Policy Of Containment In Russia

The Cold War had a significant impact on American foreign policy, changing it substantially in both attitudes to social and economic factors. The heavy influence of a difference in political standing between the Soviet Union and the United States, in conjunction with the high tensions that followed in the post war period, set the foundations for American foreign policy to adapt and change to better suit the developing political agender of the time. Socially, the two sides were heavily split, with the Soviet Union seeking communist support and allies whilst the US sought to counter their progress in a similar manner. Economically these relations with foreign countries that either joined the eastern or western blocs helped to further the

‘For Marshall Planners, it (economic growth) was...the key to social harmony, to the survival of private-enterprise capitalism, and to the preservation of political democracy’ , additionally, by setting up European economies in the image of America’s capitalist, free-market economy, it became far more difficult for Communist beliefs in the state controlled market to prevail in the struggle for power that consumed many European countries. An analysis of America’s foreign policy by Nikolai Novikov, Soviet Ambassador, shows that the Soviet Union also saw the Marshall Plan as an attempt to impose America’s political views on the peoples of Europe ‘obvious indications of the US effort to establish world dominance’ . Novikov suggests that America is trying to become the leading world power ‘The foreign policy of the United States... is characterised in the post-war period by a striving for world supremacy’ , and emphasises the role of the American military to impose the policies of the White House on the world, ‘indications of the US effort to establish world dominance are also to be found in the increase in military potential in peacetime’ . This view is expressed by Soviet deputy foreign minister Andrei Vyshinsky where he states to the UN General Assembly that the Marshall Plan is an American attempt to ‘impose its will on other independent states’ . There was a strong feeling in the Soviet Union

The Cold War represents the disputes between the Soviet Union and the United States, and may be the most noteworthy political issue of the late 20th Century. The Cold War was a very political issue because it influenced foreign policies, impacted our economy, and even affected Presidential elections. The United States was worried that the Soviet Union would extend communism throughout Europe with its power and control over smaller and weaker countries. At the beginning of the Cold War the struggles between the United States and the Soviet Union were more political than military. The Soviet Union detonated its first atomic bomb on August 29, 1949 which alarmed the United

During the Cold War, America's basic policy was that of "containment" of the Soviet Union. The policy of containment was based upon several principles. First, the Soviet Union wanted to spread socialism to all areas of the world. However, it was felt that the leadership of the Soviet Union felt no particular rush to accomplish their goal. "The Kremlin is under no ideological compulsion to accomplish its purposes in a hurry. Like the Church, it is dealing in ideological concepts which are of a long-term validity, and it can afford to be patient. (Hook and Spanier, 42)." In other words, the Soviet leadership believed that, since their ideas were the correct ones, they would eventually prevail, and thus, no direct confrontation would be

The United States and the Soviet Union were the superpowers in the world at this time. Both countries had powerful economies and both had harnessed nuclear energy and weapons. The two powers began to dominate Europe because they wanted to draw European countries to their governments of Democracy or Communism. The policy of containment was a United States effort to keep the Soviet Union from expanding Communism outside their territory and where it already existed. The United States tried to keep the Soviet Union out of the Middle East, south East Asia, and Western Europe.

Following WWII in 1945, Europe was not only in ruin but was also extremely divided, with a distinct rivalry between France and Germany. In 1947 USA developed The Marshall Plan; a program of aid that donated $13bn towards the recovery of Southern and Western Europe, which led to the receiving nations experiencing rapid economic growth of between 15%-25% . The 50’s were dominated by a Cold War; a divide between the Democratic West, led by USA, and the Communist East, USSR. This was a long period of uncertainty in which each side expected the other to invade. It fundamentally developed into a conflict fuelled by propaganda, deceit and spies. Both sides had the new advantage of nuclear weapons, which neither wanted to deploy. The tension seemed unresolvable; it became evident that a solution needed to be arranged and that unity could only be established by a federal Europe.

With over 13 billion dollars in aid being delivered to Europe under the Marshall Plan, from 1948 to 1952 many European economies grew at an unprecedented rate. The mutual assistance of the aid led to softening of national competition between many countries in Europe, and served the dual purposes of modernization and cooperation for European countries. At the same time as the Marshal plan was being implemented, the Soviet Union enacted what was know as the, “Cominform” that sought to counter the American influence in post war Europe. This program organized by the Kremlin would work with communist parties in European countries through propaganda efforts to

Question 1: During cold war times, the US’ had a theory of containment. Containment made to stop the spread of communism, because it was thought that if the US could not stop communist countries than it could work on stopping communism from spreading. In 1954, Vietnam was able to become independent from France. The country was divided along the 17th parallel, and North Vietnam and South Vietnam were created. Ho Chi Minh led North Vietnam and it had a communistic government, which was supported by China and the USSR. On the other hand, South Vietnam was a ‘democratic’ (anti-communism) government, which was led by Ngo Dinh Diem and supported by the US. During Diem’s regime, the government started to interrogate Buddhist priests. Diem was also known for treating the peasant class harshly, because he came from the property owning class. His government was also very corrupt, because he only appointed his family members to government roles00000. Diem’s totalitarian government led to the rise of a communist group called the Vietcong. The Vietcong were a group that arose during Diem’s regime, they wanted to change South Vietnam into a communist country. Many non-communist citizens of the south also supported the Vietcong in hopes of ridding themselves of their corrupt government. The Vietcong was given supplies from North Vietnam along the Ho Chi Minh trail. They used guerrilla warfare to create fear in the hearts of their enemies. Using this strategy, they were able to kill the

Marshall- was a Plan that aimed to “restore the confidence of the European people in the economic future of their own countries and of Europe as a whole” . It was, in essence, massive financial aid made available to countries in Europe. While it was available to countries in the Soviet Bloc, they never partook in the Plan and it was principally designed for Western Europe. The views of the Plan at the time of introduction were spread widely across the spectrum. The Soviets felt that America was attempting to meddle in the domestic affairs of foreign countries, whereas Americans saw it as generous aid and subvention in Europe.

The battle in ideologies between communism and capitalism lead to one of the greatest conflicts of the twentieth century. The concept that freedom and democracy would not survive under communist rule triggered a battle that could endure for decades. American media significantly impacted the attitudes of Americans, creating a hatred of communism to spread throughout the nation. The political relations in Europe, during and directly after World War II, played a large part in laying the foundation for the Cold War. Wartime seminars, like Yalta and Tehran, only harshened the relationship involving the communists and the capitalists. By the end of World War II, American policy towards the Soviets had transformed drastically, along with the change of president in 1945, which further caused relations with Russia to worsen. Additional contributions to the Cold War included the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. The section of Europe, between the west and east, drew on physical borders outlining that the war of misinformation had formally commenced.

In the quick post-World War II period, Europe stayed assaulted by war and therefore defenseless to abuse by an interior and outer Communist risk. In a June 5, 1947, discourse to the graduating class at Harvard University, Secretary of State George C. Marshall issued a require an extensive system to remake Europe. Fanned by the apprehension of Communist extension and the quick decay of European economies in the winter of 1946–1947, Congress passed the Economic Cooperation Act in March 1948 and endorsed subsidizing that would in the long run ascend to over $12 billion for the remaking of Western Europe. The Marshall Plan produced a resurgence of European industrialization and brought broad venture into the area. It was additionally a stimulant to the U.S. economy by building up business sectors for American products. In spite of the fact that the Soviet's cooperation Union and East European countries was a beginning plausibility, Soviet worry over potential U.S. monetary control of its Eastern European satellites and Stalin's unwillingness to open up his mystery society to westerners destined the thought. Besides, it is improbable that the U.S. Congress would have been willing to finance the arrangement as liberally as it did if help additionally went

It was “the most staggering and portentous experiment in the entire history of our foreign policy,” the young Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., who served on its staff, wrote. It “saved us from catastrophe,” a manager at Europe’s largest tire factory declared. But under the scrutiny of modern historians the importance of the Marshall plan is claimed to be overstated, was Europe really in such a dire state of affairs that it required such a boost just to stay afloat? Or was it simply America’s chance to exert pressure and influence on one of its biggest economic partners whilst also keeping the threat of communism at bay? That is the question I shall be posing during the course of this essay.

To understand both the need and importance of Marshall’s address in 1947, the economic and political environment in early post war Europe the must be put into context. The Second World War left the majority of European states in serious economic trouble; ‘economies were suffering with open and repressed inflation, disruptive food and raw material shortages’, and the destruction of industry from bombing left production stagnant, consequently leading to the collapse of trade and widespread commodity hoarding in Europe. The political state of the continent was therefore volatile, as Europe cooperation struggled deeply with an identity crisis and the Soviet Union increased its sphere of influence across the East. If ‘hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos’ were to amass, the economic and political advantages of being allied with the continent would quickly deteriorate and soon after Europe would become a serious threat to America. Therefore, Marshall understood ‘that European economic recovery was essential to the long-term interests of the United States’ and once becoming Secretary of State on 21st January 1947, he knew substantial plan of American aid must be put in place.

At the height of the Cold War, Soviet foreign policy of the time was simple: increase world influence through the spread of communism in order to undermine democracy, specifically the United States. Today, Russia’s foreign policy appears confusing to most westerners because of the wide scope of Russian efforts but the objective is still the same: increase world influence. Currently, Russia adopts a flexible diplomatic outlook by entering alliances that serve a temporary but strategically significant purpose. Current global conditions and Russia’s foreign policy will complicate the United States’ international strategy by increasing global economic competition through economic partnerships with China and small military engagements within central and eastern Europe and the Middle East.

In the pursuit of her national interests, Russia has met challenges and conflict of interest with the other international players. This fact can be explained by the Ukraine-Russian energy crisis of 2006, which affected all parties including the European Union and the United States. Russia’s negative relationship with Georgia is also an example of how national interest can conflict with international interests. National security and technology dominance is another key issue that the country has been in conflict with other countries. For example, the suspicion that has always been there pertaining to the interests of NATO and the United States in particular. This is about international dominance and influence on security, which Russia is keen to remain relevant (Christian, 1998).