Rekjavik Flashcards
(19 cards)
What was the main topic of the Reykjavik Summit between Reagan and Gorbachev?
Nuclear disarmament and drastically reducing nuclear arsenals despite the Cold War still being active.
What concern did Gorbachev have about disarmament?
How to hold each side accountable for actually removing nuclear weapons.
What impact did the Able Archer 83 exercise have on the USSR?
It terrified Soviet leaders, as they believed it could be a cover for a real nuclear strike, pushing both sides toward de-escalation talks.
What was the outcome of Reykjavik for Reagan’s legacy?
Although the summit failed to reach a deal, Reagan was credited for at least attempting major disarmament, contributing to his diplomatic legacy.
What was the Iran-Contra Affair?
A scandal in which Reagan’s administration illegally sold weapons to Iran (via Israel) and used the proceeds to fund Contra rebels in Nicaragua, defying Congress’s ban on such aid.
How did the 1988 U.S. election reflect Cold War tensions?
Both candidates used anti-Soviet rhetoric, hyping the threat and fear of the USSR for political leverage.
What did Gorbachev want to remove to combat the Soviet military-industrial complex?
The U.S. Strategic Defense Initiative (“Star Wars”), which threatened to escalate the arms race.
Who was Eduard Shevardnadze?
Gorbachev’s foreign minister, who played a key role in diplomacy and easing Cold War tensions.
What was the Sinatra Doctrine?
Gorbachev’s policy allowing Eastern Bloc countries to pursue socialism in their own way, replacing the Brezhnev Doctrine.
What was Gorbachev’s stance on Eastern Europe’s buffer zone?
He did not want to give it up but tried to allow more freedoms, which ultimately backfired and hastened collapse.
What was the Solidarity Movement in Poland?
A labor and social movement, supported by the Catholic Church and the Polish Pope (John Paul II), that organized against the socialist government.
What was Civic Forum in Czechoslovakia?
A peaceful opposition movement led by Václav Havel that demanded civil liberties and government reform.
How did Eastern Bloc governments fall between 1987–1989?
Through largely peaceful insurgent movements that led to toppling of socialist regimes without Soviet intervention.
Why was the USSR’s non-intervention in Eastern Europe significant?
It marked a major shift from past behavior; a decade earlier, the USSR would have sent tanks to suppress revolutions (as in Hungary 1956 or Czechoslovakia 1968).
When and why did the Berlin Wall fall?
In November 1989, under mass public pressure and a botched East German announcement about relaxed travel laws, crowds gathered and began dismantling the wall themselves.
What role did the Stasi play in East Germany before the Wall fell?
The secret police enforced fear and surveillance, delaying reform longer than in other Eastern Bloc states.
What caused the final opening of the Berlin Wall?
An East German official mistakenly announced border openings, leading to masses of people flooding the checkpoints, and border guards, fearing violence, let them through.
What did George H.W. Bush and James Baker do during the fall of the Berlin Wall?
Despite internal U.S. skepticism, they believed the events were real and responded diplomatically, meeting with Gorbachev in Malta in December 1989 to reaffirm peaceful intentions.
What was the significance of the Malta Summit (Dec 1989)?
Often seen as marking the official end of the Cold War; both leaders agreed to a new era of cooperation and no longer considered each other enemies.
