The end of the Cold War

• Argues Reagan's hard line approach imposed economic and military pressure on the USSR - the USSR could no longer compete so had to abandon the arms race and the Cold War
• Reagan's successful anti-communist policies included
  • A 53% increase in the US defence budget (1981) - Announcement of SDI - 1983
  • Uncompromising anti-soviet 'Evil Empire' rhetoric
  • Implementation of Reagan Doctrine
  • Deployment of cruise and Pershing II missiles in Europe

Criticisms 

• Its argued that it oversimplifies a complex historical process and exaggerates the impact of Reagan's hard line approach
  • From 1982-84, Reagan's uncompromising stance failed to extract concessions from Andropov - confrontational strategy merely prolonged the war by hardening Soviet resistance
  • Reagan's offer to share SDI technology with USSR contradicts the argument that USA aimed to undermine the Soviet Union economically- Soviet scientists concluded SDI was impractical = had limited pressure on USSR 
  • Reagan and Bush's policy of constructive engagement with Gorbachev produced more significant results e.g. INF Treaty
  • Triumphalist view underestimates the role of other factors such as Gorbachevs new thinking an the role of people in Eastern Europe        

• Many Triumphalist historians seert that she played an important role
• Thatcher supported Reagan's anti-soviet strategy of 'militarised counter-revolution' and later claimed that this US policy was the reason the west 'won'
• She reinforced Reagan's rhetoric - she remarked that the Soviets 'pitiless ideology only survives because it is maintained by force'
• She allowed USA to deploy cruise missiles in Britain - key feature of Reagan's plans to pressure the USSR
• She promoted US policy to other Western European Governements 

However 

• She also pursued less confrontation policies which contradicted her 'Cold War warrior' image 
• 1984 she established a good working relationship with Gorbachev - invited him for talks in London
• She later endoresed Perestroika and acted as a link between Gorbachev, Reagan and Bush 

• Inspiried Catholics in E. Europe and provided moral support for the Polish trade union Solidarity
  • Visits to Poland were hugely popular - 12 million poles saw him on his 1979 tour - indicating Catholicism rather than communism commanded public loyalty
  • Pope rejected the Polish regime's claim that the Catholic Church had no social role
  • 1981, the Solidarity leader and Cahtolic, was blessed by the Pope in Rome - highly significant
  • Pope's speeches e.g. 'Do not be afraid' encouraged anti communists and made the Polish people more self confident 

However

• Popes influence had its limist
• Catholicism attracted support in Poland and Baltic states, but elsewhere in Eastern Europe it had to compete with other beliefs e.g. Protestantism etc meaning it had less impact 

He was unwillinging to perpetuate the Cold War stalemate - worked to create genuing East-West understanding by adopting policies to build trust, reduce tensions and solve USSR's economic problems

• Pursued arms reductions
  • Negotiated INF treaty
  • conducted the START agreement with the USA (reduced nuclear arsenals by 30%)
• He removed the ideological basis of the Cold war - promoted glasnot and perestroika
  • UN speech - abandoned the Brezhnev Doctrine - endorsing freedom of choice
  • Introduced perestroika reforms into soviet economy (1986)
  • Informed East European communsit leaders they would have to govern without Soviet support - 1989
  • Glasnost gave the Soviet satellite countries the right to choose their own paths
• Ended 'old-stlye' Soviet aggression and expansionism
  • 1988 annoucned soviet forces in Eastern Europe would be reduced by 500,000
  • Withdrew Soviet forces from Afghanistan by 1989
  • Ended finacial support to Ethiopia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Nicaragua, Angola
  • Refused to suppress popular protests in eastern Europe or prevent the liberalisation of the Soviet Bloc

• It oversimplifies a complicated historical process and exaggerates his personal impact
• Main criticisms
  • Complex and unpredictable developments that ended the war were beyond one leaders ability to control
  • The view underestimates the role played by Reagan from 1984 in seeking a better US-Soviet relationship 
  • Can underplay the broader structural factors that helped to end the War such as Soviet economic problems and gorwing scoial discontent in the satellite states
  • Some soviet commentators have argued that Gorbachev 'caved in' to the WEst due to pressure exerted on the Sovier Union by US campaigns 

Strengths

• Focuses on the key individuals who made major decisions or were significant in the years leading up to the end 
• Approach is valuable in examining Soviet behaviour, bearing in mind Gorbachev's radical new approach in cold war tensions
• Reveals the constraints and pressures under which the national leaders had to operate during the last stages of the war

Weakenesses

• May exaggerate importance of an individual
• May underestimate the importance of structural factors such as economic problems and social discontent especially in the USSR

East-West conflict imposed massive economic burdens on the superpowers especially the USSR

Stagnant Soviet economy 

• Soviet propaganda always claimed they were on the verge of overtaking USA's economy - K bragged the Soviet Union would bury the USA economically
• 8 years later they predicted industrail production would increase by 50%
• Reality was very different
• Soviet economy was stagnating due to: 
  • enormous costs of the arms race
  • unrealistic production targets
  • inefficient central planning methods
  • inadequate infrastructure and technology
  • corruption within the Soviet elite 
• Growing reliance on the export of oil and gas was hit by a downturn in the world enegry prices
• Oil accounted for 15.6% of Soviet exports in 1970 - by 1984 this had risen by over 54%

Technological backwardness

• West imposed a co-ordinated technology embargo on the Soviet Bloc in 1950
• 1974 USA banned the sale of advanced computers to the USSR and its allies 
• Soviet system discouraged technological progress - police limited use of computers and photocopiers because of the threat they posed to the states absolute control

• Economic factors interpretation maintains that:
  • Cold War placed huge economic  strains on both superpowers
  • USSR faced mounting economic problems due to 
    • inefficiency of centralised state economic planning
    • the financial burden of maintaining a soviet empire
    • the escalating costs of the nuclear arms race 
  • these economic difficulties prompted Gorbachev's new thinking and compelled USSR to opt out of an unsustainable Cold War

A costly empire 

• Soviet empire acted as an economic drain
• USSR's favourable trading arrangements with socialist allies ensure they say relativeily little of their potential wealth
• Energy and raw materials were sold to these states and low prices in return for low-grade industrial or consumer goods
• Between 1981 and 1986 - USSR provided CUba and Vietnam with $4billion and $6billion in aid and oil subsidies 
• Warsaw Pact countries recieved a yearly subsid of $3 billion due to cheap oil sent by the Soviet Union

The Arms Race

• Soviet Union in a weaker economic position to cope with high military spending 
• USSR's defence expenditure increased by between 4 and 7% each year 
• Mid 1980's military budget accounted for 25% of Soviet GDP and 40% of the state budget 

Strengths

• focuses on a key structural factor which had an important beaering on the superpowers ability to sustain their policies
• approach is particulary valubale in examining soviet behaviour 
• widens the debate about the end of the war beyond the influence of individual people by focusing on long term economic trends

Weaknesses

• Prior to Gorbachev, Soviet leaders continued with Cold War policies regardless of the mounting economic problems
• Reagans' operspend strategy appeared to have little effect on soviet behaviour between 1981 and 1985
• Approach may underestimate the relative importance of Gorbachev and Reagan 

• widespread protests and demonstrations broke communist regimes - led to a public rejection of Marxist - Leninism 
• interpretation focuses on the impact of events from 'below'
• people power offers a central explanation for the transformation of Eastern Europe on 1989 - change was rapid and peaceful
• there was growing popular discontent due to the failure of the central economic planning, continured repression and the moral bankruptcy of communism 

Did people power end the cold war?

Yes

• nature of political change in E Europe in 1989 also endoresed the argument because - speedy and largely peaceful - popular pressure pussehd the process much further than Gorbachev wanted
• without Gorbachev's crucial intervention, events would've turned out differently - he abandoned the Brezhnev Doctrine and at times he urged the Polish and East German communist regimes not to use force against protestors

Did people power end the cold war?

No

• limited as an explanation
• it underestimates:
  • the impact of Gorbachevs radical new approach to cold war diplomacy
  • the consequences of Reagan's 'militarist counter-revolution' and subsequent accomodation with the USSR for Cold war relations