Quick questions on The arms race and nuclear deterrence explained: O-Level History

The nuclear arms race began at the end of the Second World War, when the United States developed and used the atomic bomb against Japan. For a few years the United States alone had this terrifying weapon. But in 1949 the Soviet Union successfully tested its own atomic bomb, and the race was on. Neither superpower was willing to let the other gain a decisive advantage in such powerful weapons, so each strove to build more and better bombs than its rival.

Closely linked to the arms race was the "space race". The same rocket technology that could launch a satellite into space could also deliver a nuclear missile, so success in space was both a military advantage and a matter of prestige. When the Soviet Union launched the first satellite (Sputnik) into orbit in 1957, it shocked the United States, which feared the Soviets were ahead in rocket technology. The two then competed in space, a contest that was partly about science and prestige but was also tied to the military arms race.

The key idea that gave the arms race its strange logic was "deterrence". Deterrence means preventing an enemy from attacking by making sure that, if they do, they will suffer terrible consequences in return. Because both superpowers had enough nuclear weapons to destroy each other, neither could launch a nuclear attack without being destroyed by the other's response. This situation became known as "mutually assured destruction": both sides would be destroyed in any nuclear war.

What is meant by "mutually assured destruction"? [3 marks]

Explain why the launch of Sputnik in 1957 worried the United States. [5 marks]

"The nuclear arms race made the Cold War safer rather than more dangerous." How far do you agree? [8 marks]