In this period one of the most significant influences on foreign policy was Cold War invloving the Truman Doctrine to contain communism during the cold war. Also the Cuban missile crisis was a very imminent threat to America as soviets were placing nuclear weapons in Cuba.The U.S has been pushing policies on to the soviet union ever since the Berlin blockade.World affairs were dominated by the Cold War in which the U.S. and its allies faced the Soviet Union and its allies. There was no large-scale fighting but instead numerous regional wars as well as the ever-present threat of a catastrophic nuclear war. The U.S. actively sought allies, which it subsidized with military and economic "foreign aid", as well as diplomatic support. Most nations aligned with either the Western or Eastern camp, but after 1960 the Soviets broke with China as the Communist movement worldwide became divided. Some countries, such as India and Yugoslavia, tried to be neutral. Rejecting the rollback of Communism by force because it risked nuclear war, Washington developed a new strategy called "containment" to oppose the spread of communism.
The containment policy was developed by U.S. diplomat George Kennan in 1947. Kennan characterized the Soviet Union as an aggressive, anti-Western power that necessitated containment, a characterization which would shape US foreign policy for decades to come. The idea of containment was to match Soviet aggression with force wherever it occurred while not using nuclear weapons. The policy of containment created a bipolar, zero-sum world where the ideological conflicts between the Soviet Union and the United States dominated geopolitics. Due to the antagonism on both sides and each countries' search for security, a tense worldwide contest developed between the two states as the two nations' governments vied for global supremacy militarily, culturally, and influentially.
The Cold War was characterized by a lack of global wars but a persistence of regional proxy wars, often fought between client states and proxies of the United States and Soviet Union. The US also intervened in the affairs of other countries through a number of secret operations.
The Cold War was characterized by a lack of global wars but a persistence of regional proxy wars, often fought between client states and proxies of the United States and Soviet Union. The US also intervened in the affairs of other countries through a number of secret operations.
In 1962 U.S Presdident Kennedy knew about Soviet missiles in Cuba but had not revealed this information yet. The Cuban Missile crisis brought the world close to the brink of World War III but luckily cooler heads prevailed as the Soviet fleet turned around while on the brnk of being fired upon by the U.S Navy. Thisgretaly impacted foreign policies with the two countries becuase tey would have cut off any types of economical or trade affairs due to a war torn foreign policy.The image displays how both countries resided nuclear weapons they did not wamt to use because they understood the world annihalating consequence.
During the Cold War, U.S. foreign policy objectives, seeking to limit Soviet influence, involved the United States and its allies in the Korean War, the overthrow of the Iranian government, the Vietnam War, the Six Day War and Yom Kippur War in the Middle East, and later, the policy of aiding anti-Soviet Mujahideen forces in Afghanistan (Operation Cyclone).Diplomatic initiatives included the establishment of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the opening of People's Republic of China and Détente. There were some successes for the U.S. during this period as well as some failures.
Based off of all the information you can see that from a foreign policy standpoint the Truman Doctrine made more sence and was fundamentally sound and more importantly manageable. The Domino theory, regardless of Eastern Europe, made neither any sence nor any positive impact on American foreign policy. Even if it had been true as a theory, in practice we could not invade or change every nation anyway.
Korea was a UN situation where the west as a whole did not want to give up the mainland of East Asia, so soon after ww2, to Communism. The 2 main powers nearby, USSR and China, were already communist and the idea was that at least South Korea should remain a buffer. Regardless of ideology, the fact that tens of thousands of Americans were based in Japan made it more imperative not to have an "enemy" so close by. Vietnam was more the Domino Theory gone wrong example. French and American interference in that nation, and then military involvement actually created the ideal situation for Communism to get a foothold there. As we left there, no other nation fell to Communism. To put this all in persepctive, If communist countries had started springing up all over Africa instead, I am not sure that our Cold War policies would have been so imperative.
Foreign policy was also not Cold war relevant as much in the Middle East once we chose to arm the Israelis. Since we could not arm both sides there like we had in other places, we essentially gave up every Arab nation to the Soviet sphere of influence. Truman Doctrine and Domino Theory were never made an issue there to the degree it had in Asia.
Overall the Cold war did not have an impact on every place the same way as our foreign policies over the decades showed. The main thing that should have been learned and has yet to be learned is that Communism did not need to be contained, let alone prevented from taking root by using our military might. It was a war of ideas we chose to combat with guns in some places. Both major places we chose guns in, we did not win. Ideas die when the people believing in them stop doing so.
Our foreign policy when attached to the ideas of cold war containment did not actually help improve our lives or defeat communism. Whatever lessons had to be learned, were not and if our foreign policy shows anything now it is that legacy.