University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2016 Pursuing Postponement: The Eisenhower Administration's Policymaking for the Developing World Smith, Brenan Smith, B. (2016). Pursuing Postponement: The Eisenhower Administration's Policymaking for the Developing World (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/27486 http://hdl.handle.net/11023/3500 doctoral thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY Pursuing Postponement: The Eisenhower Administration’s Policymaking for the Developing World by Brenan R. R. Smith A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN HISTORY CALGARY, ALBERTA December, 2016 © Brenan R. R. Smith 2016 Abstract This dissertation examines the Eisenhower administration’s positions and policies towards the developing world. During the presidency of Dwight Eisenhower, the complications involved in conducting an increasingly global Cold War presented Eisenhower and his officials with extensive and expanding problems. Nationalism, anti-colonialism, pushes for economic rebalancing, and other forms of self-assertion surged in regions across the globe described in this dissertation as the “Third World.” In Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia a variety of drives against the status quo confronted the Eisenhower administration, and Eisenhower in particular, with challenges of immense importance. The central focus of this dissertation is how Eisenhower chose to meet those challenges, and how officials like John Foster Dulles and Richard Nixon supported and agreed or (more often in Nixon’s case) diverged and disagreed with the President on his choices. This dissertation argues that Eisenhower chose to pursue a policy of postponement toward the Third World; not necessarily attempting to maintain the status quo, but seeking to delay and otherwise slow the forces of change at work in the Third World. Richard Nixon, by dint of his contentious mentor-protégé relationship with John Foster Dulles, and the fact that he simultaneously served as a crucial tool in, and active critic of Eisenhower’s policies and positions in the Third World, provides a representative example of the many officials in Eisenhower’s administration who perceived and disagreed with the pursuit of postponement. Dulles too, though more often than not a strident supporter of Eisenhower, was intrinsically torn between his duty and his fundamental belief in the necessity of dynamic foreign policies. This study explores the means by which Eisenhower pursued postponement in the Third World, and complications and frustrations which arose during this ultimately doomed pursuit. ii Acknowledgements I owe a primary, and staggering, debt to my supervisor, Dr. Stephen Randall. Starting with his minutes-later response to my first email to him in the dead of the night to his ongoing and steadfast provision of wisdom, insight, and kindness, Dr. Randall has never been anything short of dauntingly inspirational. A student’s chief duty is to learn, I thank Dr. Randall, as with him this duty was an honour. Other debts are inevitable over the course of a graduate career. I thank Dr. John Ferris for pushing me to not only think, but for constantly asking me “So what?” I thank Dr. Terry Terriff, not just for the kind education, but also for the entirely necessary reminder about the difference between knowing and understanding. Dr. Paul Chastko, who through no fault of his own has been stuck with me in various fashions since my candidacy exams, I thank for making me a better instructor, a better student, and a better historian. Dr. Elizabeth Jameson immeasurably improved this dissertation, and helped me survive defending it; I thank her gratefully for her support and kindness. I thank too the other members of my examining committee, Dr. James Keeley, Dr. Lucie Laumonier, and Dr. Chester Pach for indulging and enduring my work, for their valuable insights, and for their time. Dr. David Gallant, with whom I shared an office and whom I knew before he was a doctor, I thank for his bottomless enthusiasm, pride in History, and constant optimism. Diane McInnes and Lori Somner kindly took care of me as I stumbled into and through the bureaucratic challenges of grad school, I can’t thank them enough for enduring with smiles the many (accidental) headaches I caused. I also wish to thank some of those rugged rogues that made up my cohort of graduate students. Adam Cahill, Monique Dolak, Fred Glover, and Chris Hyland each helped me get to where I am, they are owed my gratitude and my friendship always. Monique and Chris know well, I take my debts seriously. I will also thank Sam Wainwright for our lengthy conversations on the disintegration of the British Empire, the classics of strategy, and the entire corpus of Star Wars (mostly the latter). My parents, who not only foolishly encouraged me to follow my dreams but also made the disastrous decision to support me in manifold ways when I did, share a good deal of the blame for the person I am today and this dissertation. I thank them for everything, as that is what I owe them. iii Finally, I must thank my wife, Caroline. There is no limit to the things for which I could thank my wife, but I will, if only here and now, keep it simple. There is an adage that if ever you find that you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room. So long as Caroline is with me, I am in the right room. iv Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iii Table of Contents .................................................................................................................v Introduction ..........................................................................................................................1 Focus, Framework, and Foundation ................................................................................7 Layout and Progression .................................................................................................12 Chapter One: Literature Review .......................................................................................18 Mr. Vice President, Nixon before 1960 .........................................................................19 The Many Roads of John Foster Dulles .........................................................................31 The Eisenhower Legacy .................................................................................................44 Chapter Two: The Pursuit Begins .....................................................................................77 Treating the Symptom: Imposing Stability ...................................................................80 The Various Thorns: Looming Challenges ...................................................................96 The Lowest of the Low Priorities ................................................................................109 Ending the Year ...........................................................................................................116 Chapter Three: “If we get our prestige involved anywhere, then we can’t get out” .......119 Increasing Irritation with Britain and France ...............................................................120 The Challenges of Reaching a Destination without a map ..........................................139 Growing Frustrations but Bulling Ahead .....................................................................160 Chapter Four: The Cycle of Frustrations and Failures....................................................166 Bandung Blinders: Failing to see the forest-fire for the trees .....................................170 Complacency in Latin America ...................................................................................179 Bogged down by Balance ............................................................................................186 Nasser tugs the Tightrope ............................................................................................196 The Pursuit Continues ..................................................................................................205 Chapter Five: Walking the Tightrope .............................................................................207 Paralysis on the Middle Way .......................................................................................208 Tinkering to the Brink ..................................................................................................227 Suez and Eisenhower’s Tightrope ...............................................................................235 Dulles and Nixon on the Offensive, Cracks in the Cabinet .........................................250 A Building Cascade .....................................................................................................262