Confrontation and cooperation, c1963–1972 (A-level only) key terms

Escalation

The increase in military involvement and intensity of conflict, particularly referring to U.S. actions in Vietnam under President Johnson.

Viet Cong

The communist guerrilla force that fought against South Vietnamese and U.S. forces during the Vietnam War.

Cambodia Incursion

The U.S. military operations in Cambodia during 1970 aimed at targeting North Vietnamese forces and supply routes.

Ping Pong Diplomacy

The term used to describe the exchange of table tennis players between the U.S. and China in 1971, which helped thaw relations between the two countries.

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

An agreement that prohibits nuclear testing in the atmosphere, underwater, and in space, signed in 1963.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

A treaty signed in 1968 aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and promoting peaceful nuclear energy.

Prague Spring

A reform movement in Czechoslovakia in 1968 aimed at creating 'socialism with a human face', ultimately crushed by Soviet intervention.

Brezhnev Doctrine

The policy that justified Soviet intervention in Eastern Bloc countries to maintain communist governments.