Contemporary International Problems

Assignment 2: Current Events and U.S. Diplomacy

Due Week 9 and worth 175 points

This paper will be a revised and expanded version of the first research paper. Based on your instructor’s feedback, you will first revise the first paper. 

Write three-to-four (3-4) new pages that address the following:

1. Define presidential doctrine and summarize the regional or global events during the Cold War leading up to the formation of the presidential doctrine you wrote about in Assignment 1.  
2. Select one country you wrote about in Assignment 1 and describe the Cold War relationship that existed between the country you selected and the U.S. before the presidential doctrine was announced. 
3. Describe the relationship that currently exists between the U.S. and the country you selected in section (2) above. 
4. Describe the effect that the presidential doctrine has had on regional or global affairs since it was announced during the Cold War.
5. Assess whether or not the presidential doctrine you wrote about in Assignment 1 doctrine had had the intended effect of altering the behavior of the country you selected in section (2) above since the doctrine was first announced. 
6. Use at least four (4) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources. 

To help you understand this assignment further, the following description and examples may be useful.

Step 1: Define doctrine and identify why a president would want to announce one. 

A doctrine is an ideological platform that a president uses to advance a policy towards a country or region in order to accomplish foreign policy goals for the United States, so you will need to expand on this theme.  

Refer back to Assignment 1, and build on whatever doctrine you wrote about then.  Say, for example, you selected the Truman Doctrine.  Therefore, this is the only thing you will write about in Assignment 2 step 1.  

Step 2: Select one country you wrote about in Assignment 1 and describe the Cold War relationship that existed between it and the U.S. 

Before the presidential doctrine was announced.  In the case of Truman, you would pick either the Soviet Union, Greece, or Iran, since all three were affected by his doctrine.  If you are writing about the Eisenhower Doctrine, you would choose Lebanon or Egypt; if you wrote about the Kennedy Doctrine, you would have write about Cuba or Vietnam; if your wrote about the Nixon Doctrine, you would choose either Vietnam, Saudi Arabia or Iran; if you chose Carter, you would select either Iran or Afghanistan; and if you wrote about the Reagan Doctrine, you would select Nicaragua, Angola, Russia or Afghanistan (although there were several others).

Step 3: Describe what effect the presidential doctrine you chose has had on regional or global affairs since it was announced during the Cold War.  

That is, how did the doctrine change the status quo regionally or globally after it was announced by the U.S.?  What happened in Western Europe after the Truman Doctrine was announced?  What happened in the Middle East after the Eisenhower Doctrine was announced?  What happened with Cuba or Vietnam after Kennedy offered up his doctrine of flexible response?  What happened in Southeast Asia or the Persian Gulf after the Nixon Doctrine went in effect?  What happened in the Middle East after the Carter Doctrine was announced?  What happened in Central America or Africa or the Middle East after Reagan announced his doctrine?

Step 4: Refer back to the country you selected in step two and describe the relationship that currently exists between the U.S. and that country.  

How has the relationship changed between the U.S. and that country since the doctrine was announced?

Step 5: Evaluate whether or not the presidential doctrine had had the intended effect of altering the behavior of the one country you selected in section (2) above since the doctrine was first announced. 

Your assignment must:

• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required page length. 

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Identify the cultural, economic, and political context of information resources, and interpret information in light of that context.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in international problems.
• Write clearly and concisely about international problems using proper writing mechanics.

Copy of the First Paper

Kennedy Doctrine

This was a foreign policy that was adapted by President of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy during his term as president between 1961 and 1963. It fundamental aim was to encourage for containment of Communism and Communism progress reversal in Western Hemisphere. During President Kennedy term as president, the dominant premise was solely to contain communism at any cost hence there a compelling need to come up with an effective doctrine. As a measure to counteract the increased pressure of Cold War, Kennedy called for a military strength and unity in struggle against communism and for disbarment and world cooperation (Futrell, 2013). The dominant theme of Kennedy doctrine was the belief that since America (at the time) had great ability and capability to control international systems events. Expressing this ideology, Kennedy stated, ‘In the long history of the world only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom from its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility, I welcome it.’

Essentially, the Kennedy Doctrine was the promotion and expansion of prior foreign policy prerogatives of Dwight D. Eisenhower and Harry S. Truman administrations. This is because all those policies were revolving around the threat that was posed by communism and means by which American government would try and contain its spread. President Truman’s doctrine, for instance, focused on communism containment through providing and encouraging continual assistance to the countries that were resistance to communism in Europe (Futrell, 2013).

On the hand, Eisenhower doctrine was solely based on providing military and economic assistance to countries that were resistance to communism agenda in Middle East countries, at the same time promoting an increase in flow of trade between United States and Latin America. The Kennedy doctrine was mostly concerned on promoting these same strategies. However, Kennedy doctrine was strategically based on the spread of communism and USSR (Russia) influence in Latin America ensuing Cuba revolution that bestowed Fidel Castro to power during 1950s (Reeves, 2009) .

During his inaugural address, President Kennedy talked extensively on establishing an alliance of progress with Latin America countries. On March 1961, during his Alliance for Progress address, Kennedy touched on his promises stating that it was of fundamental important for world at large to join hands in forming a ‘New Alliance of Progress.’ In this crucial address, President Kennedy confirmed that United States’ promise of defending any country whose sovereignty was, in any way, endangered. He categorically stated that United States was well prepared to increasing the food-for-peace emergency program and provision of economic aid to country in demand. For instance, Kennedy called for Latin America to promoting social changes in their own territories and requested all American countries to have a blueprint for enhanced economic integration (Sagan, 2010).

There have been much controversy arguments over Kennedy Doctrine’s over international role of United States. For instance, many of political critics have been questioning whether the President Kennedy’s inaugural Address and the foreign policies stemmed from his expressed vision. In his own words, the president stated that there was a affirmative need for describing an appropriate, reasonable and rational responsibility for United States in world. that, American role in world was to be implemented whether it was an outline for an event of negotiation and friendship and accommodation or whether it was to be prescribed as an untenable globalization. He was adamant that through encouraging peaceful co-existence in world would alleviate areas of conflict, strengthening of the arm race and promote American concern with involvement and encouragement of world affairs (Avant, 2012).

Despite the fact that this is controversial issue has continued to fuel debate today, it will remain a recognized and appreciated fact that President Kennedy was very committed to promotion of foreign policies during his term in office. W. Averell Harriman, who served in and on behalf of President Kennedy’s administration stated that President kennedy was only president who was dedicated his effort toward enhancing and promoting foreign policies since he was highly focused in ensuring that every aspect of foreign policy was crucially dealt with.

Advantages and disadvantages of Kennedy Doctrines

The Kennedy Doctrine has been generally described as a persistence commitment to controlling and containing communism; preventing its spread. In essence, this was a main thrust of United States’ foreign policy before and after his retirement from office. However, it was articulated perfectly well that the President Kennedy’s pledge to ‘pay any price’ and ‘bear any burden’ was of necessary to protection and advancement of freedom. The Kennedy Doctrine was a relative and absolutism doctrine that had advantages and disadvantages in Cuba Missile Crisis. It helped much to bring about the crisis since if Kennedy was not categorical in preventing the spread of communism, Soviet could have proved a serious threat to United States. in turn, this could have led to a lesser confrontational approach to the situation. President Kennedy doctrine allowed him to be strong in dealing with Khrushchev (Sagan, 2010).

References

Futrell, R. F. (2013).Ideas, Concepts, Doctrine: Basic Thinking in the United States Air Force,  

1907-1960. Volume 1. AIR UNIV MAXWELL AFB AL.

Reeves, R. (2009).President Kennedy: profile of power. Simon and Schuster.

Roskin, M., & Berry, N. (2010).IR: The new world of international relations:2010 edition (8th  

ed.). San Francisco, CA: Longman/Pearson Education.

Sagan, S. D. (2010). SIOP-62: The Nuclear War Plan Briefing to President

Kennedy.International Security, 22-51.

Avant, D. D. (2012). The institutional sources of military doctrine: Hegemons in peripheral  

wars.International Studies Quarterly, 409-430.

Instructors Comments about the paper

Overall you have done a good job with content and covering details (3 pages). Good job with in- text citations. Be sure to add page numbers when content is quoted. Cover page as well as Reference page need corrections. Please see sample paper provided for examples. See my direct comments on your paper on the left. Open rubric to see rubric based feedback. Consider feedback while working on your second written assignment.