Eisenhower, Khrushchev & the Cold War

US Dominance
•Established in late 1945 the UN had 50 founding members, the majority of them being pro-western.
•Based in New York the UN was seen as an instrument that the US could use to halt the spread of communism.
•Several key factors led to the US maintaining this dominance for several decades:

•European Colonial Allies
•The US refusal to recognise the PRC
•Western dominance in the Security Council

The best example of US dominance over the UN can be seen where?

The consolidation
•Eisenhower placed greater emphasis on alliances than his predecessor.
•His aim was to reduce US forces in Western Europe & instead replace them with allied forces and a nuclear umbrella.
•This carried over across the globe and in 1954 SEATO was formed.
•May 1955 the FRG was admitted to NATO. Why?
•A strengthened Germany would be a further block against communist expansion.
•In response the USSR consolidated its relations with its satellite states in Eastern Europe, leading to creation of the Warsaw Pact.

Eisenhower, dulles and Brinkmanship
•Eisenhower & his secretary of state John Foster Dulles carried over many of Truman’s national defence policies including:

•Continuing operations in Asia
•Halting the spread of communism
•Maintaining Western Europe’s Defence
•However, the new president was opposed to the idea that US conventional forces must be increased.
•Furthermore Eisenhower believed that Containment was inefficient as a policy against the ‘menace’ of communism.
•In its place he created the ‘New Look’ strategy.

The degree of Coexistence
•The rise of ‘de-stalinization’ and Khrushchev’s premiership led to a new focus for the Soviet Union.
•February 1956 The 20th Congress of the Communist Party – Khrushchev argued that conflict between then West need not be inevitable.
•If the USSR & its satellite states concentrated on internal improvements eventually communism would prevail and capitalism would collapse upon itself.

Foreign policy arms
•Khrushchev’s foreign policy aims were to lower the tension of the cold war, but were also focussed on achieving the following

•The USSR must remain the unchallenged leader of the socialist community.
•The Eastern Bloc must remain aligned with the USSR.
•The USSR must continue to develop its nuclear arsenal & maintain the status quo.

•Peaceful coexistence was a means to an end for the USSR, it was not meant to end the Cold War but was a strategy employed by Khrushchev to consolidate Soviet power & security.
Austrian state treaty
•The first test of this new found ‘coexistence’ was over Austria.
•After WWII Austria, like Germany, had been divided between zones of occupation.
•By late 1949 Austria had the potential to became a major zone of conflict between the East and West.
•It appeared to Austrian leaders in the Western zone that Austria was on the verge of being swallowed by the Soviet Union.
•By 1955 the new Soviet leadership meant that the USSR was prepared to discuss the future of Austria.
•May 1955 it was agreed that all occupying forces would be withdrawn and Austria guaranteed as a neutral state.

Summit diplomacy
•The Geneva Summit, September 1955 –
•Meeting between representatives from the USSR, USA, France and the UK which marked the beginning of discussions between East & West.
•‘Open Skies’ Proposal – In an attempt to suggest nuclear disarmament and as a first step towards lowering tension Eisenhower proposed an ‘open skies’ policy. Khrushchev however refused.
•The Future of Germany – Eisenhower also proposed a reunified Germany and elections to determine a single government. However since this would have likely ended with Germany becoming member of NATO Khrushchev again refused.
•The Paris Summit, May 1960 –
•September 1959 Khrushchev became the first Soviet leader to visit the USA when he held discussions with Eisenhower at Camp David.
•Both affirmed their commitment to settle the disputes over Berlin and Nuclear disarmament through peaceful means.
•This led to the Paris peace summit in which the USA & USSR discussed the prohibition of nuclear weapons in the pacific and an agreement over Berlin.
•Ultimately negotiations failed once more; the Chinese refused to go along with any decision made by the USSR and the shooting down of an American U-2 spy plane over the Soviet Union led to a breakdown in relations.
Peaceful coexistance in context
•Whilst relations were improving between the USA & USSR between 1955-60, we must not forget the wider events of the Cold War that contradict this.
•The Arms Race
•The Space Race
•The Conflict in Vietnam
•East & West Germany
•Cuba
•The uprisings in Poland & Hungary