Détente

(noun)

A relaxing of tension between major powers, especially the particular thawing of relations between the Soviet Union and the United States following the Cold War.

Related Terms

Examples of Détente in the following topics:

  • Containment in Vietnam

    • Nixon, who replaced Johnson in 1969, moved away from containment to his foreign policy of détente, or a relaxation of tension.
    • Although it continued to aim at restraining the Soviet Union, detente was based on political realism, or thinking in terms of national interest, as opposed to crusades against communism or for democracy.
    • Distinguish between Goldwater's stance on victory, Johnson's adherence to containment, and Nixon's move toward détente as foreign policies in Vietnam.

  • Containment

    • It represented a middle-ground position between détente and rollback.
    • President Richard Nixon (1969–74), working with his top advisor Henry Kissinger, rejected containment in favor of friendly relations (or détente) with the Soviet Union and China.
    • President Jimmy Carter (1976–81) emphasized human rights rather than anti-communism, but dropped détente and returned to containment when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979.

  • The Ford Administration

    • As president, Ford signed the Helsinki Accords, marking a move toward détente in the Cold War.
    • Ford continued the détente policy with both the Soviet Union and China, easing the tensions of the Cold War.

  • The Ford Inauguration

    • As president, Ford signed the Helsinki Accords, marking a move toward détente in the Cold War.
    • Ford continued the détente policy with both the Soviet Union and China, easing the tensions of the Cold War.

  • The Reagan Administration

    • Publicly describing the Soviet Union as an "evil empire," he supported anti-communist movements worldwide and spent his first term forgoing the strategy of détente by ordering a massive military buildup in an arms race with the Soviet Union.

  • Containment in Foreign Policy

    • This détente, or relaxation of tensions, involved expanded trade and cultural contacts.
    • Nixon, who replaced Johnson in 1969, referred to his foreign policy as détente, or a relaxation of tension.

  • Conclusion: Political Crises in the 70s and 80s

    • He made substantial progress in foreign policy, however, establishing diplomatic relations with China for the first time since the Communist Revolution and entering into a policy of détente with the Soviet Union.
    • This graph of the number of people in jail, prison, and juvenile detention by decade in the United States shows the huge increase in incarceration during the war on drugs that began in the 1980s, during the Reagan administration.

  • The Election of 1972

    • Nevertheless, Nixon's campaign boasted of détente with the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union, both popular with most Americans.

  • The Nixon Administration

    • -Chinese alliance, the Soviet Union yielded to pressure for détente with the United States.

  • The Defense Buildup and the "Evil Empire"

    • Reagan escalated the Cold War during his presidency, accelerating a reversal from the policy of détente which began in 1979 following the Soviet war in Afghanistan.