President Eisenhower Doctrine Essay

Introduction

On the mention of the term 'doctrine,' many people will think of the set of beliefs that religion teaches and is held by the faithful. However, this is not the account of doctrine that this paper is interested in. When defining a doctrine, some scholars and authors have presented different versions of what the term refers to. According to Oxford dictionary, a doctrine is a stated principle of government policy mainly in foreign or military affairs. A more relevant definition of doctrine is offered by Livingstone (2013) while quoting Michael who narrowed things down to the United States context. The author defines doctrine as a specific set of official statements made up of a few sentences. These statements are the guidelines that control policy decisions making them an expert set of principles. The Eisenhower Doctrine is an example of such declaration and the focus of this paper. The subsequent sections of this paper will discuss the Eisenhower Doctrine in three parts. First part will Introduce the statement. The second section will examine factors leading to the announcement of the doctrine. Next will be diplomatic ideologies Eisenhower followed. The last part shall explore the effects of Eisenhower doctrine.

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President Eisenhower and Eisenhower Doctrine

Before discoursing the Eisenhower doctrine, it is first essential to know who Eisenhower was. Dwight Eisenhower ruled as the 43rd president of the United States between the 1953-1961 period. It is worth mentioning that this period after the second world war was characterized by international tensions and speculations for new wars (Rawnsley, 2016). Eisenhower was born in Texas in the 1890s, later drafted in the United States military serving for the better part of his youth. It is his experience in the military that would enable him to make crucial decisions that unremittingly ease the tension of the Cold War during his reign. In January 1957, Eisenhower presented a speech in front of the United States assembly. His unique message, or put differently, The Eisenhower doctrine aimed to bring an end to the conflict in the middle east. Oren (2017) states that the principle spelled out that the United States could heed to call from any nation that wants economic and any other form of military assistance if they feel threatened by armed aggression from other countries. The focus of the Eisenhower doctrine was the issue of war surrounding communism spread by the USSR prompting President Dwight to reduce the complexity of the then situation. On the same note, Abdel Gamal Nasser of Egypt had taken a stance on the Suez Canal conflict and exploited the situation to antagonize America against the USSR making the possibility of a nuclear war to occur. Therefore, the Eisenhower doctrine mentioned the use of nuclear warheads as well as how to counter the spread of communism and other radical movements.

Sum up of Events Leading to The Eisenhower Doctrine

In the years following World War II, the USSR, and United States arose as the significant world superpowers (Rawnsley, 2016). The existence of two world superpowers meant for a competition of supremacy between the two. Eisenhower was in power at a time when NATO, had moved its military to significant parts of the Middle East to suppress the spread of communism. The USSR demanded a withdrawal of these military forces specifically those in the Middle East. This situation required the United States diplomatic efforts as the dominant force in NATO. According to Hooks and Spanier (2018), no other American president has ever been a master in foreign relations as Eisenhower especially on matters relating to international wars. He had considerable experience having been in the international arena before his reign and had met many world leaders. Equally, Eisenhower had been a key strategist in the installation of American troops in various parts of the world. At the time of his terms, the United States was in a stalemated and aggravated war in Korea. Considering the complexity and pressure that the USSR asserted in the bid to acquire world supremacy, president Eisenhower employed his experience in the international arena to end the cold war (Hook & Spanier, 2018). The primary strategy Eisenhower used was to influence other leaders based on his earlier interactions with them and sway them to support his campaigns against the spread of communism. This was easy as ideologies of communism were a threat to world peace. His approach was to equate communism to the totalitarianism that the Nazi used to wave a world war. On the same note, the other plan was to recognize the military capability of the United States. Eisenhower convinces world leaders that the American military and nation was ready to spend any amount of money regarded that their endeavors were those that could maintain world peace and stability. Eisenhower together with the then secretary of the state, the United States made it clear that they could use nuclear warheads when the necessity arose. The aim of such war could be to maintain peace and reduce the economic consequences accrued from war.

The Doctrine Eisenhower Followed

When campaigning for the presidency, Eisenhower followed a conservative domestic policy. He used a simple slogan of 'I like Ike' prompting him to acquire the nickname of Ike. It is this slogan that laid the foundations for his campaigns rallying all over the United States criticizing the Truman administration of its policies on foreign affairs and extensive corruption (Bonikowski & Gidron, 2015). To be specific, he was against how the then government handled matters of communism and the war in Korea. Eisenhower made it clear that the war in Korea was expensive and could lead to America becoming bankrupt. He offered to bring an end to the long-stretched campaign by the American troops by personally going to Korea. Eisenhower was also against communism and swore to curb the spread of its ideologies by upholding firm NATO pledges. Additionally, he preached against dishonesty and promised a corruption-free national administration at home. Vibrant conservatism was his way of approach to governance, and American citizens would continue to receive remunerations with the inclusion of others. He would make every citizen benefit from the wellbeing of the state by expanding social security programs, introducing new health policies, make education affordable and increase the minimum wage.

Once in power, Eisenhower announced his doctrine at a time when the nation desperately needed a response to the ongoing tension in the Middle East. On January 5, 1957, Eisenhower delivered a proposal asking for a more practical American policy on issues in the Middle East. The Eisenhower doctrine, which was the proposal particularized on middle east as the battlefield of the ongoing cold war with USSR and could potentially be the site for the third world war. Egyptian leader Abdel Gamal Nassar was held responsible for his cooperation with communist USSR. As a result, the United States had used this excuse to cut funding to the nation (Oren, 2017). Still, on these same beliefs, United States rallied the support of Egypt neighbors and ran a military campaign that led to the seizure of Suez Canal. Considering communism to be a significant threat in the Middle East, the Eisenhower doctrine asked for authority to embark on new economic and military programs with friendly nations in the middle east. The declaration also asked for the deployment of United States troops to secure territorial integrity of friendly countries. It is such actions that would dissuade the power-hungry communist regimes from interfering with affairs of the Middle Eastern nations.

The first call to the Eisenhower doctrine would be in the summer of 1958, just a year after its announcement. With the threat of civil strife in Lebanon, its president would call on the United States to assist. About 15000 American troops were sent to the Arabic nation in the quest to defeat the insurgency (Yaqub, 2009). This was a significant move that displayed the United States interest in Middle East affairs. The doctrine aimed to shield American interests in the oil of the middle east. Oils become a significant part of the American economy and henceforth was a motivating factor towards the nation's foreign policy decision making. One of the elements of the Eisenhower doctrine was to maintain the United States economy while building sufficient military power to prosecute the cold war and deter communist antagonisms.

Effects of The Eisenhower Doctrine

The Eisenhower doctrine and its diplomatic efforts impacted on a variety of aspects not only on America but the Arab nations as well. The most common effect of the declaration was felt economic wise. America and other countries were on the brink of recession and what the diplomatic efforts did was that it slowed down the process. The war crisis had resulted in depression meaning a leader who would reduce these wars and bring peace would end the slump (Tobin, 2015). Eisenhower stance against totalitarianism and linking it to conflicts significantly impacted on beliefs of peace integrations. Consequently, as Tobin exerts, Eisenhower efforts contributed to the rapid economic growth experienced in the 1950s. The impact was seen with the reduction of unemployment and inflation levels by 2%. Workers would, in turn, enjoy a decade-long rise of personal income levels of figures close to 45%.

Another effect of the doctrine is that it practically made some level of contributions towards the fall of communist ideologies. Though not much of the doctrine is cited especially in the fifties, it still stands out as a significant American engrossment with the cold war in the Middle East (Marcus & Sollors, 2009). It is a significant event that took place in the very first decade of the cold war. The slow induction of the economically stable middle eastern nations to the ideologies of communism was gathering momentum. No other country either economic or military stable had taken a step to curb the spread of the ideology. It is the United States that made the first contributions to end the spread of communism and based on the assertions made by the Eisenhower doctrine; it stands as the first step towards the counter campaigns on communism.

Conclusion

In summary, the Eisenhower doctrine is of great significance to the United States and the Middle Eastern nations. Proposed to curb the spread of communist ideologies, the doctrine resulted in economic benefits to both the countries that were involved. Above all the Doctrine contributed to the end of the Cold war in the middle east and end of speculations for occurring of third world war. It is worth recognizing Eisenhower diplomatic expert and his approach in dealing with foreign affairs.

References

Bonikowski, B., & Gidron, N. (2015). The populist style in American politics: Presidential campaign discourse, 1952-1996. Social Forces, 94(4), 1593-1621.

Hook, S. W., & Spanier, J. (2018). American foreign policy since World War II. Cq Press.

Livingstone, G. (2013). America's backyard: the United States and Latin America from the Monroe Doctrine to the War on Terror. Zed Books Ltd.

Marcus, G., & Sollors, W. (2009). A new literary history of America. Cambridge.

Oren, M. B. (2017). Six days of war: June 1967 and the making of the modern Middle East. Presidio Press.

Rawnsley, G. D. (2016). Cold-War propaganda in the 1950s. Springer.

Tobin, J. (2015). The new economics one decade older. Princeton University Press.

Yaqub, S. (2009). Contesting Arabism: The Eisenhower Doctrine and...