'Take me up on my proposal' : the 'Open Skies' initiative and Dwight D. Eisenhower's efforts to curb the military-industrial complex
Abstract
This dissertation examines president Eisenhower’s ‘Open Skies’ policy and its links
with American defence strategy of the 1950s. Based principally on archival sources,
especially the records of the Eisenhower Presidential Library, it will assess the foreign
policy issues and domestic pressures that influenced Eisenhower’s desire to
implement a system of mutual aerial inspection with the Soviet Union from July 1955.
The first chapter will focus on the background to the rise of the military
establishment in America after 1945, which Eisenhower later referred to as a military-industrial complex. Chapter Two examines the president’s defence strategy, which
became known as the New Look, and the ways in which this strategy embraced not
only a military response towards the perceived threat of Soviet communism but also
included non-military measures. Chapter Three focuses on the background to the
Geneva summit, at which Open Skies was proposed to the Russians. In particular, it
will assess Eisenhower’s efforts to strengthen Western allied unity so that
constructive negotiations with the Russians could be undertaken.
Chapter Four will focus on Nelson Rockefeller and the Quantico Panel. Think
tanks played an influential role in shaping foreign policy during the early Cold War
period. Chapters Five and Six examine Eisenhower’s attempts to implement Open
Skies with the Soviets after July 1955. In order to confront the growing challenges to
the New Look and cuts in defence budgets, Eisenhower needed reliable intelligence
on the Soviet Union that would quell exaggerated estimates about Russian military
capabilities. The dissertation concludes that Open Skies was neither a transient
measure nor an attempt by Eisenhower to achieve a propaganda advantage over the
Soviet Union. It is argued instead that his desire to implement this initiative was
linked to his determination to control the military-industrial complex in America, an
interpretation that has not been addressed by historians.
Type
Thesis, PhD Doctor of Philosophy
Rights
Embargo Date: 2019-11-24
Embargo Reason: Thesis restricted in accordance with University regulations. Electronic copy restricted until 24th November 2019
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