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Vietnam as a front in the Cold War, 1961-1979
Thesis (M.A.) -- University of Stellenbosch, 1993.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2012
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| _version_ | 1867613859537223680 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Denyer, Jeanne |
| author2 | Kapp, P. H. |
| author_browse | Denyer, Jeanne Kapp, P. H. |
| author_facet | Kapp, P. H. Denyer, Jeanne |
| author_sort | Denyer, Jeanne |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (M.A.) -- University of Stellenbosch, 1993. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/58222 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:42:50.594Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2012 |
| publishDateRange | 2012 |
| publishDateSort | 2012 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/58222 Vietnam as a front in the Cold War, 1961-1979 Denyer, Jeanne Kapp, P. H. Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of History. Cold War Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- United States Vietnam -- History -- 1945-1975 United States -- Foreign relations -- Southeast Asia Dissertations -- History Thesis (M.A.) -- University of Stellenbosch, 1993. Within America the heated debate concerning US involvement continued throughout the war in Vietnam. While the “Doves” in the US Administration opposed American intervention, the “Hawks” supported this. Twenty years after America’s exit from Vietnam historians and politicians still wage this debate. The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which Vietnam represented a front in the Cold War. The validity of the USA’s claim that North Vietnam was directed by the Soviet Union is investigated and the feasibility of the domino theory is established. Chapter one of this study provides a historical overview of the situation globally as well as in Vietnam in the years following World War Two. The issue which is addressed here is whether communism was externally imported by the Soviet Union or whether it established itself in Vietnam through an indigenous reaction to colonialism. In chapter two the success of the Kennedy Administration’s strategies are investigated and an attempt is made to determine whether Kennedy’s decision to increase American involvement in Southeast Asia was intentional or the result of the Cold War milieu in which America found itself. Critics of American involvement in Vietnam place much emphasis on the follies committed by the Johnson Administration. Chapter three attempts to judge Johnson’s policies as objectively as possible by considering the constraints within which he functioned. Chapter four of this study questions whether Nixon’s attempts at bringing about “peace with honour” were successful. Is it possible for a country to endure defeat without bearing the consequences for their misguided actions? Chapter five investigates the activities of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the period after 1975. It is clear that there is no truth to the claims that the conflicts which then erupted in Southeast Asia were the result of the SRV’s expansionist aims and thus proof of the validity of the domino theory. The deduction which this study makes is that the USA’s decision to intervene in Vietnam was not an anomaly but the logical result of their anti-communism during the Cold War. In spite of this, however, their assumptions regarding Vietnam were incorrect. The North Vietnamese did not function as agents in a Communist Bloc-inspired plan to take over the whole of Southeast Asia. Communism merely presented the North Vietnamese with the means to shake off the mantle of French colonialism. It was only once America was firmly involved in Vietnam that the Soviet Union and the PRC became interested in this conflict. This interest did not stem from a desire to establish communist rule throughout Southeast Asia, but was a product ofthe Sino-Soviet dispute. These incorrect assumptions together with a strong hatred of communism acted as constraints when American policy-makers made their decisions. By perceiving the war in Vietnam within their own cultural framework and political context, the USA blinded itself to the truth. In any internal political struggle one side is stronger than the other. The fact that the stronger side adheres to communism does not, however, imply that its strength has been generated externally. The reality of this only hit home after 1975. Masters 2012-08-27T11:38:51Z 2012-08-27T11:38:51Z 1993 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/58222 en Stellenbosch University 165 pages application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Cold War Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- United States Vietnam -- History -- 1945-1975 United States -- Foreign relations -- Southeast Asia Dissertations -- History Denyer, Jeanne Vietnam as a front in the Cold War, 1961-1979 |
| title | Vietnam as a front in the Cold War, 1961-1979 |
| title_full | Vietnam as a front in the Cold War, 1961-1979 |
| title_fullStr | Vietnam as a front in the Cold War, 1961-1979 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Vietnam as a front in the Cold War, 1961-1979 |
| title_short | Vietnam as a front in the Cold War, 1961-1979 |
| title_sort | vietnam as a front in the cold war 1961 1979 |
| topic | Cold War Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- United States Vietnam -- History -- 1945-1975 United States -- Foreign relations -- Southeast Asia Dissertations -- History |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/58222 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT denyerjeanne vietnamasafrontinthecoldwar19611979 |