George F. Kennan and the Making of American Foreign Policy, 1947-1950

Kennan's tenure in the mainstream of American foreign-policymaking was relatively brief--limited to his service as director of the State Department's Policy Planning Staff and, later, as its counselor--but his influence was mighty. Miscamble describes Kennan's contribution to Washington's post-World War II commitment to restore and secure Western Europe and stabilize the Far East--two major projects that laid the foundation for four decades of U.S. foreign policy. In apprising the extent to which Kennan's recommendations influenced the Truman administration, Miscamble spotlights him as more a policymaker than a theorist. He offers penetrating analyses of Kennan's efforts to implement the Marshall Plan, for instance, and of his crucial role in making the newly established National Security Council effective. And he cogently argues that Kennan's ``containment'' doctrine defined the Soviet threat as not essentially military in nature, and that his encouragement of political and economic stability in Japan and Western European countries helped them to resist that threat. Miscamble teaches history at Notre Dame. Illustrations. (May)