'Eisenhower's foreign policy in the years 1953 to 1959 marked a change in how the US dealt with the Soviet Union

P1 - Eisenhower foreign policy (New Look)

• Brinkmanship → During 1st Taiwan Strait Crisis (1954–55) Ike’s nuclear threats & deployment of US naval forces forced China to scale back aggression without triggering full-scale war.

• Massive retaliation - nuclear weapons assumed much greater significance under Ike, Rejected Truman's commitment to major expansion of conventional forces

• Rollback through peaceful means (Ike never attempted to undermine USSR's sphere of influence or 'liberate' any pro-Soviet communist states)

• CIA for covert anti-communist operations eg. to remove govts like in Iran, if they were considered too left-wing (Operation Ajax 1953, authorised used propaganda, funding, & military coordination to overthrow Iran’s govt & install a pro‑Western shah)

• Willing to meet with leaders → Geneva Summit 1955

• However:

• U-2 incident undermined trust causing Paris Summit to collapse → Showed peaceful coexistence was fragile.

P2: Khrushchev influences US foreign policy (Peaceful Coexistence)

• De-Stalinisation: Secret speech 1956 → Aimed to redefine relationship between USSR & EE states

• Austrian state treaty: Agreement between US & USSR 1955

• 1959 VP Nixon visited USSR

• 1959 Camp David talks (first Soviet leaders to visit USA)

• However:

• Launch of Sputnik in 1957 and the development of ICBMs heightened US fears of a “missile gap,” prompting increased defence spending and maintaining Cold War tensions. (Arms race continued started under Truman, PE undermined)

P3 - US approach to USSR remained the same

• Continued with containment in Europe & extended concept of containment with Ike Doctrine 1957→ Anyone fighting Communism was guaranteed US support, regardless of their geographical location

• Alliances to contain & surround USSR continued

• Support of NATO continued, SEATO 1954 set up

• However: Avoided direct war, Despite continued containment and arms buildup, no direct US-Soviet war occurred during 1955–1961.

• High-level diplomacy (Geneva Summit, Camp David talks) shows US recognized risks of escalation, even while pursuing hardline policies.

Conclusion

• Ike combinecd containment with nuclear deterrence & diplomacy.

• Maintained US strength in countering communism, it also avoided direct war with the USSR, marking a cautious but significant shift in how the US dealt with the Soviet Union.