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Development and Spread of the Cold War
Quick questions on The arms race and nuclear deterrence explained: H2 History
6short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is the development of the arms race?Show answer
The arms race began when the American atomic monopoly ended with the first Soviet atomic test in 1949, and it accelerated through successive technological leaps. Both sides developed vastly more powerful thermonuclear weapons, then the long-range bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles to deliver them, and eventually submarine-launched missiles and multiple warheads. Each advance by one side prompted a matching or surpassing response by the other, producing a self-reinforcing spiral in which both accumulated arsenals far larger than any conceivable use. This spiral was driven by the security dilemma, mutual suspicion, technological momentum, and the influence of military and industrial interests in both states.
What is the case that nuclear weapons stabilised the Cold War?Show answer
The "long peace" argument holds that nuclear weapons kept the superpowers from direct war. Because the cost of a nuclear exchange was unlimited, both sides became extremely cautious in their dealings with each other, avoiding the kind of direct great-power war that had twice devastated the twentieth century. On this reading, deterrence imposed a discipline that conventional rivalries lacked: the very horror of the weapons made their use unthinkable, and so the central front in Europe remained, for all its tension, at peace for decades. Crises like Cuba ended in climbdown precisely because both leaders understood the stakes.
What is the case that nuclear weapons made it more dangerous?Show answer
Against this, the destabilising case stresses several dangers. The arms race was hugely costly and diverted vast resources. It bred crises, above all the Cuban Missile Crisis, in which the world came close to catastrophe. Deterrence depended on assumptions, perfect rationality, reliable command and control, accurate information, that could fail; accidents, false alarms and miscalculation were ever-present risks.
What is q1?Show answer
Define mutually assured destruction. [4 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
Explain why the arms race became a self-reinforcing spiral. [12 marks]
What is q3?Show answer
"Nuclear weapons made the Cold War more stable than dangerous." How far do you agree? [20 marks]
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