The impact of the arms race on the Cold War

Stabilising Effects
1. The deterrent effect of nuclear weapons prevented direct US-Soviet confrontation
2. The presence of nuclear weapons meant that the superpowers respected eachother's sphere of influence and did not intervene
  1. e.g Hungary 1956
3. Superpowers had to cooperated to regulate the nuclear threat
  1. e.g Removal of nuclear missiles from Hungary and Turkey 1962-1963
    1. e.g Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and Hotline 1963
4. US and Soviet leaders were aware of living in the nuclear age and acted responsibly
  1. e.g Khrushchev withdrew offer of helping China out with their nuclear programme
Destabilising Effects
1. Soviet Acquisition of the atomic bomb 1949 - led to spiralling arms race
  1. Both sides competed to develop more and more powerful and sophisticated weapons
    1. e.g H bomb 1952 - ICBMs 1957 - SLBMs 1960
2. Culture of secrecy surrounding development of nuclear weapons led to fears that the other side had nuclear superiority
  1. e.g the impact of the Gaither report 1957
3. Nuclear weapons encouraged superpower brinkmanship
  1. Which could've resulted in total devastation
    1. e.g US doctrine of massive retaliation 1954
      1. e.g Cuban Missile Crisis 1962
4. Cost of nuclear weapons imposed huge financial strains on both sides
  1. This had a destabilising effect in two ways
    1. K compensated for the USSR's relative weakness by adopting antagonistic approach to negotiations with West
    2. K's decision to base weapons in Cuba was due to fact that basing short-range missiles in Cuba was cheaper than basing long range ones in the USSR
5. Nuclear weapons didn't stop other forms of superpower competition for influence in the 50s and early 60s
  1. e.g Soviet economic and military aid to developing countries such as Egypt
    1. e.g US support for anti communist regimes in South Vietnam, South Korea and Taiwan

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The impact of the arms race on the Cold War

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