Relations between the Superpowers between 1959 and the Summer of 1962

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Relations between the Superpowers between 1959 and the Summer of 1962 1) Describe how relations between the superpowers worsened between 1959 and the summer of 1962. The allies were divided after defeating Germany and the relationship between superpowers worsened between 1959 and 1962. These two nations became the superpowers because they had greater military and economic resources than anyone else. They had tried to embarrass, humiliate and defeat each other in everything including sport, foreign aid, TV and the arms race. During 1945 to 1962, many events had contributed to the Cuba crisis such as the American use of the A.bomb in Japan and the misunderstanding in Germany, including the Berlin Blockade, rigged elections in East Europe etc… Khrushchev had many of his own problems and was under pressure to gain supporters. He needed to convince the Chinese and enemies in his own country that Russia was a match for America. In 1957 the Russians had moved ahead in the space race when they launched the Sputnik. This had worried the Americans. However, in 1961, Russia was able to send Yuri Gagarin into space and bring him back again. The Americans were now terrified. Everyone was afraid of the arms race, some protest groups were formed in Britain but it was impossible to protest in USSR without such freedom and equally difficult in the USA in the early days of McCarthy. Both sides had the H.bomb and there had been numerous clashes abroad, including the Korean War and the Russian invasion of Hungary and Poland in 1956. An extra problem was introduced in 1959 when Castro seized Cuba.In 1959, America had made their first mista... ... middle of paper ... ...ad made a Programme for Peace 1972 when the East Germans were allowed more freedom. In 1975, 35 countries had signed he Helsinki Agreement. This made USA recognise the Russian dominance in Eastern Europe. Each side agreed to advise other of military exercises and allow them to send observers. Although discussions were delayed because in 1975 Jimmy Carter became had the new American President and tried to pressurise Russia into improving conditions for Russian dissidents. He insisted that SALT talks were to be liked with Human Rights. However, in 1979, SALT 2 Agreement was ready to be signed when Russia invaded Afghanistan. So the detent was over. The Detent was an uneven process, it showed progress and regress. There was a clash of values about Human Rights. But detent prevented a massive disaster from happening.

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