From confrontation to arms control

H1 History - syllabus 8838, 2027

What this lesson teaches

  • I can judge which causes mattered most in ending the Cold War, and weigh historians' views.

    Syllabus 8838, Theme I, Learning Outcomes. evaluate the causes for the end of the Cold War

Make a guess

Reagan called the USSR an "evil empire" in 1983. What do you think he and Gorbachev signed in December 1987?

  1. A treaty scrapping a whole class of nuclear missiles.
  2. A treaty to scrap the nuclear weapons of both sides by 2000.
  3. No treaty, because Reagan refused to negotiate with Soviet leaders.
Show the answer

A treaty scrapping a whole class of nuclear missiles.

The INF Treaty eliminated intermediate-range missiles and allowed on-site inspections, which built trust.

Reagan combined pressure with negotiation, and with Gorbachev reached the INF Treaty in 1987, the first to eliminate a class of nuclear weapons.

Reagan was not only a hawk. He believed nuclear weapons should be reduced and even abolished, and he was willing to negotiate from strength.

After Gorbachev came to power in 1985, the two leaders met at Geneva in November 1985. At Reykjavik in October 1986 they came close to agreeing to abolish all nuclear weapons, but talks broke down because Reagan refused to limit SDI.

In December 1987 they signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. It eliminated an entire class of missiles and allowed on-site inspections, which built trust. The START I treaty to cut long-range weapons was signed in July 1991.

Historians debate who deserves the credit. Some stress Reagan's strength, which made the USSR negotiate. Others stress that Gorbachev made most of the concessions, accepting US proposals such as the "zero option" on intermediate missiles.

Geneva summit
November 1985.
Reykjavik
October 1986: near agreement; SDI the obstacle.
INF Treaty
December 1987: eliminates intermediate-range missiles.
START I
July 1991.

Real examples to use

Reykjavik, 11 to 12 October 1986

Reagan and Gorbachev discussed scrapping all nuclear weapons, but no deal was reached because Reagan would not limit SDI.

INF Treaty, 8 December 1987

By June 1991 the USA had destroyed 846 missiles and the USSR 1,846, a total of 2,692. It was the first treaty to cut nuclear weapons rather than cap them.

START I, 31 July 1991

Bush and Gorbachev agreed to limit each side to 6,000 long-range warheads on 1,600 missiles and bombers.

Worked example: Who drove arms control?

A source shows a Soviet official saying the USSR had compromised on key issues.

  1. Support for Soviet initiative: Gorbachev accepted the zero option and inspections.
  2. Support for Reagan: he set the terms and kept SDI as leverage.
  3. Cross-reference: Reykjavik failed over SDI, yet the INF Treaty followed.
  4. Judgement: agreement needed both a willing Reagan and a reforming Gorbachev.

Watch out for this

The INF Treaty ended the nuclear arms race.

It eliminated intermediate-range missiles only. Strategic weapons remained, and START I came later, in 1991.

Check your understanding

Why did the Reykjavik summit fail to reach a full agreement?

  1. Gorbachev refused to discuss nuclear weapons.
  2. Reagan refused to limit SDI.
  3. The summit was cancelled.
Show the answer

Reagan refused to limit SDI.

Right. SDI was the sticking point.

Sources and context

Background reading for this chapter.

  • Reagan describes an evil empire

    Paraphrase of President Reagan's remarks to the National Association of Evangelicals, Orlando, 8 March 1983.

  • Reagan proposes missile defence

    Paraphrase of President Reagan's televised address on defense and national security, 23 March 1983.

  • A Soviet premier meets the US Secretary of State

    Paraphrase of the US memorandum of conversation between Soviet Chairman of the Council of Ministers Nikolai Ryzhkov and Secretary of State George Shultz, Moscow, 14 April 1987.

  • Gorbachev plans his UN speech

    Paraphrase of notes by Anatoly Chernyaev of Gorbachev's conference with his advisers, 31 October 1988, held in the archive of the Gorbachev Foundation.

  • Reagan at the Brandenburg Gate

    Paraphrase of President Reagan's remarks at the Brandenburg Gate, West Berlin, 12 June 1987.

  • A US government history of the collapse

    Paraphrase of "The Collapse of the Soviet Union", an account published by the Office of the Historian, US Department of State.

  • Reagan's strategy towards the USSR, January 1983

    Extract from National Security Decision Directive 75, "U.S. Relations with the USSR", signed by President Reagan, Washington, 17 January 1983. Secret when issued. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1981-1988, volume III, document 260. A US government document in the public domain.

  • Reagan and Gorbachev at Reykjavik, 12 October 1986

    Extract from the US memorandum of conversation of the final meeting between President Reagan and General Secretary Gorbachev, Reykjavik, 12 October 1986, written by the American notetaker Tom Simons. The summit ended without agreement. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1981-1988, volume V, document 308. A US government document in the public domain.

  • Shevardnadze previews Gorbachev's UN speech, 7 December 1988

    Extract from the US memorandum of conversation of Secretary of State George Shultz's meeting with Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze, New York, 7 December 1988, hours before Gorbachev addressed the UN General Assembly. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1981-1988, volume VI, document 178. A US government document in the public domain.

  • the CIA Director on Eastern Europe, October 1988

    Extract from a memorandum to the file, Washington, 4 November 1988, reporting a meeting of President Reagan's National Security Planning Group on Eastern Europe on 25 October 1988, based on notes by State Department official Tom Simons. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1981-1988, volume X, document 61. A US government document in the public domain.

  • Bush on the opening of the Berlin Wall, 9 November 1989

    Extract from President George Bush's remarks and question-and-answer session with reporters in the Oval Office on the relaxation of East German border controls, Washington, 9 November 1989. A US government record in the public domain; text from the American Presidency Project.

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