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The Eisenhower Doctrine is the name given to the foreign policy for the Middle East of the 34th President of the United States, Dwight David Eisenhower, a decorated general who served during World War II and was in charge of the presidency. between 1953 and 1961.
Also known as the doctrine of Massive Retaliation and, by its detractors, as Brinkmanship (which is liberally translated into Spanish as “risky politics”), it consisted of a military geostrategic doctrine according to which the United States pledged to support economically and militarily those countries that were attacked by the Soviet Union. The doctrine even opened the possibility of the use of nuclear weapons in retaliation against the aggressor nation (from which comes the name of the Mass Retaliation doctrine), in order to stop the spread of communism in the Middle East.
The context and purpose of the Eisenhower doctrine
The doctrine of Massive Retaliation was framed in the Cold War. Eisenhower served as president after Harry Truman and preceded John F. Kennedy. As was the case with the previous president and with the subsequent ones who held office throughout the Cold War, Eisenhower’s foreign policy was marked from the beginning by the idea of containing communism. In other words, his greatest concern was always to prevent the expansion of the Soviet Union’s sphere of influence, initially in the Middle East, but later also in many Latin American countries.
In essence, Eisenhower believed that the best way to deal with the Soviet Union and the spread of communism around the world was for the US to take a strong stand against anything the USSR did, primarily through the threat of the possible use of nuclear weapons.
This doctrine represented a more aggressive step compared to the Truman doctrine that preceded it. The latter consisted of providing aid, money and weapons to any country willing to fight against communism.
However, fighting communism was not enough for Eisenhower, it was also essential to protect the interests of the United States in the Middle East. This region was where the country got most of the oil and fossil fuels the country needed to fuel its economic progress.
So, in addition to containing the spread of communism, the purpose of the Eisenhower doctrine was to prevent, even threatening the use of nuclear weapons, the USSR from invading and/or annexing Middle Eastern nations of essential energy importance to the United States. .
What factors influenced Eisenhower’s foreign policy?
One of the factors that influenced Eisenhower’s foreign policy was that, for the first time in thirty years, the Soviet Union was controlled not by Joseph Stalin, but by a new leader, Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev, known as Nikita Khrushchev. By virtue of this change in Soviet leadership, Eisenhower found it necessary to take a strong position to prevent Khrushchev from having lasting influence worldwide.
Another factor that influenced Eisenhower’s domestic and foreign policy was the success of the Soviet space program in 1957, when they managed to put the first satellite in space, Sputnik. Seeing that the Soviets had managed to place a satellite in orbit before the United States generated great unease among the American people. This led, among other things, to the passage of a federal law that secured funding for the development of mathematics science education.
Consequences of Eisenhower’s Mass Retaliation Doctrine
Increased instability in the Middle East
Since the end of World War II and the creation of the State of Israel as a nation for Jews after the Holocaust , many tensions have been generated in the Middle East, which is made up predominantly of Islamic countries.
The United States has been Israel’s main ally since its creation as a State, providing it with all kinds of economic support and its most advanced military weapons. In view of this and thanks to the aggressiveness of the Eisenhower doctrine, the Soviet Union decided to support Israel’s greatest enemy during the 1950s: Egypt. This means that this doctrine is partly responsible for fueling and perpetuating some of the most important armed conflicts in the Middle East, some of which have not been resolved to this day.
Communism in America’s “Backyard”
Another consequence of Eisenhower’s foreign policy was that he encouraged the USSR to promote and support the armed revolution in Cuba led by Fidel Castro. This conflict culminated in the establishment of a communist regime on the Caribbean island just off the US coast.
Although it is true that the resentment of the Cuban people against the interference of the United States in the internal politics of the island goes back to the time of the independence wars, it was the Soviet support that was the decisive factor that made the Cuban revolution successful. The Eisenhower doctrine was an essential factor in the Soviet Union giving its unconditional support to Castro, so it is easy to imagine different scenarios in the recent history of Cuba if this doctrine had not existed.
Authoritarianism in Latin America during the fifties
Before Eisenhower, Roosevelt’s and Truman’s foreign policy doctrines towards Latin America were to support a growing nationalist and democratic elite that promoted social reform projects in their respective countries. However, Eisenhower’s strategic vision and strongly anti-communist doctrine soon saw nationalism as an instrument developed by Moscow to ensure the spread of communism in developing countries such as Latin American nations.
The consequence of this vision was that Eisenhower stopped supporting Latin American nationalist initiatives and, instead, supported and aligned with the various authoritarian and anti-democratic forces in the region. This marked the beginning of the US meddling that brought multiple puppet dictators and presidents to power in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean during the 1950s, as well as throughout the rest of the 20th century.
References
Borja, R. (2018, July 16). Eisenhower Doctrine . Rodrigo Borja Encyclopedia of Politics. https://www.enciclopediadelapolitica.org/doctrina_eisenhower/
Google Arts & Culture. (nd). Eisenhower Doctrine . https://artsandculture.google.com/entity/m05t2yb?hl=en
Griffin, N. (2013, December 10). Everything You Need To Know. . . Eisenhower Foreign Policy . Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ndPiHxYHt0
Larson, M. (2020, July 29). The Cold War: Eisenhower Doctrine . Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LHQOiQgi5w
Pettina, V. (2007). From Anti-Communism to Anti-Nationalism: The Eisenhower Presidency and the Authoritarian Turn in Latin America in the 1950s . Indian Magazine. LXVII (240). 573–606. http://reccma.es/libros-pdf/vanni-pettina-01.pdf
