Eisenhower and the Soviet Union

Adam Boon is Senior Research Analyst for North America at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

• AcknowledgementsIntroduction: Leadership and Soviet policy in the Context of Eisenhower’s Presidency: ‘Be the Leader of the United States and the World!’1. Reviewing the Truman Inheritance, Stalin’s Death, and Atoms for Peace: ‘The Eisenhower Era Begins as the Stalin Era Ends’2. Implementing New Look, Pursuing Atoms for Peace, and the Resumption of Dialogue at the Berlin Conference: ‘Our Foreign Policy is Shaping up Sounder than ever Before’3. Eisenhower and the ‘Great Spectacle’ of the Geneva Summit: ‘Each Side Believes the Other has Horns and a Tail’4. The Twin Crises of Suez and Hungary, Khrushchev’s Secret Speech, and the 1956 Re-Election Campaign: ‘The Most Crowded and Demanding Period of my Presidency’5. Arms Control, Sputnik, and Diplomatic Paralysis: ‘The Seductive Qualities of Soviet Promises’6. Nuclear Testing, Berlin, and Inviting Khrushchev to America: ‘Be Careful Not to Go to War Just for the Stamp’7. Khrushchev at Camp David, the Paris Summit, and the End of Eisenhower’s Presidency: ‘Everything Depends on the Two of Us’Conclusion: What does the Management of US-Soviet Relations Tell Us About Eisenhower’s Presidential Leadership? ‘The Unhappy Intimacy this Involves’Bibliography

This book is a compelling read, and I recommend it for all those interested in understanding what makes foreign policy. Boon contributes to an important re-assessment of Eisenhower. His analysis of the president’s role in US policy towards the USSR recognises the complexity of government decision-making and identifies missed opportunities.