Article
The Cold War Consensus: Did It Exist?
Polity
Document Type
Article
Disciplines
Publication Version
Published Version
Publication Date
7-1-1990
DOI
10.2307/3234822
Abstract
A bipartisan consensus about the means and ends of American foreign policy is generally thought to have been part of the American political environment during the Cold War era. This consensus is also commonly thought to have been a casualty of the Vietnam War, when disagreements arose about the threat of communism, the use of American troops abroad, and relations with the Soviet Union. This article uses public opinion data from the decades following World War II pertaining to these areas of assumed change to measure whether a consensus ever existed and whether it eroded in the wake of Vietnam. The authors conclude that evidence of change can be found but that it is less dramatic in some respects than might be expected.
Copyright Owner
Northeastern Political Science Association
Copyright Date
1990
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Citation Information
Eugene R. Wittkopf and James M. McCormick. "The Cold War Consensus: Did It Exist?" Polity Vol. 22 Iss. 4 (1990) p. 627 - 653 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/james-mccormick/21/
This article is published as Wittkopf, Eugene R., and James M. McCormick. "The cold war consensus: Did it exist?" Polity 22, no. 4 (1990): 627-653. DOI: 10.2307/3234822. Posted with permission.