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Richard Nixon’s entry to the presidency was marked by some of the biggest challenges in the history of the American foreign policy. This was a period in history that was characterized by cold war, thousands of American troops engaged in an unpopular war in Vietnam and disquiet at home over the handling the foreign policy issues. Such challenges precipitated President Nixon’s foreign policy that aimed at achieving a balance of power in the entire world to ensure peace and prosperity. One foreign policy strategy that Nixon exploited for the achievement of the balance of power was based on the understanding that “If the major powers pursued their self-interest rationally and predictably, equilibrium would emerge from the conflicting interest” Bundy (1998). Bundy (1998) proceed to explain that “Nixon embraced partnership, strength and willingness to negotiate as his pillars in handling foreign policy issues”.
According to Bundy (1998), “Nixon parted with the philosophy of containment, and thought that negotiations and peaceful competition would lead to strengthening of democracies”. The Wilsonian idealism formed the benchmark of the foreign policy during Nixon’s presidency for many years and the country was comfortable with it because of the challenges that Americans faced. “Wilsoinan idealism is a classic philosophy based on the universal theme of good versus evil” (Bundy, 1998).
Nixon’s foreign policy enabled the United States to actively participate in the global affairs that seemed to differentiate between good and evil. In addition to the above, Nixon’s policy promoted democracy and civil rights and aimed at achieving the balance of power through moral consensus. In brief, Nixon’s foreign policy was based on the achievement of a global balance of power in which the United States, Japan, China and Russia are balancing each other; not competing against each other.
A comparative analysis of the foreign policies of Nixon reveals differences in regards to the strategies in handling of Cold War and the Vietnam War. Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson were all faced by the threat of communism and the greater influence of the Soviet Union. While Nixon believed in the balance of power, Kennedy and Johnson believed that the only way to reducing the influence of communism was through military interventions and the strengthening of the United States military capacity. In Kennedy’s view, “economic growth and political democracies were the essential pillars of foreign policy” (Paterson, 1989). In the analysis of Kennedy’s foreign policy, ref illustrates that within the foreign polices of Kennedy, there was a belief that “a demoralized and poverty-plagued populace would be more susceptible to the appeal of communism than countries which were already flourishing under free-reign capitalism in a democratic society”. (Paterson, 1989). These factors differentiated Nixon’s policy strategies from earlier presidential administrations.
References
- Bundy, W.P. (1998). A tangled web: the making of foreign policy in the Nixon presidency. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Paterson,T. (1989). Kennedy’s quest for victory: American foreign policy, 1961-1963. New York: Oxford University Press.
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