The importance of individuals in shaping international relations: Examining the national security strategies of Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy

Throughout the Cold War, international relations theorists have touted their ability to discern the course of future world events. Stressing that the systemic structure of the international realm was paramount in the anticipation of future events, political scientists generally assessed the role of individuals to be of minimal importance. The failure to predict the abrupt end of the Cold War and the sudden disintegration of the Soviet Union, however, revealed the deficiencies in the traditional means of which these modern "soothsayers" used to anticipate the course of international events. This thesis attempts to demonstrate the influential role that individuals play in the realm of international relations and must be incorporated in any comprehensive theory of international relations. A comparison of American presidents John F. Kennedy and Dwight Eisenhower will be conducted, comparing the manner in which the two leaders conceptualized the external environment and the influence this exerted on the conduct and components of their administration's national security strategy. This study takes as its subject matter the process of policy making to measure the influence of each leader's perceptions and beliefs in the development of their administration's foreign policy. It is the suggestion of this study that individuals deserve equal explanatory power in deciphering the future of international events.