The end of the Cold War, 1979-1991
H2 History - syllabus 9174, 2027
Reagan's renewed confrontation and arms control, Soviet decline, Gorbachev's New Thinking and the Sinatra Doctrine, the revolutions in Poland and East Germany, and the debate over who ended the Cold War.
- Reagan's renewed confrontation
Reagan revived confrontation with a military build-up, SDI, hard-line rhetoric and support for anti-communist rebels.
- From confrontation to arms control
Reagan combined pressure with negotiation, and with Gorbachev reached the INF Treaty in 1987, the first to eliminate a class of nuclear weapons.
- The decline of the Soviet Union
Economic stagnation, falling oil prices, the war in Afghanistan and military costs left the USSR unable to sustain the Cold War.
- Gorbachev's New Thinking and the Sinatra Doctrine
Gorbachev's New Thinking stressed common security and cut military commitments; abandoning force in Eastern Europe let its regimes fall.
- People power in Poland and East Germany
In Poland negotiation brought a non-communist government; in East Germany mass emigration and protest opened the Berlin Wall.
- Interpretations of the end of the Cold War
Historians debate whether Western pressure, Soviet initiative or people power was most responsible for ending the Cold War.
- Put it together: Who ended the Cold War?
Each interpretation emphasises different actors. Choose one and test it.
What you will be able to do
I can judge which causes mattered most in ending the Cold War, and weigh historians' views.
Syllabus 9174, Paper 1, Theme I, Learning Outcomes. evaluate the causes of the end of the Cold War
Taught in Reagan's renewed confrontation, From confrontation to arms control, The decline of the Soviet Union, Gorbachev's New Thinking and the Sinatra Doctrine, People power in Poland and East Germany, Interpretations of the end of the Cold War
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.