Second Cold War

Second Cold War Period Background

The Second Cold War will be defined in this article as the period of high tension between the US and the USSR in the years 1979-85. This period saw an escalation of hostilities between the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, after a period of relative détente in the early 1970s.

By the 1970s, both the US and the USSR were occupied with their internal affairs and domestic issues.

The Soviet leader, Leonid Brezhnev, struggled to revive a stagnating economy and improve the standard of living for Soviet citizens. In the United States, the White House was grappling with the backlash from the Vietnam War, a major oil crisis, and the Watergate Scandal, which led to President Richard Nixon’s resignation.

Crucially, the US and the USSR continued to distrust one another. Despite the Helsinki Accords, they both continued to play a role in foreign nations’ politics and governance to advance their own interests.

Causes of the Second Cold War

The Second Cold War was brought about by short-term triggers such as the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Ronald Reagan’s confrontational foreign policy, and changes in leadership.

1. Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan: The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979 to prop up a communist regime facing a rebellion. This was seen by the United States and its allies as a move to spread communism and increase Soviet influence in the region, leading to heightened tensions.

2. End of Détente: The late 1970s saw the end of détente, a period of relaxed tensions and improved relations between the US and the Soviet Union. Political changes, and disagreement on arms control treaties contributed to the end of this period.

3. Olympic Boycotts: The US boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the Soviet Union reciprocated by leading a boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

4. Nuclear Arms Race: The early 1980s saw an intensification of the nuclear arms race. Both the United States and the Soviet Union deployed new missile systems in Europe, leading to widespread fear of a nuclear conflict.

5. Strategic Defense Initiative: In 1983, US President Ronald Reagan announced the Strategic Defense Initiative, a plan to develop a defence system against nuclear missiles. The Soviet Union saw this as a major escalation of the arms race.

6. Changes in US Foreign Policy: The United States adopted a more confrontational stance towards the Soviet Union during this period, with Reagan famously calling the Soviet Union an 'evil empire'. This shift in rhetoric and policy added to the tensions.

7. Economic Issues: Both the United States and Soviet Union were dealing with economic challenges during this period, and their competition for global influence was in part a reflection of their domestic economic struggles.

Second Cold War Afghanistan

The event that put an end to détente (the easing of hostility) and led to this period of rising tensions was the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. As Democratic President Jimmy Carter said:

Despite his strong remarks, Carter was severely criticised by the Republicans. Carter's foreign policy had previously involved cutting military spending and reducing the number of military weapons. The Republicans pressed Carter to respond to the invasion and characterised the moderate nature of his foreign policy as weak.

Fig. 1 - Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States (20 January 1977 - 20th January 1991)

Indeed, after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Carter reversed his policies. Carter now favoured a hardline approach towards the USSR, which included the following policies:

• Placing harsh embargoes (ban on trade) on grain and other consumer goods from the USSR.

• Supporting a US boycott of the Olympic Games, which were to be held in Moscow.

• Committing to a 5% increase in military spending.

• Declaring a willingness to defend American interests in the region with military action if necessary.

• Withdrawing the American ambassador to Moscow.

• The formation of the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force to Afghanistan, which was a mobile three-division force that could easily move around the world.

• Approving military aid for Afghan rebels.

• Issuing PD-59, a classified and aggressive military defence strategy, designed to allow American presidents greater flexibility to carry out nuclear warfare.

These actions against the USSR would later be referred to as the Carter Doctrine and represented a strict departure from the platform of peaceful coexistence that he had campaigned on.

Reagan and the Second Cold War

In 1980, Ronald Reagan replaced Jimmy Carter as the President of the United States. Reagan was outspoken about his stance against communism and frequently referred to the USSR as an ‘evil empire’. Once he was in power, Reagan put into place aggressive policies that aimed to stop the spread of communism.

The start of President Reagan's policy aimed to not only contain communism but also eliminate it. His rollback policy was a stark symbol of his willingness to mobilise military and economic resources to stop the spread of communism across the world.

This policy led to the secret US support of anti-Communist rebels throughout the world. For example, Reagan gave covert support to the Contras in their attack on the socialist government in Nicaragua, the Afghan rebels in their fight against the USSR, and the anti-communist Angolan forces which fought in the country’s bloody civil war. Reagan also gave support to the Marcos dictatorship in the Philippines and the South African apartheid government.

President Reagan viewed the Second Cold War as about:

The Reagan administration further created a new policy towards the USSR through the implementation of the NSDD-32 (National Security Decisions Directive), which aimed to confront the USSR on three fronts:

1. Hinder Soviet access to advanced technology and diminish their resources, including putting downward pressure on the value of Soviet exports on international markets.

2. Increase American military spending, which would fortify America’s negotiating position.

3. Make it necessary for the USSR to devote more of its national budget to defence.

Reagan’s policies revived hostilities and the arms race. With the aggressive Reagan Doctrine, the US believed they could reverse Soviet expansionism and eventually end the Cold War, not through appeasement, but by intimidation.

Changes in leadership and the decline of Brezhnev

Reagan found a close ally in the newly elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Margaret Thatcher. Both leaders were staunchly anti-communist and both had pledged to roll back communism.

Additionally, the USSR was led by Leonid Brezhnev who was in very poor health and took a backseat to foreign policy decisions. The strength of the new alliances in the West, which were determined to fight communism and the weakness of Brezhnev contributed to the onset of the Second Cold War.

Consequences of the Second Cold War

The consequences of the Second Cold War can be summarised as an escalation in the arms race (including nuclear weapons), the economic strain on the USSR, the United States supporting anti-Soviet forces in Afghanistan (which late gave rise to groups like the Taliban), and increased tensions and fears of militarization in the Soviet Union and the United States.

The historian Robert L. Ivie claimed that:

Perhaps the most significant impact of the Second Cold War was its economic strain on the USSR. By the time the Soviet leader Gorbachev ascended to power in 1985, he was committed to reducing the toll of the Cold War on the USSR, and thus complied with most of Reagan’s policies.

The USSR suffered from an economic growth rate close to 0%, combined with a sharp fall in export earnings due to the decline of world oil prices in the 1980s, during which petroleum exports made up around 60% of the USSR’s total export earnings. Thus, to institute rapid reform, Gorbachev redirected the country’s resources from costly Cold War commitments to more profitable areas in the civilian sector and offered major concessions to the US on the levels of conventional forces, nuclear weapons, and policy in Eastern Europe.

After this period, tensions cooled off once again, and the Cold War came to an official end in 1989, when the Soviet Union began to break down.