Download History GCSE – Answering longer questions

History GCSE – Answering longer questions
In what ways did Superpower relations change in the years...
Introduction
 Answer the
question
 Outline what you
will talk about
Main body
Relations improved
because…
Relations worsened
because…
This led to…
The effect of this was…
One example was…
Another example / reason
was…
Furthermore, …
In addition, …
However, …
On the other hand, …
Superpower relations improved between 1963-1979 and the period was
called the era of ‘détente’. The détente was not friendship between the
superpowers but a period of greater co-operation. However, there were
also tensions during this time over Vietnam and the Czech revolt.
Relations improved because both superpowers wanted them to. The
Soviet Union was worried about the threat from China and wanted a
better relationship with the USA, while the US was fighting an
expensive war in Vietnam and needed to reduce its arms production
which was straining the economy. In 1963, the White House – Kremlin
hotline was set up which allowed better communication to take place
and a Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was agreed. This improved
communication led to talks and agreements on reducing nuclear arms,
including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1968 and the
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) in 1969, which led to the
SALT 1 Treaty in 1972. It seemed that the threat of nuclear war was
disappearing.
Relations also improved when President Nixon visited Moscow and
Peking in 1972 and trade and cultural relations increased between the
two nations. In 1975, they both accepted the borders of each European
country and signed the Declaration on Human Rights with the Helsinki
Agreement. New SALT talks were begun in 1979, although they were
never agreed as relations became cold again after Soviet Union invaded
Afghanistan.
Despite the détente, there were still big tensions between the
superpowers. Between 1963-1975 the USA fought communist North
Vietnam, while the Soviet Union secretly supplied the Vietnamese with
aid. Furthermore, in 1968 the Czech people rose up against the
communist government, which was put down by Soviet soldiers. This
showed the USA that the Soviet Union was not interested in democracy.
Another point of tension was that the arms race still continued with
other weapons, even if there agreements of medium range nuclear
weapons. Finally, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979 and
relations again became tense and hostile.
Conclusion
 Summarize what
you have said
In conclusion, during 1963-1979 there was an improvement in the
relationship between the superpowers with better communication and
co-operation, but this ended in 1979 with the invasion of Afghanistan.