Domino+Theory

toc

=__The Domino Theory__=

The domino theory was one of foreign policy, which was promoted by the U.S. government. It speculated that if one region fell under the influence of communism, surrounding lands would as well creating a domino effect. The domino theory states that some change will cause a similar change nearby, this will cause a change nearby the new region and so on, by analogy of a row of falling dominoes. The Domino Theory was used by successive United States administrations during the cold war. It was used to justify american intervention around the world.

The History of the Theory
In 1945, the Soviet Union brought most of the countries of Eastern Europe and Central Europe under its influence as part of the post-World War II settlement, prompting Winston Churchill to declare in a speech in 1946 at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri that: "From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an "iron curtain" has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Prague, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia; all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject, in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and in some cases increasing measure of control from Moscow." In 1949, China became a Communist country (officially the People's Republic of China) after Chinese Communist rebels defeated the Nationalist Republican government in the end of the Chinese Civil War (1927-1949). Korea had also fallen under Soviet domination at the end of World War II, and in 1950 a fight broke out between Communists and Republicans that, shortly after, involved troops from China, and the US and 15 allied countries. The war ended in 1953 with an armistice that had Korea divided into two nations, North and South Korea.

Who theorized it?
This theory was promoted by the U.S. government. It was mostly spread around to spread the knowledge of the "plague of communism". If people heard that if one country gave in, the next would, they would think that eventually it could spread to the U.S. Some people would argue that it was just propaganda scare tactic, which was used to justify unwanted intervention policies.

The main evidence for the domino theory was the communist takeover of 3 Southeast Asian countries. This had happened after the United States pulled its troops out of the region after the Vietnam War. Some supporters of the Domino Theory also note the history of governments that were communist that were supplying aid to communist revolutionaries in neighboring countries. For instance, China supplied the North Vietnamese Army with troops and supplies and the soviet union provided them with tanks and heavy weapons. The fact that Pathet Lao and Khemer Rouge both started as part of the North Vietnamese army gives even more proof to the theory.

Arguments AGAINST the theory
The main evidence against the domino theory is the failure for communism to take over Thailand, Indonesia, and other large Southern Asian countries after the end of the Vietnam war as Eisenhower's speech warned that it could. Some proponents of this theory, though, will argue that this is due to the effects of both the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. People who were against the theory said that Indochinese were largely indigenous or nationalist and that "world communism" could not exist.

Conclusion
The Domino Theory was not an unreasonable one. Although it didn't really come through, it served its purpose. This theory was mostly meant to alarm the United States into being anti-communism. Most studies on this theory show that it was mostly about the propaganda. The posters put up everywhere, the catchy slogans and rallies, all serving a purpose to raise awareness. Even thought communism did not spread through all the countries that the domino theory, well, theorized, it showed people the possible effects of communism.