Arms limitation
SALT TWO TreatyThe Cuban scare strengthened calls for a worldwide ban on atomic weapons made by organisations such as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), which had been founded in 1958.
Nuclear decontaminationThese had an important role to play in shaping public opinion, particularly in Western Europe.
The nuclear powers (which also now included Britain and France, later joined by China) had also recognised the danger of contamination from testing new bombs and in a series of international treaties promised to end atmospheric tests.
They similarly pledged to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
The late 1960s and early 1970s witnessed a distinct thawing in the Cold War and improvement in relations between East and West in a process known as détente.
The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) opened in 1969 with the aim of a substantial cut in nuclear arsenals.
Meanwhile, successful diplomatic initiatives bore fruit with the visits of the US President, Richard Nixon, to both Moscow and China.
In this exhibition
- Imperialism
- World War Two
- Cold War begins
- Balance of Power
- New millennium