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Truman, Eisenhower Administration Study Of Psychological Strategy In Western Europe

Posted on:2011-10-24Degree:DoctorType:Dissertation
Country:ChinaCandidate:F L PengFull Text:PDF
GTID:1116360308467790Subject:World History
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
The U.S. psychological strategy toward West Europe during the presidencies of Harry S. Truman and Dwight Eisenhower is an important part of the U.S Cold War policy toward Europe. Besides the essential geostrategic interest, the U.S. had great ideological, political, economic and security interests in West Europe, which explained the main reasons for the U.S. to conduct psychological warfare in West Europe, seen as the "cornerstone" for the U.S. foreign policies during the Cold War period. Therefore, the core objective and the important content of the U.S. psychological strategy toward West Europe was to undermine the strength of the Italian Communist Party and French Communist Party, maintain pro-American and anti-communism governments, prop up the Federal Republic of Germany, strengthen the Atlantic Community, thus including West Europe into the political, economic and military track of the American camp.Based on the academic works home and abroad, as well as documents from the Foreign Relations of the United States, the Declassified Documents Reference System database, the Digital National Security Archive database, the National Security Council documents, the Psychological Strategy Board, and the Operations Coordination Board, this dissertation reviewed a number of important documents related to the psychological strategy toward West Europe during the Truman and Eisenhower administrations, explored the formation, development, evolvement, implementation and the effects of the U.S. psychological strategy, and revealed the psychological strategy of the U.S. toward West Europe served the strategies of containment.From the end of World Warâ…¡to the year 1950, the national psychological strategy of the Truman Administration was initially formulated. During this period, the U.S. gradually deployed its systematic psychological warfare toward West Europe. Concurrently, the planning and implementing agencies and departments of psychological warfare were developing constantly. The State Department, Central Intelligence Agency, and the National Defense Department all took part in the planning and implementation of the psychological strategy. As a result of the multiple agencies involved in this effort, some of the actions in psychological warfare were disorderly and unsystematic, or even contradictive. To overcome the decentralization and competition among the different departments and agencies, President Truman established the Psychological Strategy Board to formulate well-organized psychological strategies and coordinate different actions among the departments and agencies.In January 1953, the presidency of Eisenhower began. Faced with a changing international climate and the pacification posture of the Soviet Union, Eisenhower stressed that psychological warfare was not merely propaganda. Instead, the formation and implementation of every policy and the daily activity of all governmental departments and agencies should take psychological impact into consideration. The Eisenhower Administration removed the Psychological Strategy Board and established the Operations Coordination Board in its place. Meanwhile, the means of psychological warfare were changed from open to covert ways, and the propaganda changed from bold anti-communist tones to affirmative themes.During the presidencies of Truman and Eisenhower, the U.S. psychological strategy toward West Europe fell short in some ways; nonetheless, overall it had great impact on the political landscape. The U.S. government conducted a variety of psychological actions in West Europe, weakening the communist parties in Italy and France, supported the Federal Republic of Germany, eliminating the European anti-Americanism, and strengthening the Atlantic Community. Ultimately, it played a great role in the unity of the Western Camp, achieving the U.S. strategy, and eventually wining the Cold War.This dissertation is composed of an introduction, four chapters and a conclusion.The first chapter reviews the breakout of the Cold War and the formation of U.S. psychological strategy. After the Cold War broke out, the U.S. containment strategy was gradually formulated and established. Due to the critical geopolitical, ideological, political and economic interests in West Europe, it became essential for the U.S. to bring West Europe into the American Camp. However, the economic and political situations in Western European states were extremely grim, which made it essential for the Truman government to take actions. At the same time, the psychological strategy was developing and evolving. Eventually The National Psychological Warfare Plan was established, which served as the guideline and instructed the psychological warfare of the U.S. governmental departments and agencies in different parts of the world, including West Europe.The second chapter analyzes the adjustments made by the Eisenhower Administration to the psychological strategy. President Eisenhower valued psychological warfare greatly, emphasizing the importance of integrating psychological impact into the formation and implementation of every policy of the government. Several weeks after Eisenhower took office, the Soviet leader Stalin passed away, and the new U.S.S.R. leaders adopted a more peaceful attitude towards the West. They changed the hard-core policies established during the Stalin period, stressed their determination to coexist with the West, and took practical actions to melt the Cold War tension. Faced with this situation, the Eisenhower government was forced to change the bold anti-communist tone during the Truman presidency, reduce the size and scale of U.S. psychological actions in West Europe, in order to decrease the complaints and repulsion of governments and the public.Chapter Three mainly explores the implementation of the psychological strategies toward West Europe during the Truman and Eisenhower presidencies. The psychological warfare included four objectives, to weaken the Italian Communist Party and the French Communist Party, to reduce the anti-Americanism in Western Europe, to prop up the Federal Republic of Germany, and to strengthen the Atlantic Community. To achieve these goals, the Psychological Strategy Board, and its successor the Operations Coordination Board, formulated specific plans of action, divided the actions among different governmental departments and agencies, and established comprehensive evaluation systems for the effectiveness of these plans.Chapter Four explores the effects of U.S. psychological strategies toward West Europe. With the prodigious efforts of the U.S. government as well as the tactical errors of the Soviet government, the strength of communist parties in Western Europe greatly declined. At the end of the 1950s, the communist parties were no longer perceived as a threat to the political stability of Western European states. Besides, the psychological strategies to prop up the Federal Republic of Germany were successful. The Federal Republic of Germany joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, made use of generous aid from the U.S. to rearm, and gained independence. Meanwhile, it was accepted by the western community. The participation of the Federal Republic of Germany in the American Camp greatly enhanced the defensive and economic advantage of the camp. The psychological actions to reduce anti-Americanism and strengthen the Atlantic Community were also successful. Although there was different voice between the U.S. and European states from time to time, the Western Camp remained stable during the 1950s. The West European states followed the U.S. in major issues, and the U.S. supported the European integration. All these achievements, to some extent, stabilized and strengthened the Western Camp, and preserved the strategic interests of the U.S. as a result.The U.S. psychological strategy toward West Europe was effective and had far-reaching influence. Because of the ideological nature of the Cold War, psychological warfare became one of the major battlefields in the fight for thoughts and minds. During this fight, due to the critical interests of the United States in West Europe, the Truman and Eisenhower administrations conducted a large variety of psychological actions in this area. These actions had great impact as the results of American's strenuous efforts. The Psychological strategies effectively protected the U.S. interests and played a great part for the U.S. eventually winning the Cold War. Interestingly, in the post-Cold War era, the U.S. hasn't abandoned the means of psychological warfare, which is still serving its national interests. Instead, the psychological warfare has been replaced by public diplomacy and conducted overtly and covertly in all parts of the world.
Keywords/Search Tags:psychological warfare, the Cold War, Truman Administration, Eisenhower Administration, west Europe
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