CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: THE FIFTH SHIFT

In January 1991, nearly eleven months prior to the fall of the Soviet Union, the administration of Bush-41 unveiled a military operation within the context of what would become the Persian-Gulf War. The mission, dubbed “Operation Desert Storm,” aimed to curb Iraqi influence and expel the occupying forces which had invaded the nation of Kuwait …

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: TIDES OF CHANGE, REAGAN-BUSH

Having served his first term in office, Reagan, along with vice-presidential candidate George H.W. Bush sought re-election in 1984. Remaining steadfast in his conviction of a strong military and economic plan, the duo was successful in returning to the White House. The Reagan administration’s policy of widespread freedom and democracy, known as “the Reagan doctrine,” …

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: TIDES OF CHANGE, THE REAGAN YEARS

In the years following the Nixon Administration, the underlying theme of detente carried itself through the presidencies of Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter respectively. Having served its purpose in the earlier part of the decade, the relaxation of tensions began to concern Americans at home. Many believed the policy had weakened American resolve and permitted …

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: REALPOLITIK

  For a brief moment during the Cold War period, public opinion seemed to shape the direction of foreign policymaking. The New York Times’ publication of information included in the Pentagon Papers and ensuing anti-war protests called for a change of pace. Under the Nixon administration, and within the framework of both containment policy and …

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: PROXY WARS, PART II

The second challenge the United States encountered surfaced roughly two years after the armistice agreement in Korea. As one would presume, US-Soviet tensions grew and political rhetoric intensified leading into what became the Vietnam War. Involvement in the region commenced the way most proxy wars do — foreign aid to an opposition and militaristic assistance. …

CHAPTER TWELVE: PROXY WARS, PART I

Having understood the mindset and groundwork of US foreign policy, i.e. theories of containment and the implications of NSC-68, the attitude of the United States and its subsequent decisions towards challenges should come as no surprise. On June 25, 1950, following a series of border altercations on the thirty-eighth parallel and an ensuing invasion, war …

CHAPTER ELEVEN: NSC-68

In late 2016, a film was released dubbed Miss Sloane, in which the leading character, played by Jessica Chastain, makes an attempt to define the essence of lobbying. She states that “lobbying is about foresight. About anticipating your opponent’s moves and devising countermeasures. The winner plots one step ahead of the opposition, and plays her …

CHAPTER TEN: THE FOURTH SHIFT

Following the research and subsequent recommendations made by field experts and government officials working for the state department, American foreign policy found itself with a new modus operandi — a geopolitical, ideological, and economic struggle against the face of communism, the Soviet Union. As will be exposed in the discourses that follow, the next forty-five …

CHAPTER EIGHT: THE PATH TO POLARIZATION

In the history of United States foreign policymaking, the most tense and perhaps most consequential period came in the wake of the second world war. Following the invasion of Berlin in April 1945, Stalin and the Soviet Union proceeded to conquer much of Eastern Europe; along with a new dominant power came a dominating political …

CHAPTER SEVEN: INTERWAR YEARS & THE THIRD SHIFT

In the twenty years that followed America’s return to isolationist policy, the struggle for power and relevance continued to dominate most european nations. New ideologies birthed revolutions, the game of politics remained incessant, and the cyclical nature of economics and finance carried on. On the domestic front, Americans witnessed a naval disarmament, expropriation of land …