George F. Kennan's realism: A theory of American foreign polic

This dissertation uses George F. Kennan's thought as a case study in political realism. It sifts through Kennan's writings from the late 1940s to 1997 to make explicit the set of interrelated principles that comprise his worldview. Chapter 1 discusses the relationships between international relations theory, political realism, American foreign policy, and Kennan's thought. Chapter 2 examines Kennan's understanding of the nature of man, his drive for power, the need for government, practical morality, and the balance of power as a means to achieve international order. Chapter 3 looks at Kennan's appreciation of the origins of American power and the national interest for which it is used within geopolitical circumstances. Chapter 4 discusses the unique characteristics of American democracy and their impact on the formulation and implementation of foreign policy. Chapter 5 explores the contemporary American philosophy of diplomacy and its differences with the traditional conception of diplomacy. Chapter 6 discusses Kennan's thoughts on force and war as instruments for the advancement of the American national interest in the World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, and in Europe during the Cold War. Chapter 7 analyzes the security dilemma between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War which Kennan believed threatened to push the superpowers into a general war. It also discusses Kennan's policy recommendations--from the Truman through the Reagan administrations--that flowed from his view of the Soviet Union and his desire to ameliorate the security-power dilemma. Chapter 8 synthesizes the principles discussed in the preceding chapters to construct Kennan's classical realist theory of American foreign policy. The study concludes that Kennan's work was underpinned by a body of principles that, taken collectively, constitute a practical theory of foreign policy which remains valid today as the United States continues to compete in the international struggle for power.