American Sanction Policy Toward The Soviet Union In The Early 1980s

1970s was a period of détente in the Cold War.At the end of December of 1979,the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan which became a turning point in the East-West relationship.America ended détente policy toward the Soviet Union.In the early1980 s after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan,especially President Reagan with a strong anti-communist awareness came to power,the U.S.started a full-scale counterattack against the Soviet Union.From the Carter to the Reagan administration,America imposed sanctions toward the Soviet Union on the moral,economic,and geopolitical.The U.S.boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics,made a plan of the sanction against the energy technology and equipment,and impeded the Soviet Union intervention in the Polish crisis,which are typical examples of the three levels of sanctions.Each of these three sanctions is a complex issue involving many domestic and foreign factors.It would be a very complex network,and subject to material limitations,if it were to be detailed in all aspects of the sanctions.Therefore,this thesis is based on Foreign Relations of the United States which published newly,and combined with declassified archives and previous research results,discussed the thesis from the perspective of American government.The first part of this paper discusses the background of America implementation of sanctions against the Soviet Union in the early 1980 s.After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan,America demanded that the Soviet Union withdraw from Afghanistan and was rejected by the Soviet Union.Thus,the U.S.policy toward the Soviet union changed from détente to containment,and imposed sanctions on the Soviet union in various aspects.The second part of the thesis studies the ins and outs of America boycotted 1980 Moscow Olympics,made plan of sanction against the energy technology and equipment,and impeded the Soviet Union intervention in the Polish crisis,which mainly from the perspective of American government.The last part is the conclusion of the thesis.The sanctions imposed by the United States in the early 1980 s did not fully achieve the goals of the United States.However,the common character in these sanction policies,namely put the Soviet Union under pressure to change their system,which played a catalytic role in the collapse of the Soviet Union in the final decade of the US-Soviet Cold War.