Strategy and Doctrine
Containment
Contemporary
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Containment was the US strategic doctrine of the Cold War holding that communist expansion should be met with steady, patient counter-pressure at every point it threatens to expand, rather than confronted by rollback or accommodated through appeasement. First articulated by the diplomat George F. Kennan, it shaped US military deployments and alliance commitments (NATO, SEATO, bilateral basing) for the whole Cold War period.
Facts
Core ClaimCommunist expansion should be met with steady, patient counter-pressure at every point it threatens to expand, rather than confronted by rollback or accommodated by appeasement. 1 Origin Year1947 marks George Kennan's 'X article' in Foreign Affairs, which named and publicly articulated the doctrine; Kennan had outlined the same thinking privately in his 1946 'Long Telegram' from Moscow. Cross-Tradition Connections
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Containment
Wikipedialead paragraphQuote, lead paragraph
Containment was a geopolitical strategic foreign policy pursued by the United States during the Cold War to prevent the spread of communism after the end of World War II.
1. Wikipedia: Containment
Wikipedia: Truman Doctrine
WikipediaAssociated With: Truman Doctrine, lead paragraphQuote, Associated With: Truman Doctrine, lead paragraph
a U.S. foreign policy that pledges American support for U.S.-aligned nations against alleged authoritarian threats
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