The Cold War American Foreign Policy - 1476 Words

George Kennan, compared to other writers which have been discussed in this class takes a different approach to the Cold War through the lens of American foreign policy following World War Two in his article, â€Å"After the Cold War: American Foreign Policy in the 1970s.† Kennan, unlike Leffler, Schlesinger, and Brzezinski, believes that the battle between the two nations over hegemony is beyond comparison to the dangers which threaten all of humanity. The threats Kennan provides are environmental, the unstable nature of the United Nations, and nuclear weapons. He provides a critical analysis of American foreign policy following WWII, and where the U.S. should go leading into the future. Kennan writes about the Cold War less as a historical†¦show more content†¦Leffler would agree that the initiative taken by U.S. expansionism in order to allow for more far reaching use of the bomb startled the international community. The difference between Leffler and Kennan is tha t Kennan justifies the aggressive policies of the U.S. in Eastern Europe and Eurasia, whereas Leffler is much more uncertain about the decision personally. Both men attribute U.S. intervention in Europe and Eurasia to the fear of the spread of communism. However, in regards to the U.S. inciting enough fear in the Soviet Union to have caused the Cold War I cannot say because Kennan does not address the issue. After establishing the mindset which led to the policies used during the Cold War, Kennan moves to a critical analysis of U.S. foreign policy following WWII and where U.S. commitments should remain or retract. He once again brings back one of the major concerns of policy makers following WWII, how does the U.S. fill the power vacuum left behind in Japan and Germany before the Soviets gain a foot hold? To Kennan, this commitment has deteriorated drastically since 1949, even claiming that the power gap has been filled due to Soviet failure. He uses the Soviet’s failure d uring the Berlin Blockade in 1949 as a clear indicator of their incompetence to hold those strategic locations. While Kennan does claim that the Soviet Union was not a threat to American interests in Eastern Europe, he notes thatShow MoreRelatedAmerican Foreign Policy Among The Cold War2649 Words   |  11 PagesAMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY LEADING TO THE COLD WAR Janine Douglas CHST 604 Professor Kasprzak 16 July, 2015 The twentieth century was one that was characterized by many years of war, as well as unprecedented economic, political, and technological change for the whole world. As technology, transportation, and communication evolved, the world seemed to be getting smaller, and the need for world powers to interact with each other grew unavoidable. According to Alan Dobson and Steve Marsh in theirRead MoreAmerican Strategy For U.s. Foreign Policy829 Words   |  4 PagesMead, a Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, believes that â€Å"American strategy for U.S. foreign policy is shaped from four distinct schools of thought: Hamilton and his protectionist toward commence, Wilson and his sense of moral principles; Jefferson and his maintenance of our democratic system; and Jackson, the advocate of populist values and military might.† Henry Kissinger argued that one of these schools has dominated American strategy and stated, â€Å"It is aboveRead Mo reTaking a Look at the Cold War1237 Words   |  5 Pagescovering is the Cold War and question number six. The Roosevelt Administration was determined to avoid a retreat like the one that followed WWI. The United States itself had sole possession of the atomic bomb. The United States goal was to expand democracy. 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States will try to establish a balance of power that restrains aggressive states from dominating weaker ones. The second approach is idealism. This view stresses that states should transform the system into a new international order where peace can prevail. This approach emphases theRead MoreEssay about American Foreign Policy and Global Activism928 Words   |  4 PagesAmerican foreign policy has gone through many changes during our 200 years as an independent nation; our position as a global power has obligated us to participate in world affairs, even when public opinion has been unsupportive. After World War 2 we were only rivaled by the Soviet Union as a superpower; our policy at the time was to establish a righteous world order while simultaneously protecting that order against threats that could tear it down (i.e.: communism). Afte r the end of the cold warRead MoreThe Cold War Between The United States Of America And The Soviet Union1501 Words   |  7 PagesThe Cold War between the United States of America and the Soviet Union was not only a battle of political conflict but also a rivalry to spread political ideology and influence worldwide. Various pieces of propaganda and articles written during the time had largely impacted American popular opinion and had powerful effects on the culture among young men and women of the 1940’s and 1950’s. â€Å"The Red Iceberg† comic book cover, published and presented during the Cold War era, was one use of media that