Key Questions
- How did Reagan and the 'New Cold War' increase superpower tensions?
- What was the economic impact of the increased arms race on the Soviet Union?
- How did the summits and arms reduction agreements between Reagan and Gorbachev contribute to the end of the Cold War?
- You may be required to evaluate the importance of the arms race in ending the Cold War.
- Be prepared to compare this with other factors such as economic and ideological challenges.
1. The Arms Race and the New Cold War (late 1970s–early 1980s)
- In the late 1970s, the period of détente collapsed and Cold War tensions intensified in what became known as the New Cold War.
- The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1979) increased Western fears of renewed Soviet expansion and led to a sharp deterioration in relations.
- The USA responded by increasing military spending and adopting a more confrontational stance under President Ronald Reagan.
- Reagan described the USSR as an “evil empire”, signalling a return to ideological hostility and moral confrontation.
- Both superpowers dramatically expanded their nuclear arsenals, increasing the number and sophistication of ICBMs, SLBMs, and strategic bombers.
- The deployment of US Cruise and Pershing II missiles in Western Europe in response to Soviet SS-20 missiles heightened tensions and public fear of nuclear war.
2. The Economic Impact of the Arms Race on the USSR
- The prolonged arms race placed enormous strain on the Soviet economy, which was already inefficient and technologically backward.
- A large proportion of Soviet resources was devoted to defence spending, reducing investment in consumer goods, housing, and living standards.
- Central planning struggled to keep pace with rapid advances in military technology, especially compared to the more flexible capitalist economies of the West.
- Falling oil prices in the early 1980s reduced Soviet export income, worsening economic stagnation.
- By the mid-1980s, it became clear to Soviet leaders that competing militarily with the USA was unsustainable in the long term.
3. Reagan’s Military Buildup and Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)
- Reagan believed that military strength would force the USSR into negotiation from a position of weakness.
- In 1983, he announced the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a proposed missile defence system designed to intercept nuclear weapons from space.
- Although largely theoretical, SDI alarmed Soviet leaders because it threatened to undermine Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD).
- The USSR feared it lacked the technological and economic capacity to match SDI, increasing pressure to seek arms reduction rather than competition.
- SDI intensified the arms race psychologically and economically, even if it was never fully implemented.
4. The Rise of Gorbachev and a New Soviet Approach (from 1985)
- In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became leader of the USSR and introduced a radically new approach to Cold War relations.
- Gorbachev recognised that the arms race was damaging Soviet society and preventing meaningful economic reform.
- He introduced perestroika (economic restructuring) to modernise the Soviet economy and glasnost (openness) to encourage transparency and reform.
- Gorbachev rejected the idea that security depended on endless military expansion and argued for “reasonable sufficiency” in defence.
- He also abandoned the Brezhnev Doctrine, signalling that the USSR would no longer use force to control Eastern Europe.
5. The Developing Relationship Between Reagan and Gorbachev
- Despite early hostility, Reagan and Gorbachev developed a pragmatic and increasingly cooperative personal relationship.
- At the Geneva Summit (1985), both leaders agreed that a nuclear war could never be won and must never be fought.
- The Reykjavík Summit (1986) marked a turning point, as both sides discussed dramatic reductions in nuclear weapons, even though no final agreement was reached.
- These meetings helped build trust, reduce suspicion, and establish regular dialogue between the superpowers.
- Reagan softened his rhetoric and became more willing to pursue genuine arms reduction, not just arms limitation.
6. Arms Reduction Treaties and the De-escalation of the Cold War
- In 1987, the USA and USSR signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, which eliminated an entire category of nuclear weapons in Europe.
- This was the first agreement to actually reduce nuclear stockpiles rather than merely limit their growth.
- The treaty included on-site inspections, increasing transparency and trust between the two sides.
- Further agreements, such as START talks, continued the process of arms reduction into the late 1980s and early 1990s.
- These treaties demonstrated that cooperation had replaced confrontation as the dominant feature of superpower relations.
7. The Arms Race and the End of the Cold War
- The escalating arms race of the New Cold War exposed the economic weakness of the Soviet system and made continued rivalry impossible.
- Gorbachev’s reforms required a peaceful international environment, encouraging cooperation with the West.
- Improved US–Soviet relations reduced the likelihood of military conflict and undermined the justification for Cold War hostility.
- As the USSR withdrew support from communist regimes in Eastern Europe, revolutions in 1989 occurred without Soviet intervention.
- By 1991, the USSR collapsed, formally ending the Cold War, with the arms race playing a crucial role by pushing the Soviet system beyond its limits.
8. Overall Significance
- The arms race, especially during the New Cold War, intensified tensions but ultimately exposed the unsustainability of continued competition.
- The combination of US pressure, Soviet economic weakness, and the leadership of Gorbachev transformed rivalry into cooperation.
- Arms reduction and improved dialogue were central to ending the Cold War peacefully rather than through military confrontation.
- Why did the arms race intensify during the New Cold War, and how did this increase pressure on the Soviet economy?
- How did Reagan’s military build-up and the Strategic Defense Initiative change the balance of power and Soviet decision-making?
- Why was Gorbachev’s leadership a turning point in the Cold War, particularly in relation to the arms race and foreign policy?
- How did the meetings between Reagan and Gorbachev help transform superpower relations from confrontation to cooperation?
- To what extent did arms reduction treaties such as the INF Treaty contribute to the end of the Cold War?


