ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Détente

Hello there! Today, I'm going to explain to you what is détente.

So, détente is a fancy word for a big idea. It refers to a period of time during the 1970s when the United States and the Soviet Union tried to become friends instead of enemies.

You see, the United States and the Soviet Union were big countries with lots of power. They didn't always get along because they had different ideas about how the world should work. This led to something called the Cold War, which was a time when both countries build up a lot of weapons and tried to make sure the other country couldn't attack them.

But then, during the 1970s, things started to change. The leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union decided they wanted to try to find ways to work together instead of always fighting. That's what détente means.

They did things like have meetings where they talked about problems, like how to stop the spread of nuclear weapons. They also signed some agreements to reduce the number of weapons they had.

Now, détente didn't last forever. The United States and the Soviet Union still had lots of differences, and sometimes they still fought. But it was an important time because it showed that even countries that don't always get along can try to work together to make the world a better place.
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