The END of the COLD WAR [AP World History Review—Unit 8 Topic 8]

The End of the Cold War: Key Causes

Technological and Military Advancements

• By the early 1980s, both the US and Soviet Union had over 12,000 nuclear missiles aimed at each other, leading to a tense standoff characterized by mutual assured destruction.

• The period of détente in the 1970s saw some easing of tensions, highlighted by the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I) signed by Nixon and Brezhnev.

• Ronald Reagan's election in 1980 marked a shift back to a hardline stance against the Soviets, culminating in his proposal for the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), which aimed to neutralize nuclear threats from space.

• Although dubbed "Star Wars," SDI never fully materialized but intensified competition between superpowers; Reagan anticipated that Soviet spending on military technology would exacerbate their economic decline.

Failed Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan

• The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 aimed to support a communist regime but resulted in prolonged conflict with Afghan rebels backed by the US and its allies.

• This nine-year war drained resources and further weakened an already struggling Soviet economy.

Gorbachev's Reforms

• Mikhail Gorbachev rose to power in 1985 during a time when the Soviet economy was stagnating due to excessive government control and limited foreign trade.

• His policies included Perestroika (restructuring), which reduced central planning, and Glasnost (openness), allowing criticism of government policies that had been suppressed for decades.

• Gorbachev also ceased military interventions to maintain communist governments, leading Eastern European countries to pursue democratic reforms rapidly.

• As independence movements gained momentum within satellite states, significant events like the fall of the Berlin Wall occurred in 1989, symbolizing broader changes across Europe.

Dissolution of the Soviet Union

• In response to growing instability and reform movements, the Soviet legislature voted in 1991 to dissolve the USSR, effectively marking an end to both Gorbachev’s leadership and the Cold War.