Assignment IR Since 1945

ASSIGNMENT # 1
SAAD KAMRAN ABBASI

220677
BSIR-IV
IR SINCE 1945
How did Churchill’s “Sinews of peace” and Kennan’s “Long telegram”

created the basis for the US policy towards Soviet Union at the outset of
Cold War?
US policy towards the Soviet Union can be Understood through the Domino Theory, Truman
Doctrine and the strategy of containment.
Domino theory was adopted in U.S. foreign policy after World War II according to which the
“fall” of a noncommunist state to communism would advance the fall of noncommunist
governments in neighboring states. This theory was first proposed by President Truman to
justify sending military aid to Greece and Turkey in the 1940s, but it became popular in the
1950s when President Eisenhower applied it to Southeast Asia (South Vietnam). The domino
theory was one of the main arguments used in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations
during the 1960s to justify increasing American military involvement in the Vietnam War.
Truman Doctrine was pronouncement by President Truman declaring instant economic and
military aid to the governments of Greece which was threatened by communist revolution,
and Turkey which was under pressure from Soviet expansion in the southern europe. As the
United States and the Soviet Union struggled to reach a balance of power during the Cold
War, Great Britain announced that it could no longer afford to aid those countries, which the
West feared were in danger of falling under Soviet influence. Truman outlined what became
known as the Truman Doctrine in a speech to a joint session of Congress on March 12, 1947,
in which he emphasized the broader consequences of a failure to protect democracy in Greece
and Turkey.
Containment Strategy was a policy pursued by the United States beginning in the late 1940s
in order to check the expansionist policy of the Soviet Union. This term was suggested by the
US diplomat George F. Kennan, who wrote in an unidentified article in the July 1947 that the
United States should pursue a long term firm and watchful containment of Russian expansive
shifts in the hope that the regime would collapse. This policy was implemented in the Truman
Doctrine of 1947, which guaranteed immediate economic and military aid to Greece and
Turkey, and in the Eisenhower Doctrine of 1957, which promised military and economic aid
to Middle Eastern countries resisting communist aggression.
In the Article of Sinews of Peace which is the speech of Winston Churchill, which he
delivered at Westminster College on 5th March, 1946 is more commonly referred to as the
"Iron Curtain" speech, where he discussed the growing divide between the Western
democracies and the Soviet Union, symbolized by an "iron curtain" going down across the
Europe. He highlighted the responsibilities and challenges faced by the United States as the
leading world power. He emphasized the need for attention and action to prevent the
recurrence of war, particularly in safeguarding the welfare and freedom of ordinary people
across the globe. He proposed the establishment of an international armed force under the
United Nations to prevent war and the importance of maintaining the secret knowledge of
atomic weapons within the hands of responsible nations. Churchill called for a special
relationship between the British and the United States, advocating for military cooperation
and joint defense agreements to ensure mutual security. He also warned against the
imperialist tendencies of Soviets, that the establishment of Communist governments in
Eastern Europe which would be the potential threats to peace and democracy. He underlined
the importance of unity among Western democracies in facing these challenges for a
settlement to prevent future conflicts.
His speech was a call, encouraging the Western powers to oppose the realities of the post-war
world and to work together to preserve peace.
The Long Telegram was written by George Kennan, who was the US ambassador to the
Soviet Union, who formulated the strategy of containment which was the basic United States
strategy for fighting the cold war (1947–1989) with the Soviet Union. He sent this Long
Telegram from Moscow to the US Department of State on 22nd February 1946. The Russian
Diplomats interpreted this not the officials. It provided a detailed analysis of the Soviet
Union's post-war outlook.
He outlined that the Soviet leadership is still in the antagonistic capital enrichment and that
they believed that there is no long term peaceful coexistence and the unavoidable conflict
between socialism and capitalism. The capitalist world is prone to internal conflicts and the
greatest of them is between England and the United States.
Kennan explored the background that shaped Soviet attitudes, reveals a complex interchange
of historical and psychological factors and the deep rooted sense of insecurity present in the
Russian psyche, which arose from centuries of historical experiences due to invasions,
external threats, and the huge exposed territory of the country. This insecurity leads to the
fear of Western influence; as Soviet leaders perceive the advanced nations of the West as
rivals. To counter this threat, the Soviet regime hangs on to the belief in the superiority of
Marxist-Leninist ideology, which not only provides a framework for understanding the world
but also serves as a justification for authoritarian rule. Marxism, with its promise of a
classless society, becomes suitable for the regime's unification of power.
However, despite all of that, still the Russian people are friendly to the outer world.
Kennan elaborated that the soviets on their practical policy, operated on two planes, the
official one and the agencies upon which the Soviet government does not take responsibility.
The Russians on the official level will participate in International Organizations. Their
attitude towards UNO is in a direct relationship with the loyalty of other nations to do it.
However, it is possible that Soviet trade will restrict to its own security sphere. He also
emphasized upon the cultural development of Russia and the super abundance of vodka.
Upon conclusion The Long Telegram primarily addressed the threat of the Soviet Union's
foreign policy, secondly it introduced the Strategy of Containment.

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ASSIGNMENT # 1

SAAD KAMRAN ABBASI

How did Churchill’s “Sinews of peace” and Kennan’s “Long telegram”

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