The development and failure of American policy toward Czechoslovakia, 1938--1948

Utilizing Czechoslovakia as a case study, this study traces the development and ultimate failure of United States policy toward Eastern Europe from 1938--1948. How American policymakers viewed this region in terms of U.S. interests is of paramount importance in understanding why Czechoslovakia and other Eastern European countries "fell" under the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union rather than allying themselves with the West.; First, through multi-archival sources, this study demonstrates how U.S. policymakers' inability to recognize the unique position of, and democratic tradition within, Czechoslovakia led to the development and implementation of an inconsistent and essentially flawed policy of non-accommodation during the Truman administration that allowed the Czechoslovak Communist Party to obtain control of the government in 1948.; Second, this study shows that Eastern Europe, although economically not as significant to American interests as Western Europe, became an ideological battleground as the United States and Soviet Union tried to expand their respective sphere of influence in Eastern Europe. As a result the United States increasingly pressured the Czechoslovak government to adopt pro-Western policies favorable to the U.S.; Third, this study examines American foreign policy toward Czechoslovakia and Eastern Europe in the form of Lend-Lease aid, the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) aid, the European Recovery Program (ERP), and American unilateral loan packages. This study concludes that the United States increasingly utilized economic aid as a lever to influence political events in Czechoslovakia and Eastern Europe and demonstrates how this approach was ultimately anti-productive to achieving American objectives.; Fourth, by examining political events in Czechoslovakia from 1945--1948 this study reveals the often-flawed understanding of the political dynamics in Czechoslovakia on the part of key American policymakers, such as William Steinhardt, the U.S. ambassador to Czechoslovakia between 1945 and 1948. The underlying focus throughout this study is on the actual policies developed and implemented and why U.S. policymakers chose to pursue an increasingly non-accommodating policy toward the government of Czechoslovakia.