Strategies of Containment: A Critical Appraisal of Postwar American National Security Policy

Front Cover
Oxford University Press, 1982 - 432 pages
When Strategies of Containment was first published, the Soviet Union was still a superpower, Ronald Reagan was president of the United States, and the Berlin Wall was still standing. This updated edition of Gaddis' classic carries the history of containment through the end of the Cold War. Beginning with Franklin D. Roosevelt's postwar plans, Gaddis provides a thorough critical analysis of George F. Kennan's original strategy of containment, NSC-68, The Eisenhower-Dulles "New Look," the Kennedy-Johnson "flexible response" strategy, the Nixon-Kissinger strategy of détente, and now a comprehensive assessment of how Reagan-- and Gorbachev-- completed the process of containment, thereby bringing the Cold War to an end.
He concludes, provocatively, that Reagan more effectively than any other Cold War president drew upon the strengths of both approaches while avoiding their weaknesses. A must-read for anyone interested in Cold War history, grand strategy, and the origins of the post-Cold history, grand strategy, and the origins of the post-Cold War world.
 

Contents

Prologue Containment Before Kennan
3
George F Kennan and the Strategy of Containment
25
Implementing Containment
54
NSC68 and the Korean War
89
Eisenhower Dulles and the New Look
127
Implementing the New Look
164
Kennedy Johnson and Flexible Response
198
Implementing Flexible Response Vietnam as a Test Case
237
Nixon Kissinger and Détente
274
Implementing Détente
309
Epilogue Containment after Kissinger
345
Copyright

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About the author (1982)

John Lewis Gaddis is the Robert A. Lovett Professor of History at Yale university, a winner of the Bancroft Prize, and a preeminent expert on the Cold War.

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