The Cold War: An
Overview of U.S.
Foreign Policy
1. Definition
• “non-hostile belligerency”
• Ideology or geopolitics?
Characteristics
• A Global (and Cosmic) Struggle
–Two Scorpions
• The Nuclear Dimension
–Two porcupines
• A Zero-Sum game
– Two Theologies
Beginnings
• World War II: Allies and Rivals?
• New U.S. conceptions of national security
Periods of the Cold War
• 1. 1947-63 “Classic Cold War”
• Actually three phases:
– 1947-53
– 1953-58
– 1958-63
• 2. 1963-79 Détente
• 3. 1979-84 The “Second Cold War”
• 4. Détente, again. 1984-89
U.S. Foreign Policy in the Cold War
Over-arching themes:
U.S. rejection of isolationism
Key paradigms:
“Munich”, “Pearl Harbor”, “Versailles”
Perception of threat from USSR-led
Communism
Fear of ideological and cultural penetration
Zero-sum games and Falling Dominoes
Containment
• Origins and Evolution of
Containment
–Economic
–Military
–NSC-68
–Korean War
–Subversion and
Covert Activity
• Eisenhower’s “New
Look”
• “Rollback”
• Massive Retaliation
and Asymmetric
Response
• Brinkmanship
• Covert activity
• Support for status quo
in Asia, Middle East
and the Americas
Let every nation know, whether it wishes
us well or ill, that we shall pay any price,
bear any burden, meet any hardship,
support any friend, oppose any foe, to
secure the survival and success of
liberty…”
• Kennedy and the
rhetoric of victory
• Flexible Response
• Calibration and
gradual escalation
• Arms build-up and
Alliance for
Progress
• Cuban Missile Crisis
and the fear of loss
of control
• Hotline and the
beginnings of
Détente
• The problem of
Vietnam: honor our
commitments or the
world goes up in
smoke
•
•
•
•
Détente and the Prague Spring
The United States and Israel
The Race to the Moon
Nixon and Détente
•Linkage and Rapprochement
•The Quagmire of Vietnam
•Dissent on the Streets, Revisionism in
Academia
•Chile
• Realpolitik
• Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
• The Over-selling of Détente
• Helsinki 1975
• Carter and Human
Rights
• North-South versus
East-West
• Committee on
Clear and Present
Danger
• Afghanistan and
the Demise of
Détente
• Iran and the
Demise of Carter
•
•
•
•
The New Cold War
Negotiating from Strength
The “Evil Empire”
A Policy of Squeeze?
• The beginnings of a
new détente
• SDI
• Iran-Contra
• Mikhail Gorbachev
• Renewal of Summit
Diplomacy
• Malta Conference and the End of
the Cold War
• What was it all about?
• Central themes in U.S. conduct
of the Cold War