How far did peaceful coexistence ease Cold War tensions between the Soviet Union and the USA in the years 1953-61?

The Austrian State Treaty of 1955 reunified Austria from its split into divided zones of occupation and was a result ‘peaceful coexistence’ causing ease in the Cold War tensions between the USA and the USSR. Under the treaty, both the US and the USSR would withdraw its armed forces from Austria in return for agreeing its neutrality. As the influence of both superpowers in Austria was reduced so was a potential source of tension and conflict and Khrushchev even regarded the Treaty as a sign of a more mature approach to international relations. This was a step that showed peace between the two superpowers and ‘peaceful coexistence’ also had an effect on relations within the Communist bloc. One success for Khrushchev was an improvement in relations with Yugoslavia, although he had to agree to the request of Tito, the Yugoslav leader, to dissolve Cominform.

On the other hand, it can be seen that ‘peaceful coexistence’ did not ease Cold War tensions between the Soviet Union and the USA in the years 1953 – 1961 largely due to the fact that the USA was not willing to fully cooperate with the USSR as they were extremely suspicious and cautious with how they dealt with the USSR.  Eisenhower increased the use of covert operations within countries that would destabilize the forces of communism as a policy of ‘massive retaliation’ was places against communist aggression, which had been advocated by Dulles during the election campaign of 1952 and implied a much greater role for the use of nuclear weapons as their was a belief that the Soviet Union and its communist allies were pursuing expansionist policies. Eisenhower was also very conscious of the growth of power and influence of the military-industrial complex within the USA. He was also aware that economic resources could help improve living standards were being diverted into arms production. By 1954 over 12 per cent of America’s GNP was spent on armaments. With the growth in expensive nuclear missiles, this problem was unlikely to go away unless some sort of agreement could be reached with the USSR. Therefore, ‘peaceful coexistence’ was not easing tensions, it was a false pretense played out by each side in order to have a sense of security and avoid direct confrontation.

Even after the Berlin Airlift of 1948-49 there continued to be a crisis over Berlin. There had not been a formal peace treaty that ended World War II and settled the frontiers of Eastern Europe. In 1958 Khrushchev proposed that the US, Britain, France and the Soviet Union all sign, with the two Germanys, a peace treaty recognizing the de facto frontiers. He proposed making Berlin a free city that would be de-militarised and self-governing. All the signatories would guarantee its access to the rest of the world. However this was not acceptable to the West at all who did not agree and this caused further tension rather than ‘peaceful coexistence’ and relations between the superpowers were extremely fragile. Krushchev was blunt about the offer and gave the West six months to decide or otherwise he would allow East German control of the access to Berlin. This had the potential to become a nuclear crisis. This crisis passed when Khrushchev dropped his deadline and Eisenhower offered to negotiate and invited Khrushchev to the US. Nonetheless, it seemed as though the fact that each side recognized the others sphere of influence removed the likelihood of an intervention that could have provoked war. However, little was decided at this meeting but the parties did agree to meet again in 1960 in Paris. Before the Summit got underway, a U2 American spy plane that was capable of flying up to 70,000 ft (21538 m) was shot down over Soviet Territory. It had been on a mission to photograph potential missile bases in the Urals. At first the Americans denied that it was spy flight but eventually Eisenhower was forced to admit it. There was much posturing over this and the Summit never took place.

In conclusion, there was little impact from this policy on US-Soviet relations because the United States didn’t trust the Soviets. Even though at first it seemed as though peaceful coexistence seemed to lead to cooperation between the two superpowers as they met and tried to sort out issues, these never ended in any productive conclusions and left both sides cautious of each other. Other crises also arose such as continuing problems over Berlin and the failure to hold the proposed Paris Peace Summit in 1960 which led to increasing tensions and further crises - in the Bay of Pigs, Cuba, April 1961, in the erection of the Berlin Wall in August 1961 and finally; in the Cuban missile crisis in August-October, 1962. Peaceful co-existence as a policy had failed.