United States presidential doctrines
A United States presidential doctrine comprises the key goals, attitudes, or stances for United States foreign affairs outlined by a president.[1] Most presidential doctrines are related to the Cold War. Though many U.S. presidents had themes related to their handling of foreign policy, the term doctrine generally applies to presidents such as James Monroe, Harry S. Truman, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, all of whom had doctrines which more completely characterized their foreign policy.
Presidential doctrines
Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine, expressed in 1823, proclaimed the United States' opinion that European powers should no longer colonize the Americas or interfere with the affairs of sovereign nations located in the Americas, such as the United States, Mexico, Gran Colombia and others.[2] In return, the United States planned to stay neutral in wars between European powers and in wars between a European power and its colonies. However, if these latter type of wars were to occur in the Americas, the U.S. would view such action as hostile toward itself.
The doctrine was issued by President James Monroe during this seventh annual State of the Union address to Congress.[3] The doctrine was originally declared by its authors, including John Quincy Adams, to be a proclamation by the United States of its opposition to colonialism. However, since 1923, the doctrine has been re-interpreted in a variety of ways, including by President Theodore Roosevelt as justification U.S. to practice its own form of colonialism in South America, which is known as the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine.[4]
Roosevelt Corollary
The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine was a substantial alteration (called an "amendment") of the Monroe Doctrine by U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt in 1904.[5] In its altered state, the Monroe Doctrine would now consider Latin America as an agency for expanding U.S. commercial interests in the region, along with its original stated purpose of keeping European hegemony from the hemisphere.[6]
In essence, Roosevelt's Monroe Doctrine would be the basis for a use of economic and military hegemony to make the U.S. the dominant power in the
Truman Doctrine
The 1947
President Truman made the proclamation in an address to the
Truman signed the act into law on May 22, 1947 which granted $400 million in military and economic aid to Turkey and Greece.[12] However, this American aid was in many ways a replacement for British aid which the British were no longer financially in a position to give. The policy of containment and opposition to communists in Greece for example was carried out by the British before 1947 in many of the same ways it was carried out afterward by the Americans.[12]
The doctrine also had consequences elsewhere in Europe. Governments in Western Europe with powerful communist movements, such as Italy and France, were given a variety of assistance and encouraged to keep communist groups out of government. In some respects, these moves were in response to moves by the Soviet Union to purge opposition groups in Eastern Europe out of existence.[12]
Eisenhower Doctrine
The Eisenhower Doctrine was announced by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in a message to the United States Congress on January 5, 1957.[13] Under the Eisenhower Doctrine, a country could request American economic assistance and/or aid from U.S. military forces if it was being threatened by armed aggression from another state.[14] Eisenhower singled out the Soviet threat in his doctrine by authorizing the commitment of U.S. forces "to secure and protect the territorial integrity and political independence of such nations, requesting such aid against overt armed aggression from any nation controlled by international communism".[15] The doctrine was motivated in part by an increase in Arab hostility toward the West, and growing Soviet influence in Egypt and Syria following the Suez Crisis of 1956.[16]
In the global political context, the Doctrine was made in response to the possibility of a generalized war, threatened as a result of the
The military action provisions of the Doctrine were applied in the
Kennedy Doctrine
The
In his
Johnson Doctrine
The
Nixon Doctrine
The Nixon Doctrine was put forth in a press conference in Guam on July 25, 1969 by Richard Nixon. He stated that the United States henceforth expected its allies to assume primary responsibility for their own military defense.[24] This was the start of the "Vietnamization" of the Vietnam War. The Doctrine argued for the pursuit of peace through a partnership with American allies.
In Nixon's own words (Address to the Nation on the War in Vietnam November 3, 1969)[25]
- First, the United States will keep all of its treaty commitments.
- Second, we shall provide a shield if a nuclear power threatens the freedom of a nation allied with us or of a nation whose survival we consider vital to our security.
- Third, in cases involving other types of aggression, we shall furnish military and economic assistance when requested in accordance with our treaty commitments. But we shall look to the nation directly threatened to assume the primary responsibility of providing the manpower for its defense.
The doctrine was also applied by the Nixon administration in the Persian Gulf region, with military aid to Iran and Saudi Arabia, so that these U.S. allies could undertake the responsibility of ensuring peace and stability in the region.[26] According to Michael Klare, author of Blood and Oil: The Dangers and Consequences of America's Growing Petroleum Dependency (New York: Henry Holt, 2004), application of the Nixon Doctrine "opened the floodgates" of U.S. military aid to allies in the Persian Gulf, and helped set the stage for the Carter Doctrine and for the subsequent direct U.S. military involvement of the Gulf War and the Iraq War.
Carter Doctrine
The
- Let our position be absolutely clear: An attempt by any outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States of America, and such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force. (full speech)
This, the key sentence of the Carter Doctrine, was written by
In
Reagan Doctrine
The Reagan Doctrine was an important Cold War strategy by the United States to oppose the influence of the Soviet Union by backing anti-communist guerrillas against the communist governments of Soviet-backed client states.[31] It was created partially in response to the Brezhnev Doctrine and was a centerpiece of American foreign policy from the mid-1980s until the end of the Cold War in 1991.
Reagan's definition
Reagan first explained the doctrine in his 1985
The Reagan doctrine called for American support of the
Clinton Doctrine
The Clinton Doctrine is not a clear statement in the way that many other doctrines were.[34] However, in a February 26, 1999, speech, President Bill Clinton said the following, which was considered the Clinton Doctrine:
- It's easy ... to say that we really have no interests in who lives in this or that valley in Bosnia, or who owns a strip of brushland in the Horn of Africa, or some piece of parched earth by the Jordan River. But the true measure of our interests lies not in how small or distant these places are, or in whether we have trouble pronouncing their names. The question we must ask is, what are the consequences to our security of letting conflicts fester and spread. We cannot, indeed, we should not, do everything or be everywhere. But where our values and our interests are at stake, and where we can make a difference, we must be prepared to do so.[35]
Later statements "genocide is in and of itself a national interest where we should act," and "we can say to the people of the world, whether you live in Africa, or Central Europe, or any other place, if somebody comes after innocent civilians and tries to kill them en masse because of their race, their ethnic background or their religion, and it's within our power to stop it, we will stop it," augmented the doctrine of interventionism. However, a lack of leadership within the Clinton Administration led to the United States failure to properly intervene in the Rwandan genocide, despite this ideology.[36]
Bush Doctrine
The
Obama Doctrine
The
Trump Doctrine
The Trump Doctrine is defined as the Trump administration's foreign policy, based upon the slogan of "America first."[44] It leverages America's economic and military power to increase and decrease tensions favorably for America.[45] President Trump was especially critical of so-called "free riders," or countries which the United States uses resources to protect without receiving benefits in return. Through his foreign policy, Trump criticized the use of United States military forces in situations where national interests were uninvolved.[46]
Biden Doctrine
Although the Biden Doctrine is not explicitly defined, President Biden's foreign policy has been characterized by an avoidance of aggressive tactics that involve personnel in foreign nations.[47] As a means of moving away from the Trump Doctrine's policy of "America first," Biden stated that, "The transatlantic alliance is back. The US is determined to consult with you."[48] The Biden Doctrine is a shift away from foreign conflicts in an effort to focus resources on domestic issues. Following the United States' withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, Biden defended the decision as furthering the administration's efforts to reduce risk to American lives and resources in foreign affairs.[49]
See also
- Powell Doctrine, drafted by then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell
- Make America Great Again
References
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- ^ "Monroe Doctrine (1823)". National Archives. 2021-06-25. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
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- ^ "Theodore Roosevelt's Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine (1905)". National Archives. 2021-09-15. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
- S2CID 156041739.
- JSTOR 27552743.
- .
- ^ Gale A147615270.
- ^ "Milestones: 1945–1952 - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
- ^ "Truman Doctrine (1947)". National Archives. 2021-09-28. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
- ^ Gale A55822193.
- ^ "Milestones: 1953–1960 - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
- Gale A147615271.
- ^ "Milestones: 1953–1960 - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
- ^ "The Eisenhower Doctrine, 1957"
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- ^ Gale A702610105.
- ^ "President John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address (1961)". National Archives. 2021-09-29. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
- ^ "President John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address (1961)". National Archives. 2021-09-29. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
- JSTOR 27552746.
- JSTOR 43207822.
- ^ Nixon, Richard (3 November 1969). "Address to the Nation on the War in Vietnam". The Richard Nixon Foundation.
- .
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- JSTOR 3011584.
- ^ "newsdesk.org | : A Cold War Legacy of Persian Gulf Conflict". 2008-08-19. Archived from the original on 2008-08-19. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
- ^ (Yergin, p. 140, 702).
- ^ "Raegan Doctrine, 1985". May 22, 2023.
- ^ "Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the State of the Union - February 1985". Ronald Reagan. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
- JSTOR 2657940.
- S2CID 153835555.
- ^ "Remarks by President Clinton on Foreign Policy". February 26, 1999.
- JSTOR 40209383.
- ^ Rice, James B. Steinberg, Michael E. O'Hanlon, and Susan E. (2002-12-21). "The New National Security Strategy and Preemption". Brookings. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "George W. Bush: Foreign Affairs | Miller Center". millercenter.org. 2016-10-04. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
- S2CID 154873522.
- ^ a b "Democratic Presidential Debate on NPR". The New York Times. 4 December 2007. p. 7. Retrieved 11 December 2009.
- ^ Dionne, E. J. (16 April 2009). "The Obama Doctrine". The Washington Post. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
- ^ Chollet, Derek; James Goldgeier (13 July 2008). "Good Riddance to the Bush Doctrine". The Washington Post. Retrieved 11 December 2009.
- ^ "Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton on Obama and the Politics of 'Appeasement'". Fox News. 20 May 2008. Retrieved 11 December 2009.
- JSTOR 26642532.
- ^ University, Carnegie Mellon. "The Trump Doctrine: Pressuring Adversaries and Allies Alike - Institute for Politics and Strategy - Carnegie Mellon University". www.cmu.edu. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
- JSTOR 48573706.
- ^ "In the Withdrawal From Afghanistan, a Biden Doctrine Surfaces". New York Times. September 5, 2001.
- ^ Lawson, Dominic (August 15, 2021). "The Biden doctrine: win over Trump voters; The US scuttle from Afghanistan has an intensely domestic motivation". Sunday Times.
- ^ Viser, Matt (August 21, 2021). "Afghanistan withdrawal brings a Biden Doctrine into focus". The Washington Post.
Further reading
- Meiertöns, Heiko (2010). The Doctrines of US Security Policy : An Evaluation under International Law. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-76648-7.