United States Policy Toward Eastern Europe (1955-1968)

Internal academia has acquired less fruit about the studies of the U. S. policy towards Eastern Europe during cold war, overseas scholars comparatively attach importance to it, but which mostly talk in generalities, their writing usually have a long period of time even whole cold war. On the studies of the "evolution" policy of the U.S. towards Eastern Europe, I have not found interrelated monograph and only found a few correlative articles. The thesis mainly analyzes and discusses the form and establishment of the "evolution" policy of the U.S. towards Eastern Europe, and implement of it in primary times phases in order to comprehend profoundly and completely American foreign policy towards Eastern Europe during cold war from the point of view of diplomatic decision-making based on archives of the foreign relations of the U.S.Eight Eastern European communist nations played very important roles during cold war, they were not only firm allied nations of Soviet Union when Soviet Union rivaled U.S., but also very important jetton that Soviet Union kept balance between East and West. Therefore, U.S. attached importance to its foreign policy towards Eastern European nations, and wished to disintegrate communist bloc, isolate Soviet Union, and obtain triumph during cold war by successful American policy towards Eastern Europe.Therefore, the governments of U.S. made great efforts to seek a foreign policy towards Eastern Europe that made these nations break away from Soviet Bloc and abandon communism, Truman' "containment policy" and Eisenhower's early "liberation policy" were different tactic in order to realize above object. However, the relation between U.S. and Soviet Union begun really to alter from hostility to interlocution along with relaxation of cold war in 1955, Soviet Union also lessened its control to Eastern Europe nations. Under such new situation, the "liberation policy" having defiance can't bring good effect, besides, possibly deteriorate the relation between U.S. and Soviet Union, block development of relaxation of cold war, even arise conflict or war. U.S. begun to survey and adjust it's policy towards gradually based on "liberation policy" since 1955. U.S. cast away the illusion about "liberation" drastically because of Polish Affair and Hungarian Uprising in autumn 1955, and sought a new foreign policy towards Eastern Europe that was realistic and exercisable under new international situation.National Security Council established and passed NSC5811/1 hi May 1958, which was directive paper of American diplomacy to Eastern European nations and indicated indeed establishment of "evolution" policy. The "evolution" policy was different from "liberation policy "in nature, which abandoned hostility to Eastern Europe communist regime and the illusion of encouraging Eastern European people to rise up and throw their regime, and advocated to encourage them to breakaway from Soviet Union's control gradually and evolutionarily develop towards West by themeans of establishing natural politic, economic and cultural relations between U.S. and Eastern European nations.The government of Eisenhower's achievement was establishing "evolution policy " and made it become every American government's basic foreign policy towards Eastern Europe thence during cold war. During period of Eisenhower government, because this epoch was first pliase of "evolution policy", the relations between U.S. and Eastern European nations were mostly within the limits of the field of politics that U.S. sought to build diplomatic relations, besides development of economic relations between U.S. and Poland and Yugoslavia. During period of Kennedy and Johnson government, the relations between U.S. and Eastern European nations were mostly within of the field of economy. Because Eastern European nations were interested in trade very much, U.S. regarded development of bilateral trade as main means of implementing "evolution policy". However, with the development of the relations between U.S. and Eastern European nations, trade control polic...