Rise to Globalism: American Foreign Policy since 1938

Containment was part of American foreign policy in the Cold War period. The goal of this policy was to check the spread of Communism around the world.

The domino theory of the Cold War period suggested that the rise of a Communist government in one country would lead to similar political developments in other countries akin to falling dominoes. The domino theory was linked to containment and the Truman Doctrine.

The “Grand Alliance” refers to the Big Three powers—the Soviet Union, the United States, and Britain—that challenged and triumphed over Nazi Germany and imperial Japan.

Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) were the long-range weapons in the American and Soviet nuclear arsenal. They were first developed in the late 1950s and became an important part of the nuclear race in the 1960s in the context of the Cold War.

The Iran-Contra Affair (1986-1987) was a major scandal during the presidency of Ronald Reagan. The US had been selling weapons to Iran and using the funds to supply the Contras insurgency in Latin America, while declaring Iran a state sponsor of terrorism. The authors compare this event to Richard Nixon’s Watergate scandal.

The US Lend-Lease Act operated between March 1941 and 1945. Informally referred to as Lend-Lease, the initiative provided the Allies, such as Britain and the USSR, with food and supplies. In other words, the US began actively helping the Allies during its official neutrality.

The Monroe Doctrine (1923) was declared by President James Monroe to claim the Western Hemisphere an American sphere of influence and prevent further European colonization.

In the age of nuclear weapons, MAD was a military doctrine established during the Cold War. MAD defined the destruction of both sides in a full-scale nuclear exchange.

United States Objectives and Programs for National Security, known as NSC 68, was a document created by the State and Defense Departments in 1950. The document designed the policy of the Cold War on important issues, such as militarization.

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) were a series of meetings between the Soviet Union and the United States in the context of the Cold War. SALT I and II sought to reduce the production of strategic missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

In a 1947 speech to Congress, President Truman announced his intention to help those countries that he considered threatened by Communism. The immediate subjects of this announcement were Greece and Turkey. However, the Truman Doctrine was linked to the containment policy, which was global in nature both ideologically and in practice.

The Viet Cong was a revolutionary guerilla group that subscribed to Communist ideology. The Viet Cong had the support of North Vietnam as it operated in South Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos during the Vietnam War countering the US-backed South Vietnam.