9.1 Nixon's Foreign Policy: Détente and China

Nixon's foreign policy marked a shift in Cold War dynamics. He pursued détente with the Soviet Union and rapprochement with China, aiming to reduce tensions and gain strategic advantages. These moves reshaped global power balances and paved the way for future diplomatic engagements.

Key outcomes included the SALT agreements, which slowed the arms race, and improved US-China relations. Kissinger played a crucial role, employing realpolitik principles to navigate complex international relationships and negotiate critical agreements.

Nixon's Foreign Policy: Détente and China

Nixon's détente and rapprochement strategies

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• Pursued détente with the Soviet Union to reduce tensions, limit arms race, and secure cooperation on global issues (Vietnam War, arms control)
• Sought rapprochement with China to exploit Sino-Soviet split, gain leverage over the Soviet Union, and establish a counterweight to Soviet power in Asia
• Employed strategies such as pingpong diplomacy (sending U.S. table tennis team to China in 1971), secret diplomacy (Kissinger's covert trip to Beijing), and triangular diplomacy (playing the Soviet Union and China against each other)

Impact of US-China diplomatic relations

• Shifted global balance of power by weakening the Soviet Union's position and strengthening the U.S. position with a new ally in Asia
• Altered Cold War dynamics, reducing the likelihood of direct U.S.-Soviet confrontation and encouraging Soviet engagement in détente
• Influenced other nations to reconsider their alignments and relationships with China, paving the way for China's eventual economic opening and reforms

Outcomes of SALT agreements

• SALT I (1972):
  1. Interim Agreement on Offensive Arms froze the number of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) for five years
  2. Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty limited each country to two ABM sites (later reduced to one)
• SALT II (1979):
  1. Placed limits on the number of strategic launchers and multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs)
  2. Banned the construction of new land-based ICBM launchers
  3. Treaty signed but never ratified by the U.S. Senate due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
• Outcomes and significance:
  • Slowed the arms race and reduced the risk of nuclear war
  • Established a framework for future arms control negotiations (START, INF Treaty)
  • Symbolized the easing of tensions between the superpowers

Kissinger's role in Nixon's realpolitik

• Served as Nixon's National Security Advisor (1969-1975) and Secretary of State (1973-1977), playing a central role in shaping foreign policy
• Key architect of détente and rapprochement, conducting secret diplomacy with China and the Soviet Union and negotiating the SALT agreements and the opening to China
• Advocated realpolitik, emphasizing pragmatism, power politics, and national interests over ideology, and engaging with adversaries to achieve stability (détente with the Soviet Union, rapprochement with China)
• Influenced U.S. foreign policy beyond the Nixon administration through shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East and involvement in the Paris Peace Accords ending U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War