Challenges+to+the+Superpower+Hegemony

= Challenges to the Superpower Hegemony (1077-1084) = Bailey is Editing In western Europe, French politicians wanted to free their nation from superpower dominance by transforming Europe into an independent strategic coalition. This trick failed, but it set the stage for a cautious, more independent political course on the part of other western European nations. Eastern European states also tried to gain a measure of liberty from the Soviet Union. Yugoslaia resisted Soviet pressure and became a neutral state. In Vietnam and Afghanistan, respectively, the United States and the Soviet Union suffered serious political and military setbacks that signaled the decline of superpower hegemony

__Defiance, Dissent and Intervention in Europe__
Under the leadership of President Charles de Gaulle, the first direct assault on the bipolar world emanated from France. French President De Gaulle dreamed of a Europe that could act as a third force in world affairs. He regarded subservience to U.S. authority and unqualified support for U.S. global objectives as intolerable conditions.

// France Under de Gaulle //
De Gaulle believed that France could never regain great power status if it depended for security on U.S. military protection. But, military dependence also brought the risk of a nuclear confrontation from the superpowers. He questioned the credibility of the American promise to defend Europe against a Soviet attack by threatening nuclear retaliations against the Soviet Union. De Gaulle pursued independent policies wherever he could. In 1963, without U.S.'s approval, the French government rejected a partial nuclear test ban that had been signed by the Soviet Union Great Britain, and the United States and recognized by the communist People's Republic of China. The focus of the policy was disengagement from the U.S.-dominated NATO and the development of an independent nuclear strike force. The French detonated their first atomic bomb in the Sahara desert in 1964. Four years later, the French military put together a nuclear delivery system consisting of long-range bombers and land-and submarine based missiles. European leaders were not convinced to leave the U.S.'s protective fold by the Force de Frappe (nuclear strike force) Doctrine. De Gualle left office in 1969 and his grand design for France and Europe had almost disappeared.

// Tito's Yugoslavia //
The first opposition from within the communist world emanated from Yugoslovia, where a postwar communist regime came to power without the assistance of the Soviet Union. Josip Broz, known as Marshal Tito, ruled the federation of Yugoslavia from 1945 until his death. His resistance to Soviet control led to a major split with Stalin, and in 1948 Stalin expelled Yugoslavia from the Soviet bloc. Tito still pursued an independent course by maintaining good relations with Eastern European states and establishing strong ties with nonaligned nations.

// De-Stalinization //
De-Stalinization occured after Stalin's death in 1953. In February 1956, Stalin's successor, Nikita Khrushchev, denounced Stalin's rule of terror during a secret speech at the Twentieth Party Congress.Government officials removed public photos of Stalin, re-named public places, and commissioned historians to rewrite textbooks to deflate Stalin's reputation. Millions of prisoners were released from his work camps and from 1956 to 1964, censorship was eased by a brief "thaw" is Soviet culture.

// The Hungarian Challenge //
Hungarian challenge occured in 1956 and was the most serious challenge to Soviet control in Eastern Europe. Large numbers of Hungarian citizens demanded democracy and the breaking of ties to Moscow and the Warsaw Pact. Communist Imre Nagy announced Hungary's neutrality and withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact Soviet leaders viewed these moves as a threat and Soviet military leader, Janos Kadar, moved in with tanks and crushed the Hungarian uprising in the same year it started.

// The Prague Spring //
Twelve years after the Hungarian tragedy, Soviets intervened in Czechoslovakia. In 1968 the Communist Party leader, Alexander Dubcek, launched a "democratic socialist revolution." He supported the liberal movement called "Prague Spring" and promised his fellow citizens "socialism with a human face." The soviets and east European forces crushed Prague liberal communism and Soviet Premier, Ilyich Brezhnev, justified the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Doctrine of Limited Sovereignty, also known as the "Brezhnev Doctrine."

__The People's Republic of China__
With the defeat of Japan, civil war between nationalists and communists resumed in China in 1945. The nationalists under Jiang Jieshi fled to Taiwan in 1948 when they came to the realization that they were outmaneuvered. Then in 1945, Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China.

// Social and Economic Transformations //
Under Chairman Mao, the Communist party dominated the political reorganization of China. Anyone who was suspected to be a nationalist was executed or sent to a forced labor camp. The Chinese's first 5 Year Plan was introduced in 1955 and heavily stressed industry. There was massive land redistribution in villages and collective farms were provided with basic health and primary education, but they were prohibited from personally marketing their crops. The emancipation of women, including divorce, abortion, and foot-binding finally ended.

// Fraternal Cooperation //
Both China and the Soviet Union were communist and shared a common enemy, the United States. They were alarmed by U.S. support of Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Beijing accepted direction from Moscow in the early 1950s. The USSR gave military and economic aid that helped China to get a seat on the UN Security Council.

// Cracks in the Alliance //
Cracks in the China-Soviet alliance began in the late 1950s. The USSR gave more economic support to non-communist countries, which angered China. Both nations openly competed for influence in Africa and Asia. The rift between the two nations was public by the end in 1964.

__Detente and the Decline of Superpower Influence__
By the late 1960s, the Soviet Union and the United States agreed on a police of "Detente" which is a reductions in hostility, trying to cool the costly arms race and slow their competition in developing countries. It did not resolve the deep-seated antagonism between the superpowers. It did signal the relaxation of cold war tensions and prompted a new spirit of cooperation.

// An Era of Cooperation //
Leaders of both the United States and the Soviet Union agreed on "Detente" in the late 1960s. They exchanged visits and signed agreements calling for cooperation in 1972 and 1974. In 1972 and again in 1979, the Soviets concluded their Strategic Arms Limitations Talks (SALT).

// The Demise of Detente //
A strain was created between the U.S. and the USSR when full U.S.-China diplomatic relations were created in 1979. The U.S.-Soviet cooperation was undermined in 1981 when U.S. weapons were put up for sale in China. The Soviets intervened in Afghanistan in 1980. This prompted U.S. economic sanctions.

// The U.S. Defeat in Vietnam //
In the 1950s, the United States committed to support non-communist government in South Vietnam and the U.S.'s involvement escalated through the 1960s. The United States and its allies were unable to defeat North and South Vietnamese communists, so President Nixon pledged in 1968 to end the war with Vietnam. U.S. troops gradually withdrew and the war officially ended in 1973. North Vietnam continued the war effort and unified their nation in 1976.

// Soviet Setbacks in Afghanistan //
Afghanistan had been a nonaligned nation until 1978, when a pro-Soviet coup drew the republic into the cold war, precipitated foreign intervention, and fomented civil war. The leftist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA)'s radical reforms in 1978 prompted backlash. Islamic leaders objected to radical social change, this led to armed resistance. In 1979, rebels controlled much of the Afghan countryside. This was when the USSR intervened. The United States and other nations supported anti-PDPA rebels. The struggle lasted nine years. A cease-fire negotiation in 1989 by the UN led to full Soviet withdrawal. The Taliban forces captured Kabul and declared Afghanistan a strict Islamic state in 1996.

// Cold War Counter-cultural Protests (1960s and 1970s) //
Cultural criticism of the cold war was seen in the film, Dr. Stangelove, in 1964. European and U.S. students were agitated for peace, to end the arms race, and to end the Vietnam war.

// Rock and Roll //
Red Gaurd youths controlled much of the Cultural Revolution in the United States, France, and even China. Rock and roll music expressed the student discontent in the United States. One of the most popular Rock and Roll artists was Elvis Presley (1935-1977) shocked parents and attracted young people with his wild rock and roll music and dancing. The Beatles and Rolling Stones were also popular groups.

// Watergate //
President Richard Nizon became a victim of the societal discontentment aroused by the cold war and was exploited by the young. His involvement in the water gate scandal (1972-1974) were exposed by journalists and members of the U.S. Congress. Nixon and his staff attempted to cover up cimes committed for the president's benefit.

**Bailey Peterson** **Christian Donohue**