Booklet 12: The Second Cold War
Chronology:
● 1979:
○ June: Pope John Paul II visits Poland.
○ December: USSR invades Afghanistan.
● 1980:
○ January: President Carter announces his Carter Doctrine.
○ July: Strikes begin amongst shipyard workers in Gdansk.
○ November: Ronald Raegan is elected as President in the US.
● 1981:
○ December: Martial law introduced in Poland.
● 1983:
○ September: KAL-007 (Korean Airlines Flight 007) is shot down.
Changes in leadership:
In the USA:
● 1980 Election: Jimmy Carter’s perceived weakness (especially after the Iran
hostage crisis and economic woes) opened the door for Ronald Reagan, a former
actor and California governor, who campaigned on revitalising the economy and
restoring US prestige.
● Reagan victories: Won in 1980 by 489–49 electoral votes, and again in 1984 by
525–13.
● Cold War approach: His presidency marked a shift to a more confrontational stance:
rapid military build‑up and staunch anti‑communist rhetoric.
In the USSR:
● Brezhnev’s decline and death: Leonid Brezhnev’s health faltered after strokes and
a 1975 heart attack; he died in November 1982 at age 75.
● Andropov (Nov 1982–Feb 1984): Yuri Andropov, former KGB chief, succeeded
Brezhnev but ruled only briefly before his death at 69.
● Chernenko (Feb 1984–Mar 1985): Konstantin Chernenko, already terminally ill, then
led until his death at 73.
● Gerontocracy: This era was marked by aged leaders (by 1980, the average
Politburo member was 70, compared with 55 in 1952) highlighting a leadership in
decline until Gorbachev’s rise in 1985.
Raegan’s first term (1981-85):
During his first term (1981–1985), Reagan rejected détente as morally and strategically
flawed, casting the Soviet Union as an “evil empire” and insisting the United States must
actively oppose communism. He dramatically expanded America’s nuclear and conventional
forces, employed strong anti‑Soviet rhetoric in public addresses, and articulated the Reagan
Doctrine, pledging support for groups worldwide resisting communist regimes rather than
merely containing them.
, Reagan’s policies:
● Defence spending: Increased by 13% in 1982, and over 8% in 1983 and 1984.
● New nuclear weapons: The development of stealth bombers and Trident
submarines.
● Strategic Defense Initiative: Announced in 1983, and advocated the development
of anti-ballistic missiles in space (Star Wars)
● The Reagan Doctrine: This gave assistance to anti-Communist insurgents as well
as anti-communist governments.
Reagan's rhetoric:
Reagan’s rhetoric was famously strident and uncompromising.
● At Notre Dame on 17 May 1981, he declared that the West would not merely
contain communism but “transcend” it, dismissing it “as some bizarre chapter in
human history whose last pages are even now being written.”
● On 8 June 1982, speaking to the British Parliament in Westminster, he argued
that no Soviet‑backed regime, from “Stettin in the Baltic to Varna on the Black Sea”,
had ever risked free elections, insisting that governments “planted by bayonets do
not take root” and would ultimately be “left on the ash heap of history.”
● To the National Association of Evangelicals on 8 March 1983, he denounced the
USSR outright as an “evil empire,” blaming it for global unrest and portraying it as a
malevolent force bent on world domination, language that stood in stark contrast to
the conciliatory tone of détente.
Reagan’s “evil empire” rhetoric in his first term may have been as much strategic posturing
as genuine conviction. Confronted with a faltering Soviet economy and the costly Afghan
war, he used strong public denunciations to maximise diplomatic leverage and hasten
arms‑control talks. Yet his deep personal loathing of communism and fear of Soviet
expansion in Africa and Latin America suggest he may also have sincerely viewed the USSR
as the root of global instability. Either way, during 1981–85 Reagan pursued an
uncompromising policy designed to apply maximum pressure on a weakening superpower.
The Reagan Doctrine: held that the United States must back any regime, or insurgent
force, that opposed communism, even if those allies were themselves undemocratic.
Beginning in his first term and formalised in his February 1985 State of the Union address,
Reagan authorised aid to anti‑communist guerrillas (notably the Contras in Nicaragua) and
sanctioned direct military action, as in 1983 in Grenada. He framed this policy as
“self‑defence,” declaring that America must “stand by our democratic allies” and “support
freedom fighters” from Afghanistan to Nicaragua. Yet this uncompromising stance harmed
US standing abroad, especially in Europe, where critics condemned Washington’s backing of
authoritarian regimes like those in El Salvador and balked at the deployment of Pershing II
and Cruise missiles. Tensions deepened when the US barred Europe from selling
technology for Soviet gas pipelines, ostensibly to curb dependence on Russian energy but
seen by many as hypocritical “bullying,” since America continued selling grain to the USSR.
Chronology:
● 1979:
○ June: Pope John Paul II visits Poland.
○ December: USSR invades Afghanistan.
● 1980:
○ January: President Carter announces his Carter Doctrine.
○ July: Strikes begin amongst shipyard workers in Gdansk.
○ November: Ronald Raegan is elected as President in the US.
● 1981:
○ December: Martial law introduced in Poland.
● 1983:
○ September: KAL-007 (Korean Airlines Flight 007) is shot down.
Changes in leadership:
In the USA:
● 1980 Election: Jimmy Carter’s perceived weakness (especially after the Iran
hostage crisis and economic woes) opened the door for Ronald Reagan, a former
actor and California governor, who campaigned on revitalising the economy and
restoring US prestige.
● Reagan victories: Won in 1980 by 489–49 electoral votes, and again in 1984 by
525–13.
● Cold War approach: His presidency marked a shift to a more confrontational stance:
rapid military build‑up and staunch anti‑communist rhetoric.
In the USSR:
● Brezhnev’s decline and death: Leonid Brezhnev’s health faltered after strokes and
a 1975 heart attack; he died in November 1982 at age 75.
● Andropov (Nov 1982–Feb 1984): Yuri Andropov, former KGB chief, succeeded
Brezhnev but ruled only briefly before his death at 69.
● Chernenko (Feb 1984–Mar 1985): Konstantin Chernenko, already terminally ill, then
led until his death at 73.
● Gerontocracy: This era was marked by aged leaders (by 1980, the average
Politburo member was 70, compared with 55 in 1952) highlighting a leadership in
decline until Gorbachev’s rise in 1985.
Raegan’s first term (1981-85):
During his first term (1981–1985), Reagan rejected détente as morally and strategically
flawed, casting the Soviet Union as an “evil empire” and insisting the United States must
actively oppose communism. He dramatically expanded America’s nuclear and conventional
forces, employed strong anti‑Soviet rhetoric in public addresses, and articulated the Reagan
Doctrine, pledging support for groups worldwide resisting communist regimes rather than
merely containing them.
, Reagan’s policies:
● Defence spending: Increased by 13% in 1982, and over 8% in 1983 and 1984.
● New nuclear weapons: The development of stealth bombers and Trident
submarines.
● Strategic Defense Initiative: Announced in 1983, and advocated the development
of anti-ballistic missiles in space (Star Wars)
● The Reagan Doctrine: This gave assistance to anti-Communist insurgents as well
as anti-communist governments.
Reagan's rhetoric:
Reagan’s rhetoric was famously strident and uncompromising.
● At Notre Dame on 17 May 1981, he declared that the West would not merely
contain communism but “transcend” it, dismissing it “as some bizarre chapter in
human history whose last pages are even now being written.”
● On 8 June 1982, speaking to the British Parliament in Westminster, he argued
that no Soviet‑backed regime, from “Stettin in the Baltic to Varna on the Black Sea”,
had ever risked free elections, insisting that governments “planted by bayonets do
not take root” and would ultimately be “left on the ash heap of history.”
● To the National Association of Evangelicals on 8 March 1983, he denounced the
USSR outright as an “evil empire,” blaming it for global unrest and portraying it as a
malevolent force bent on world domination, language that stood in stark contrast to
the conciliatory tone of détente.
Reagan’s “evil empire” rhetoric in his first term may have been as much strategic posturing
as genuine conviction. Confronted with a faltering Soviet economy and the costly Afghan
war, he used strong public denunciations to maximise diplomatic leverage and hasten
arms‑control talks. Yet his deep personal loathing of communism and fear of Soviet
expansion in Africa and Latin America suggest he may also have sincerely viewed the USSR
as the root of global instability. Either way, during 1981–85 Reagan pursued an
uncompromising policy designed to apply maximum pressure on a weakening superpower.
The Reagan Doctrine: held that the United States must back any regime, or insurgent
force, that opposed communism, even if those allies were themselves undemocratic.
Beginning in his first term and formalised in his February 1985 State of the Union address,
Reagan authorised aid to anti‑communist guerrillas (notably the Contras in Nicaragua) and
sanctioned direct military action, as in 1983 in Grenada. He framed this policy as
“self‑defence,” declaring that America must “stand by our democratic allies” and “support
freedom fighters” from Afghanistan to Nicaragua. Yet this uncompromising stance harmed
US standing abroad, especially in Europe, where critics condemned Washington’s backing of
authoritarian regimes like those in El Salvador and balked at the deployment of Pershing II
and Cruise missiles. Tensions deepened when the US barred Europe from selling
technology for Soviet gas pipelines, ostensibly to curb dependence on Russian energy but
seen by many as hypocritical “bullying,” since America continued selling grain to the USSR.
