1. H1◄ The USA and the world since 1945 ►
HISTORY ◄ US POWER SINCE 1945 ►
H1◄ The USA and the world since 1945 ►
1. U.S. power
 The nature of power
World War II / the Second World War
1939/
Bipolar world
Unipolar/multipolar world
Cold War
/91
a world power
the USA, a superpower
a hyperpower ?
 The tools of power
Power is one’s ability to affect the behaviour of others to get what one wants. There are three basic ways to do this: coercion, payment and attraction. Hard power is the use of coercion and payment. Soft power is the ability to obtain preferred outcomes through attraction. If a state can set the agenda for others or shape their preferences, it can save a lot of carrots and sticks. But rarely can it totally replace either. Thus the need for smart strategies that combine the tools of both hard and soft power.
Joseph Nye, “Soft Power: The Means to Succeed in World Politics”, 2004.
Notions & Vocabulary
world power, superpower, hyperpower ; unipolar, bipolar, multipolar world
hard power (the stick), soft power (the carrot), smart power

2. H1◄ The USA and the world since 1945 ►
HISTORY ◄ US POWER SINCE 1945 ►
H1◄ The USA and the world since 1945 ►
2. US foreign policy
3. Its impact on US domestic affairs in the 1950s
 The Red Scare
 The Witch Hunt
 Isolationism vs
interventionism
 Unilateralism vs
multilateralism
 Containment
vs roll-back
December 2, 1991.
United we stand, US poster 1945
The Vietnam War
Notions & Vocabulary
Isolationism, foreign vs domestic policy/affairs ; interventionism, to be involved/to intervene, imperialism.
Unilateralism ; multilateralism, cooperation, coalition.
Containment, roll-back.
Red Scare, Witch Hunt
Anticommunist propaganda posters used by senator McCarthy
in the mid-1950s

3. H2◄ History & memory of the Vietnam War in the USA►
HISTORY ◄ US POWER SINCE 1945 ►
H2◄ History & memory of the Vietnam War in the USA►
I. History : questioning U.S. intervention in Vietnam
1. The orthodox interpretation
Def: orthodoxes (historians) & doves (administration) admitting Vietnam =
a mistake, an unwinnable war
2. The revisionist point of view
Def: revisionists (historians) & hawks (administration & military): Vietnam could have been won = ‘what if?’ scenarios, Alternate/Alternative History
Entering the war
 Vietnam, a mistaken commitment
  Vietnam, a necessary involvement
Waging war
 South Vietnam, the wrong ally
  The administration’s flawed strategy
Ending the war
 No exit strategy
  US defeat : ‘stab-in-the-back’ theories
The domino theory: a justification for containment
Vietnamese Democracy,
Herblock, The Washington Post, September 26, 1967.
Peace marchers,
Time, 27 October 1967.

4. H2◄ History & memory of the Vietnam War in the USA►
HISTORY ◄ US POWER SINCE 1945 ►
H2◄ History & memory of the Vietnam War in the USA►
II. Memory : overcoming the Vietnam Syndrome
1. The Vietnam veterans: from rejection to recognition
 The vets back to the US: a human and social trauma
=> The healing process: national & international reconciliation
2. The Vietnam quagmire: a recurring reference
 Vietnam, a tool of presidential campaigning
 Vietnam, the ghost behind US military interventions
With more than 150,000 people in town for the dedication [of the Vietnam War Memorial on November 13, 1982], Washington filled with vets. […] After many beers, a veteran said he had won the Medal of Honour but was afraid of how people would react. To the cheers of a crowded bar, he opened his suitcase, took out the medal with its blue ribbon, and put it on for the first time.
Joel Swerdlow, To Heal a Nation: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, New York, 1985.
The Vietnam War Memorial:
the wall (1982) on Memorial Day
& the 3 servicemen statues (1984)
Exit, Paul Combs,
Tribune Media Services, 11 April 2008
Vietnam full diplomatic recognition.
Behind President Clinton, Senators John Kerry &
John McCain. New York Times, July 12, 1995.