The period of détente in the 1970s between the US and Soviet Union was characterized by:

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Accepted Answer

Diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions, including arms control agreements like SALT. The period of détente in the 1970s was characterized by diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, including significant arms control agreements such as the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT I and SALT II). Other hallmarks of détente included President Nixon's visit to Moscow in 1972, the Helsinki Accords of 1975 (which addressed human rights and European borders), and increased trade and cultural exchanges between East and West.

Intensified nuclear weapons testing describes periods of heightened tension rather than détente - the purpose of détente was to reduce the risk of nuclear confrontation. While proxy wars continued during détente (notably in Vietnam and parts of Africa), the overall trajectory was toward reduced direct superpower confrontation. Neither NATO nor the Warsaw Pact was dissolved during this period - both alliances remained intact throughout the 1970s. The Soviet Union maintained its communist economic system during détente - economic reforms and eventual collapse came later under Gorbachev in the late 1980s.

Détente is a Cold War topic tested on the CLEP Western Civilization II exam. Students should understand the factors that motivated détente (nuclear parity, economic pressures, diplomatic pragmatism), its key achievements, and why it eventually broke down (Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, the election of Ronald Reagan). Understanding détente as one phase in the longer Cold War narrative is important.

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