Policies of Interventionism

After WWII, the United States took a policy of interventionism in order to contain communist
influence abroad. Such forms of interventionism included giving aid to European nations to
rebuild, having an active role in the UN, NATO, and police actions around the world, and
involving the CIA in several coup take overs in Latin America and the Middle East. The US was
not merely non-isolationist (i.e. the US was not merely abandoning policies of isolationism), but
actively intervening and leading world affairs.

Truman’s Containment policy was the first major policy during the Cold War and used numerous
strategies to prevent the spread of communism abroad.

Key Points

 Containment was suggested by diplomat George Kennan who eagerly suggested the
United States stifle communist influence in Eastern Europe and Asia.
 One of the ways to accomplish this was by establishing NATO so the Western European
nations had a defense against communist influence.
 After Vietnam and détente, President Jimmy Carter focused less on containment and more
on fighting the Cold War by promoting human rights in hot spot countries.

Key Terms

 deterrence: Action taken by states or alliances of nations against equally powerful

alliances to prevent hostile action
 rollback: A withdrawal of military forces.

The Cold War and Containment

Containment was a United States policy using numerous strategies to prevent the spread of
communism abroad. A component of the Cold War, this policy was a response to a series of
moves by the Soviet Union to enlarge its communist sphere of influence in Eastern Europe,
China, Korea, and Vietnam. It represented a middle-ground position between détente and
rollback.

The basis of the doctrine was articulated in a 1946 cable by United States diplomat, George F.
Kennan. As a description of United States foreign policy, the word originated in a report Kennan
submitted to the U.S. defense secretary in 1947—a report that was later used in a magazine
article.

The word containment is associated most strongly with the policies of United States President
Harry Truman (1945–53), including the establishment of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO), a mutual defense pact. Although President Dwight Eisenhower (1953–61) toyed with
the rival doctrine of rollback, he refused to intervene in the Hungarian Uprising of 1956.
President Lyndon Johnson (1963–69) cited containment as a justification for his policies in
Vietnam. President Richard Nixon (1969–74), working with his top advisor Henry Kissinger,
rejected containment in favor of friendly relations with the Soviet Union and China; this détente,
or relaxation of tensions, involved expanded trade and cultural contacts.

President Jimmy Carter (1976–81) emphasized human rights rather than anti-communism, but
dropped détente and returned to containment when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979.
President Ronald Reagan (1981–89), denouncing the Soviet state as an “evil empire”, escalated
the Cold War and promoted rollback in Nicaragua and Afghanistan. Central programs begun
under containment, including NATO and nuclear deterrence, remained in effect even after the
end of the war.The word containment is associated most strongly with the policies of United
States President Harry Truman (1945–53), including the establishment of the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO), a mutual defense pact. Although President Dwight Eisenhower
(1953–61) toyed with the rival doctrine of rollback, he refused to intervene in the Hungarian
Uprising of 1956. President Lyndon Johnson (1963–69) cited containment as a justification for
his policies in Vietnam. President Richard Nixon (1969–74), working with his top advisor Henry
Kissinger, rejected containment in favor of friendly relations with the Soviet Union and China;
this détente, or relaxation of tensions, involved expanded trade and cultural contacts.

Détente and Human Rights

Détente was a period in U.S./Soviet relations in which tension between the two superpowers was
eased.

Key Points

 Détente was an effort by the super powers to ease tensions in the Cold War.
 The Nixon and Brezhnev administrations led the way with détente, talking about world
issues and signing treaties such as SALT I and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
 The Carter administration ushered in a human rights component to détente, criticizing the
USSR’s poor record of human rights. The USSR countered by criticizing the US for its
own human rights record, and for interfering in USSR domestic affairs.
 During the Carter administration, the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe
created the Helsinki Accords, which addressed human rights in the USSR.
 Détente ended in 1980 with Soviet interference in Afghanistan, the US boycott of the 1980
Moscow Olympics, and Reagan’s election.

Treaties Toward Peace

The most important treaties of détente were developed when the Nixon Administration came into
office in 1969. The Political Consultative Committee of the Warsaw Pact sent an offer to the
West, urging to hold a summit on “security and cooperation in Europe”. The West agreed and
talks began towards actual limits to the nuclear capabilities of the two superpowers. This
ultimately led to the signing of the treaty in 1972. This treaty limited each power’s nuclear
arsenals, though it was quickly rendered out-of-date as a result of the development of a new type
of warhead. In the same year that SALT I was signed, the Biological Weapons Convention and
the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty were also concluded.

A follow up treaty, SALT II was discussed but was never ratified by the United States. There is
debate among historians as to how successful the détente period was in achieving peace. The two
superpowers agreed to install a direct hotline between Washington DC and Moscow, the so-
called “red telephone,” enabling both countries to quickly interact with each other in a time of
urgency. The SALT II pact of the late 1970s built on the work of the SALT I talks, ensuring
further reduction in arms by the Soviets and by the US.

The Helsinki Accords and Human Rights in the USSR

The Helsinki Accords, in which the Soviets promised to grant free elections in Europe, has been
seen as a major concession to ensure peace by the Soviets. The Helsinki Accord were developed
by the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, a wide ranging series of agreements
on economic, political, and human rights issues. The CSCE was initiated by the USSR, involving
35 states throughout Europe.

Among other issues, one of the most prevalent and discussed after the conference was the human
rights violations in the Soviet Union. The Soviet Constitution directly violated the declaration of
Human Rights from the United Nations, and this issue became a prominent point of dissonance
between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Because the Carter administration had been supporting human rights groups inside the Soviet
Union, Leonid Brezhnev accused the administration of interference in other countries’ internal
affairs. This prompted intense discussion of whether or not other nations may interfere if basic
human rights are being violated, such as freedom of speech and religion. The basic differences
between the philosophies of a democracy and a single-party state did not allow for reconciliation
of this issue. Furthermore, the Soviet Union proceeded to defend their internal policies on human
rights by attacking American support of countries like South Africa and Chile, which were
known to violate many of the same human rights issues.

Détente ended after the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, which led to America’s boycott in the
1980s Olympics in Moscow. Ronald Reagan’s election in 1980, based on an anti-détente
campaign, marked the close of détente and a return to Cold War tension