• DOI:10.1080/14682745.2011.599979
• Corpus ID: 153545060

The foreign policy of Lyndon B. Johnson: the United States and the world, 1963–69

@article{Lerner2011TheFP,
  title={The foreign policy of Lyndon B. Johnson: the United States and the world, 1963–69},
  author={Mitchell B. Lerner},
  journal={Cold War History},
  year={2011},
  volume={11},
  pages={475 - 477}
}

• Mitchell B. Lerner
• Published 1 August 2011
• Political Science, History
• Cold War History

accounts, such as those by Herbert Parmet (Jack and JFK: The Presidency of John F. Kennedy, 1980–1983) and James Giglio (The Presidency of John F. Kennedy, 1991), are rare exceptions. Rabe, however, avoids the analytical extremes of many other Kennedy scholars in crafting a balanced interpretation. For instance, he praises Kennedy for the skill with which he handled short-term crises, notably Berlin in the summer of 1961 and the Cuban missile crisis of 1962. On the other hand, he criticises Kennedy’s longer-term policies for playing a role in bringing about the crises that punctuated the Kennedy years. Thirdly, Rabe produces a work that is thematically rich and historiographically aware. He provides insights into a number of the key issues that concern diplomatic historians. On the question of whether Kennedy would have fought in Vietnam, had he not been assassinated, Rabe does a superb job of considering the various factors that impinge on this issue. On the question of whether the Cuban missile crisis constituted a turning point in Kennedy’s foreign policy – converting him from a ColdWarrior to a leader intent on reducing international tensions – Rabe argues (contrary to what a number of other scholars have maintained) that continuity rather than progressive change was evident in much of his foreign policy. His failure to distinguish nationalism from communism ensured that despite his interest in being an innovative statesman, ultimately his approach to international affairs was along the same lines as those of other Cold War presidents. Rabe’s coverage of the historical literature on Kennedy could have been more effective, and in places more narrative detail should have been provided. Overall, though, Rabe succeeds in producing a mature, fluent, and perceptive account of John Kennedy’s foreign policy.