IR 360 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Energistics, Yom Kippur War, Henry Kissinger
1 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Presidential Styles of Crisis Management
POSC 360
Unit Four
Truman’s Style
• Formalistic.
• Not because he had the personality, he was deeply emotional
• He was formulistic because he had to be! He had no training on how to be
president! Brought on to balance the Midwest ticket for FDR and then selected for
president
• In the middle of something for which he is ill prepared, and he sticks to the script
• Use of ad hoc fora.
• He creates small decisionmaking groups and doesn’t rely on any structure (the
NSC doesn’t exist yet, he does create it though)
• Wide leeway for advisors and subnumeraries (in terms of info and activity up to the
decisionmaking point, fair amount of leeway)
• The buck stopped there (sign on his desk; responsibility is here, I have it)
Berlin Crisis 1948
• German defeat and quadruple division of country in 1945 (by May 8)
• Americans, French, British, and Russians all occupy space
• Western Allies require capital to be divided as well
• Special status of Berlin
• Air-land-rail corridors (allowed by the Russians for the movement of troops back in
force, and corridors for unimpeded air traffic)
• Russians declare partial 4/1/48 on Berlin by limiting land-rail corridor traffic and full
blockade 6/24/48 (it’s the summer, not as huge a deal, but Berlin is still ravaged from
WW2)
• Currency and Czechoslovakian coup as variables (infuriate the Russians and exacerbate
this issue)
• There needs to be currency for the Germans to use (US points this out)
• US introduces a currency for the Western portion of the country
• Russians then stage a coup in Czechoslovakia (and the only true
democracy over there now disappears)
• Did not use close the air corridors (they’re really good at rail work, that’s how
they won the war) so they didn’t really care about the air corridors
• Their air stuff was TERRIBLE and they were in extreme denial about the
power of air traffic
• DECISIONMAKING PROCESS
• GOAL: Get Coal and Food into Germany (West Berlin)
• OPTIONS:
• fly in it (expensive)
• surrender (then they’ll let up the blockade)
• ultimatum (open blockade or fight)
• wait/do nothing (people will start to die but you can wait)
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
• talk to the UN (but the Russians have veto power in the UN
Security Council)
Korean Police Action 1950 (crisis that turned into a war lasting 3 years)
• Korean division in 1945 (Korea is occupied by the Japs)
• US presumed the Soviets wouldn’t enter Korea, but they did
• Dean Acheson’s January 1950 speech
• NKA attack in June 1950
• North Korea attacks, much to the US’ surprise
• US goes to UN and sanctions force to protect the Southern Peninsula in Korea
• Chinese intervention- drive UN forces south, UN drives Chinese north, and up and down
and up and down resulting in a lot of death
• The MacArthur (military governor of Japan) power challenge
• Tremendous political struggle; wants to use nuclear weapons and Truman said no
and MacArthur takes him on publicly and definitely loses
• Truman’s canvass of options (this war is super unpopular in the west, would need WW2
vets to fight and they have mortgages and kids and lives and are not into it at all)
• Centralized decisonmaking structure
• the first military crisis of the nuclear age (Truman’s need to respond to this is
really pressing, Americans are dying every day contributing to Truman’s
domestic political situation)
• DO THE READING TO SEE HOW HE MAKES THIS DECISION
Eisenhower’s Style
• Formalistic and Competitive Hybrid
• Remember he was a 4 star general and helped win WW2, he totally gets
formalistic decisionmaking
• But also, was under the impression that putting the best people in the job and let
them do the job, and if they don’t answer demands they get fired
• Clearly expressed preferences unlike Truman who tended to listen to people more
• Ike would listen but you had to convince him his opinion was wrong
• Strict, well organized decision and advice apparatus (makes use of the NSC)
• No holds barred debates, so Ike felt the real opinions did surface
• President is challenged by advisors! But in the end he made decisions
• He had the ability to have great informality and then at the last second crush the
debate (he was super plain and regular though)
Dien Bien Phu 1954
• The Japanese defeat and Vietminh rise and seize control of significant portions of the
north, 1945
• Dual nature of the Vietminh and Ho Chi Minh (he functionally commanded the
Vietminh)
• French appeals for support to the Americans and they get it! The US bankrolls them! –
the Cold War
• Japanese surrender all weapons to the Vietminh and the French basically had to fight
their way in to try to regain control of their lost colony
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Truman"s style: formalistic, not because he had the personality, he was deeply emotional, he was formulistic because he had to be! He had no training on how to be president! Brought on to balance the midwest ticket for fdr and then selected for president. In the middle of something for which he is ill prepared, and he sticks to the script: use of ad hoc fora, he creates small decisionmaking groups and doesn"t rely on any structure (the. Dien bien phu 1954 north, 1945: dual nature of the vietminh and ho chi minh (he functionally commanded the. Vietminh: french appeals for support to the americans and they get it! Kennedy"s looks, youth, or charm and cannot function in the same way. Tuesday lunch group, the very agreeable group is informal and debates openly. Johnson would meet with them in the wh and they would discuss problems (they were his personal friends and he got advice from them very informally)
