s ‘New Look’ foreign policy included using nuclear weapons, massive retaliation, and the use of brinkmanship.
Khrushchev established the Warsaw Pact in 1955, and its members devised plans to wage nuclear war against NATO. In 1957, the Soviets launched their first intercontinental ballistic missile, which created US fears of a missile gap between the Soviet Union and the US. With the launch of Sputnik 1, the first satellite, the Soviet Union also began the space race with the US.
There was a great fear in the US that the balance was in favor of the Soviet Union, even though the opposite was true. In 1958, the US launched its own satellite, Explorer 1, and developed its own ICBMs. This competition inevitably increased tension. In 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis further fueled the tensions between the two superpowers with fear that the world was on the brink of a nuclear war.
The nuclear arms race helped to bring the two sides together. Khrushchev had spoken of peaceful co-existence, and both Eisenhower and Dulles realized that a dialogue needed to be established with the Soviet Union. In 1959, Khrushchev visited the US briefly to meet Eisenhower at Camp David. Reports praised ‘the spirit of Camp David’ showing that both superpowers were willing to talk.
In 1963, the Limited Test-Ban Treaty was signed in Moscow by the US, the Soviet Union, and the UK. This Treaty banned all tests of nuclear weapons except those conducted underground. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty was signed on 1st July 1968. In 1972 and 1979, the SALT Ⅰ and SALT Ⅱ agreements were signed by the two powers which aimed to restrict the nuclear arms race.
However, following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, President Carter withdrew the SALT Ⅱ treaty from the Senate. When President Reagan assumed office, he referred to the Soviet Union as an ‘evil empire’ and he felt that he should negotiate from a position of strength. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan announced the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI).
Gorbachev was willing to negotiate a reduction in nuclear weapons, and in December 1987, he and Reagan signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty calling for the elimination of intermediate-range missiles. In July 1991, the US and the Soviet Union signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Act by which time the Cold War was over.