U.S. Containment Policy in the Cold War: Successes and Failures

Introduction

The term “Containment”, coined by Kennedy in July 1947, characterizes American policy towards the Soviet Union in the post World War II era, comprising a series of attempts to deal with the implications of the Faustian bargain - an idea to curb Soviet attempts to redesign the postwar international order in through communism. In the West, even the concept of a communist world-takeover was enough to send the bells ringing in alarm. Kennedy called for a “long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansion tendencies” (Gaddis, 2005).

Discussion

Key Success and ...