The second major reason why the superpowers were able to conduct arms reductions agreements in 1987 and 1991 but only arms control agreements was the fact that America had possessed a nuclear monopoly over the USSR and it was this monopoly which prompted the USSR to engage in a huge nuclear arms build up to counter this nuclear superiority. In 1945, when USA dropped an atomic bomb nicknamed “Little Boy” on Hiroshima and a second bomb “Fat Man” on Nagasaki, the world was completely shocked by the horrendous effect of the atomic bomb. Therefore from 1946 onwards, the USA had possessed a nuclear monopoly over the USSR and so it is no surprise that the USSR were intent on developing their own nuclear weapons upon seeing the horrifying yet powerful effect of the nuclear weapon. Hence, initial plans put forward by the USA such as the Baruch Plan of 1946 to stem the development of nuclear weapons were promptly rejected by USSR. Moscow had no intent to negotiate from a point of weakness and this prompted them to go on major nuclear arms race with the USA and by 1968, USSR had achieved “essential equivalence” with the USA in ICBMS. Such a scenario repeated in 1962 when Kennedy ordered the largest nuclear arms build-up in history and this gave the USA a 3:1 advantage in ICBMS and SLBMS as early as the end of 1962 and Khrushchev responded by going into a heavy arms build up and after the Cuba Crisis in which Khrushchev decides to site short and medium range missiles in Cuba, Khrushchev set about reducing their strategic inferiority in nuclear forces by the development of the SS18 ICBM and the Backfire strategic bomber. Thus, it can be seen that the nuclear monopoly that the USA had over the USSR in the 1950s which eventually devolved into the need for each superpowers to match each other’s nuclear strength stimulated the intense build up of nuclear forces by both superpowers and in the context of such an hostile period, it was impossible for both superpowers to engage in arms reduction talks when the basic arms control talks were seriously hampered by the nuclear arms between both superpowers. Between the period of 1987 and 1991s, nuclear superiority were no longer so important the signing of The Treaty On the Limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile systems meant that both superpowers would regardless of their nuclear superiority be annihilated and that nuclear war was unthinkable. Hence, there was a greater incentive for both countries to reduce their nuclear arms and prompted them to engage in nuclear arms reduction talks.
The third major reason why the superpowers were able to conduct arms reductions agreements in 1987 and 1991 but only arms control agreements before thatwas the fact that one of the protagonists of the Cold War conflict was becoming too weak to maintain their hold over their stash of their nuclear weapons and this was none other than the Soviet Union. From 1980 to 1991, the USSR was approaching a crisis. Its economy was in decline, a process exacerbated by the enormous demands of the military sector (40% of R&D, between 15% and 18% of GNP) Compared with the west, it was technologically backward and faced severe problems such as alcoholism, absenteeism and falling life expectancy. The Stalinist model of economy was simply not enough for the late 20th century global marketplace—one that demanded efficiency, productivity, improved quality control and improved infrastructure. In other words, the USSR was producing yesterday’s good using yesterday’s methods. In addition, the attempts to weaken the USSR’S economy by the USA were successful such as denying it access to modern western technology and economic support and opposing co-operation on the Soviet natural gas pipeline which was to bring gas from Siberia to Europe. By the mid-1970s and into the 1980s, average Soviet GNP growth rates had plummeted to about 2 percent, less than half the rates of the immediate postwar period. The serious damage to its economy meant that the USSR will never be able to maintain their nuclear weapons and the only way to ease the pressure off the economy was through arms reductions which prompted them to negotiate on the dismantling of nuclear weapons which were becoming increasingly to maintain. Between the early 1950s and 1975, this was a different case as can be seen from the fact that the Soviet gross national product (GNP--see Glossary) increased at an average of about 5 percent per year, outpacing the average growth of the United States and keeping pace with many West European economies--albeit after having started from a much lower point. Most countries were rapidly industrializing and so were the USSR which had laid its foundations from the reforms and emphasis on heavy industrialization by Stalin. Thus, the USSR’s economy was in a position to compete with that of foreign European countries and was not considered backward. The Soviet Union even had the ability to engage in a nuclear arms race with the American in the period of 1950-1965 when apart from achieving “essential equivalence” with the USA in ICBM; the USSR also achieved that by the development of the SS18 ICBM and the Backfire strategic bomber in the 1970s. Hence, in the context of this, it was unlikely that arms reduction treaties could be carried out during that period of time.
The fourth major reason why the superpowers were able to conduct arms reductions agreements in 1987 and 1991 but only arms control agreements before that was the fact that in the period preceding 1987, there was a huge proliferation of nuclear weapons . Countries such as France for example decided to become a nuclear power in 1966 by the decision of Prime Minister, Pierre Mendes-France. China who had previously been denied nuclear secrets by the USSR embarked on a nuclear programme of their own. Before long, the Chinese exploded their first atomic bomb on 15th October 1964 and their first hydrogen bomb on 17th June 1967. Consequently, their rival India was given the go ahead by Indian Prime Minister, Mrs Indira Gandhi to pursue their own nuclear program in 1972 and the first nuclear “device” was tested in 1974. This huge proliferation of nuclear weapons meant that it was necessary to control the spread of nuclear secrets and the rapid development of nuclear weapons which was increasingly undertaken by many countries. Hence, it was imperative that arms control agreements such as the Non-proliferation treaty of 1968 be established earlier in the period preceding 1987. Once the control of the development of nuclear weapons was done, only can arms reduction agreements be carried out as without the solid control of nuclear weapons, the uncontrolled proliferation of nuclear weapons would have made it impossible to embark on nuclear arms reductions.
Thus, it can be seen that there were numerous reasons for why arms reduction agreements were carried out in only 1987 and 1991 and that before this period of time, arms control agreements were established. The conclusion is that without the earlier establishment of arms control agreement, arms reduction agreements could never have been carried out as without a firm control over nuclear weapons, it would have been impossible to embark on nuclear arms reduction as they was no way of gauging the level of nuclear weapons and the extent to which it had spread in the world.
